The highest honor bestowed upon a golfer is not a green coat or a claret jug, it’s the Bob Jones Award for sportsmanship—the subtext for winning the award is a life of scrupulously playing by the rules. The most famous parable about Jones has nothing to do with his Grand Slam of Golf championships won in 1930; it was in the 1925 U.S. Open he lost after calling a penalty on himself for causing his ball to inadvertently move when no one else saw it. Hailed for his honesty, Jones shook it off and said: “You might as well praise me for not robbing a bank.”
Tom Watson won the Bob Jones Award in 1987. Ben Crenshaw won it in 1991. Nick Price won it in 2005. Remember those names.
Rich or poor, low- or high-handicapper, the often-repeated consensus is that people who cheat in life don’t necessarily cheat at golf, but people who cheat at golf invariably cheat in life. The longtime Golf Digest columnist Tom Callahan considers this subject with the delicate touch of a surgeon. His scalpel’s cut is precise but leaves no blood on the table. —Jerry Tarde
***
Nothing has been said this year in golf or in sports that rings with a sharper truth than the five words: “We know who they are.”
To a leading question in a dinner setting, Tom Watson acknowledged in late winter that there were cheaters on the PGA Tour. “The game is a game of integrity,” he told an Australian interviewer in Melbourne, “but you are talking about money and you’re talking about livelihoods.”
Invited to name names, Watson said icily, “We know who they are.”
As if candor were calumny, Tom was slammed in the U.S. for once again sticking his blue nose where it wasn’t wanted. But the slammers lost momentum when Nick Price told the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, “There are two [players] I know of for sure on tour who cheat and many others who I have come across in my travels. But once you do it, the guys all know who you are. Forever.”
While PGA patriots were extolling Jeff Sluman’s honesty at Bay Hill, Ben Crenshaw, of all gentle people, was saying, “Cheating is the absolute worst thing on tour, period. It’s like the people who play golf are one big family, and once you get cast out of the family, there’s no way to get back in.”
If that were literally so, Watson and Gary Player, Greg Norman and Mark McCumber, Nick Faldo and Sandy Lyle, Seve Ballesteros and Paul Azinger—and all the other jousters who have tilted bloodily over honor—would never know peace in each other’s company. (A few never will.) But time is a funny thing.
Many U.S. Opens ago, a large Californian named Lon Hinkle seemed to hang over young Ballesteros like a gargoyle at every green. Asked about it afterward, Hinkle said in a measured tone: “He is a great young player, but he is going to have to learn to mark his ball like a professional.” Evidently, he did.
There’s an American star on tour who, long ago, in the crucible of the Q school, left a birdie putt on the lip and angrily whiffed the tap-in. With a face whiter than Gold Medal flour, he proceeded to the next tee and drove off as if it were still his honor.
His two playing partners were so stunned that they said nothing. He won his card by more than a shot; all three qualified. But, late that night, the other two got to talking, and drinking, and one went to the telephone. “I just want you to know,” he said in the alcoholic mist, “that I saw what happened out there today, and you’ll have to live with it the rest of your life.” Only one word came back in rebuttal, softly: “OK.”
Maybe a higher sense of obligation, some extra quality of effort, comes out of such a lonely start. Because, through the years, the player in question has gained the respect of the industry. But there are still whispers. Perhaps that’s what Watson, Price and Crenshaw mean.
On the amateur level, the club level, the muny level, “We know who they are” is the truest fact of golf, and maybe the only conforming law.
An old Kentucky newsman, Mike Barry, used to announce on the first tee, “You fellows go ahead and play whatever game you want. I’ll be playing golf.” In other words, he wouldn’t be hitting a mulligan at No. 1, bumping his ball in the fairway or moving his coin to avoid an abrasion (“teeing it up on the green,” as Jim Colbert calls that popular practice).
By the average hacker’s code, none of these qualify as cheating, but they set a tone. Barry, who almost never broke 100, had a theory about amateur cheaters that is passed along here not for moralizing purposes but as a practical advice.
Mike was convinced the cheaters weren’t after his $2; they just wanted to shoot 88 instead of 93. But their machinations actually cost them strokes, and not just because teeing up a ball to miss a 3-wood is a ridiculous alternative to an honest 8-iron.
Besides defaulting on their own confidence, they were throwing away golf’s most mysterious benefit, the springboard disguised as setback.
Jack Nicklaus will testify that he might never have won the 1986 Masters without a spike mark that popped up in his path at 12. That bogey meant more than any par to his round. It was what propelled him on.
Barry lived a rich life and died well, surrounded by family. In a bonus of timing, he narrowly outlived his archrival, the well-known governor, baseball commissioner and scoundrel, Happy Chandler.
