Ernie Els pulls himself out of slump
What happens if you make the World Golf Hall of Fame at the young age of 41? What do you do then? There is a certain tragedy in making the World Golf Hall of Fame at that age. A tragedy in a manner of speaking. What do you do then?
Most professional golfers aspire to make the World Golf Hall of Fame. Of course, it is an inspiration, a lifelong inspiration that never ceases to grip the imagination, come what may.
The thing with other players, who are not very much like Ernie Els or Tiger Woods or Gary Player or Jack Nicklaus or Old Tom Morris, or Young Tom Morris, or Arnold Palmer, is that they have a possibility of being nominated for the World Golf Hall of Fame.
And that is dangerous stuff I tell you. Real dangerous stuff!
Professional golfers like Ernie Els, Tiger Woods, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Old Tom Morris, Young Tom Morris or Arnold Palmer know what it takes to achieve the ultimate satisfaction.
However, they know that being nominated for the World Golf Hall of Fame means an end to an illustrious career.
The aforementioned danger can be catastrophic for a professional golfer brimming with talent such as Ernie Els, if you throw in a bit of alcohol related problems.
Once he had made the World Golf Hall