When someone at Barry’s bedside recalled Ol’ Hap had “lied in state” at the Capitol, Mike came to for just an instant to say, “He lied in every state he ever went into.” Then he settled back to sleep the blissful sleep of those who always played the ball down.
Saturday, 24 April 2021
Sunday, 14 February 2021
Regretful Cosmetic Sugery
A slew of A-list celebrities have also been open about regretting or questioning various types of work they've had done after the fact, and weren't shy about sharing that. From problem nose jobs to A-list botox mishaps, these celebrities opened up about why they got plastic surgery or other cosmetic surgery in the first place—and why they kinda wished they hadn't in hindsight.
Hollywood is a cut-throat world, and the pressure to look young and beautiful is *real.* And hey, many celebs (and mere mortals, too) just want to feel comfortable and confident in their own skin—and there's zero shame in getting work done or beauty treatments that make you feel your best (you do you!).
Cosmetic plastic surgery is done to change your appearance. For some, it may mean redesigning the body's contour and shape, smoothing wrinkles, or eliminating balding areas. Others may choose varicose vein treatment or breast augmentation. There are a number of cosmetic surgery procedures that men and women can choose from to create an image that makes them feel more confident and comfortable with their appearance.
Although health insurance rarely covers the cost of cosmetic procedures, the number of people deciding to have cosmetic plastic surgery continues to grow. The top cosmetic surgeries are breast augmentation, liposuction, nose reshaping, eyelid surgery, tummy tuck, and facelift.
Hollywood is a cut-throat world, and the pressure to look young and beautiful is *real.* And hey, many celebs (and mere mortals, too) just want to feel comfortable and confident in their own skin—and there's zero shame in getting work done or beauty treatments that make you feel your best (you do you!).
Cosmetic plastic surgery is done to change your appearance. For some, it may mean redesigning the body's contour and shape, smoothing wrinkles, or eliminating balding areas. Others may choose varicose vein treatment or breast augmentation. There are a number of cosmetic surgery procedures that men and women can choose from to create an image that makes them feel more confident and comfortable with their appearance.
Although health insurance rarely covers the cost of cosmetic procedures, the number of people deciding to have cosmetic plastic surgery continues to grow. The top cosmetic surgeries are breast augmentation, liposuction, nose reshaping, eyelid surgery, tummy tuck, and facelift.
Hire a Celebrity DJ for Your Party
Major celebrity DJs and headline performers are the “Mega Stars” currently performing for major corporate incentive events, trade associations, non-profit galas, social parties, weddings and large convention events.
These artists, on a selective basis, perform their same fully produced public concert shows for corporate audiences and private clients, social party or wedding reception party nationwide.
Whether you want to book a celebrityfor a prestigious event, hire a celebrity for a new product launch, or book a celebrity to make a splash at a party.
When New York financier Andrew Murstein started planning his son’s bar mitzvah party, he decided he wanted a celebration that his son – and his friends – would never forget.
So, he did what many cool dads would do for their teenagers if they could afford it: he hired A-list rapper Nicki Minaj to perform and take photos with the guests.
“It was fabulous. It added a great buzz leading up to the party as word started spreading that I would have someone (famous),” said Murstein, president of New York’s Medallion Financial Corp. “But I never told anyone who it was.”
These artists, on a selective basis, perform their same fully produced public concert shows for corporate audiences and private clients, social party or wedding reception party nationwide.
Whether you want to book a celebrityfor a prestigious event, hire a celebrity for a new product launch, or book a celebrity to make a splash at a party.
When New York financier Andrew Murstein started planning his son’s bar mitzvah party, he decided he wanted a celebration that his son – and his friends – would never forget.
So, he did what many cool dads would do for their teenagers if they could afford it: he hired A-list rapper Nicki Minaj to perform and take photos with the guests.
“It was fabulous. It added a great buzz leading up to the party as word started spreading that I would have someone (famous),” said Murstein, president of New York’s Medallion Financial Corp. “But I never told anyone who it was.”
Funny Celebrity Yoga
Robert Downey Jr. credits yoga as well as the martial arts for helping him slay the demons of heroin addiction and having “healed my spirit.” Similarly, Colin Farrell turned to yoga after a decade-long alcohol and cocaine bender and found “this strange sense of calm after spending so much time running in different directions and not knowing why.”
Aside from the spiritual benefits, yoga addresses basic physical issues of flexibility, muscular tone, and body sculpting. In addition, actress Michelle Williams as well as supermodel Giselle have both been outspoken about the benefits of yoga for expectant mothers and how it helps the body recover its former shape. Celebrities also appreciate the fact that they can do yoga in hotel rooms or in their trailers while working on films or in the midst of lengthy concert tours. Madonna has even taken to doing yoga in the aisle of airplanes – not that the average person would be so easily indulged by flight crews.
McConaughey grew up in Texas where 35 Celsius days are often the norm in the summer and temperatures can soar even higher. That’s one of the reasons that drew him to Bikram yoga which is generally practiced indoors in rooms where the temperature is 35 C or higher and where sessions last 90 minutes. Developed in the early ’70s by Bikram Choudhury, Bikram yoga is defined by the specific 26 poses or postures which are intended to tone muscles, stretch the skeleton, and create the special kind of “high” that its practitioners cite as one of the added benefits of this discipline.
McConaughey, however, prefers to practice yoga – Bikram and other forms – outdoors whenever possible.
Explained the Oscar-winning actor: “Yoga gives me a feeling of flexibility as well as strength – it adds to the feeling of well-being I get from running and doing crunches and push-ups. It’s also gives you great muscle tone that you don’t get from other kinds of exercise and where you feel like you’re floating in your own private space.”
“(Yoga and other forms of physical training) have always been a lifestyle. Then it became something that was like, ‘Hey, it’s also good for my job.’ I’m not a professional athlete, but I have a job where I like to look good and be as healthy as possible.”
Aside from the spiritual benefits, yoga addresses basic physical issues of flexibility, muscular tone, and body sculpting. In addition, actress Michelle Williams as well as supermodel Giselle have both been outspoken about the benefits of yoga for expectant mothers and how it helps the body recover its former shape. Celebrities also appreciate the fact that they can do yoga in hotel rooms or in their trailers while working on films or in the midst of lengthy concert tours. Madonna has even taken to doing yoga in the aisle of airplanes – not that the average person would be so easily indulged by flight crews.
MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY
In an interview with GQ magazine, the 44-year-old said: “I am vain. I think vanity is a good thing. It’s done more good things for me than it has not.”McConaughey grew up in Texas where 35 Celsius days are often the norm in the summer and temperatures can soar even higher. That’s one of the reasons that drew him to Bikram yoga which is generally practiced indoors in rooms where the temperature is 35 C or higher and where sessions last 90 minutes. Developed in the early ’70s by Bikram Choudhury, Bikram yoga is defined by the specific 26 poses or postures which are intended to tone muscles, stretch the skeleton, and create the special kind of “high” that its practitioners cite as one of the added benefits of this discipline.
McConaughey, however, prefers to practice yoga – Bikram and other forms – outdoors whenever possible.
Explained the Oscar-winning actor: “Yoga gives me a feeling of flexibility as well as strength – it adds to the feeling of well-being I get from running and doing crunches and push-ups. It’s also gives you great muscle tone that you don’t get from other kinds of exercise and where you feel like you’re floating in your own private space.”
“(Yoga and other forms of physical training) have always been a lifestyle. Then it became something that was like, ‘Hey, it’s also good for my job.’ I’m not a professional athlete, but I have a job where I like to look good and be as healthy as possible.”
Friday, 5 February 2021
Big Celebrity Fails
Investing in celebrities means that brands are at a bigger risk of causing themselves a PR scandal if something goes wrong; it also means that brands are paying a hefty price tag for an audience who is not necessarily relevant. Alternatively, investing in a pool of many micro-influencers with a smaller social media following is more effective to trigger a better return on investment, reach a more relevant audience and for a significantly lower cost than one celeb. Micro-influencers are seen as ‘everyday people,’ and their content is more relatable to their audience, thus more persuasive to their audience.
You can't fail if you're a Dog Influencer
When celebrity influencer Kim Kardashian, who has 44 million followers on Instagram, partnered with a pharmaceutical company, the campaign attracted attention for the wrong reasons. In her initial Instagram post about the product she was promoting, Diclegis, a medication for morning sickness, Kardashian left out the side effect and safety information that the FDA requires to be included in pharmaceutical posts.
Perhaps one of the most mortifying examples of influencer marketing gone wrong happened with Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad, which was heavily criticized as tone-deaf for its take on the Black Lives Matter movement. It depicted Jenner, who is not exactly known for being an activist, diffusing the tension at a protest by handing a bottle of Pepsi to a police officer.
You can't fail if you're a Dog Influencer
When celebrity influencer Kim Kardashian, who has 44 million followers on Instagram, partnered with a pharmaceutical company, the campaign attracted attention for the wrong reasons. In her initial Instagram post about the product she was promoting, Diclegis, a medication for morning sickness, Kardashian left out the side effect and safety information that the FDA requires to be included in pharmaceutical posts.
Perhaps one of the most mortifying examples of influencer marketing gone wrong happened with Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad, which was heavily criticized as tone-deaf for its take on the Black Lives Matter movement. It depicted Jenner, who is not exactly known for being an activist, diffusing the tension at a protest by handing a bottle of Pepsi to a police officer.
Saturday, 18 January 2020
Photographer Ruins Wedding?
It's a story photographers read about all too often. Susan issued a warning for brides-to-be: make sure to vet your photographers before hiring. A Craigslist ad for "affordable photography" caught her eye at just the right moment of her wedding's planning process. She was quoted $250 for 100 images which she accepted, booking the date.
The images on the photographer's portfolio looked impressive, but little did she know that she was viewing wedding images gleaned off sites like Pinterest and not the original work of the photographer.
The first clue should have been the price. You have to be an idiot to think someone you don't know will schlepp their equipment to your wedding, take wedding photographs, edit them and give them to you for $250. Please!
The consumer has some responsibility. If it's too good to be true, it is not going to be true.
The images on the photographer's portfolio looked impressive, but little did she know that she was viewing wedding images gleaned off sites like Pinterest and not the original work of the photographer.
The first clue should have been the price. You have to be an idiot to think someone you don't know will schlepp their equipment to your wedding, take wedding photographs, edit them and give them to you for $250. Please!
The consumer has some responsibility. If it's too good to be true, it is not going to be true.
Keep it a Secret - Celebrity Receptions
My friend's band played at Hilary Swank's wedding reception. It was a top secret affair. All the vendors had to sign a non-disclosure/media embargo before the event, and weren't allowed to take any photos at the wedding reception. All the guests and vendors had to turn in their phones at the door to prevent any un-authorized leaks.
Here's the official reporting
It was gorgeous. The wedding happened at the Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel, California. And from what Hilary shared exclusively with Vogue, “It’s a stunning private community surrounded by 20,000 acres of conservancy and an intimate redwood grove populated with trees that are over 800 years old.”
The bride wore custom Elie Saab Couture. And supposedly the dress, which we’ve only been able to peep pictures of on Vogue.com, took 150 hours to confection (nearly half of which was spent on embroidery alone, OMG).
And stunned in a second easy-breezy change-out dress. Which was a custom-made, cream-colored Maria Grazia Chiuri of Dior dance dress, worn with a blazer.
Dear friend, Christian Louboutin, did the shoes. Both for the wedding and the best surprise… see below.
Mariska Hargitay played a real great MOH. Opposite the groom’s father as Best Man - which we’re also obsessed with, obvi.
The reception took place in a beautifully-lit, rustic barn. Guests dined on delicious+sustainable fare + a gluten-free/vegan chocolate cake flown in from Mexico City, and danced to a scintillating jazz band - they had such a great time that the dancing continued late into the night via a silent disco-style after-party.
The couple also rocked matching denim jackets at some point, too, following the trend led by Kaley Cuoco and tons of other non-celeb brides before her.
But our FAVORITE part of the day hassss to be the fact that Hil and her hubs shocked ALL of their guests with a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers-style tap dance choreographed by Chloe Arnold to Moby’s “In My Heart.” The couple that dances together, stays together, right?!?!
Here's the official reporting
It was gorgeous. The wedding happened at the Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel, California. And from what Hilary shared exclusively with Vogue, “It’s a stunning private community surrounded by 20,000 acres of conservancy and an intimate redwood grove populated with trees that are over 800 years old.”
The bride wore custom Elie Saab Couture. And supposedly the dress, which we’ve only been able to peep pictures of on Vogue.com, took 150 hours to confection (nearly half of which was spent on embroidery alone, OMG).
And stunned in a second easy-breezy change-out dress. Which was a custom-made, cream-colored Maria Grazia Chiuri of Dior dance dress, worn with a blazer.
Dear friend, Christian Louboutin, did the shoes. Both for the wedding and the best surprise… see below.
Mariska Hargitay played a real great MOH. Opposite the groom’s father as Best Man - which we’re also obsessed with, obvi.
The reception took place in a beautifully-lit, rustic barn. Guests dined on delicious+sustainable fare + a gluten-free/vegan chocolate cake flown in from Mexico City, and danced to a scintillating jazz band - they had such a great time that the dancing continued late into the night via a silent disco-style after-party.
The couple also rocked matching denim jackets at some point, too, following the trend led by Kaley Cuoco and tons of other non-celeb brides before her.
But our FAVORITE part of the day hassss to be the fact that Hil and her hubs shocked ALL of their guests with a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers-style tap dance choreographed by Chloe Arnold to Moby’s “In My Heart.” The couple that dances together, stays together, right?!?!
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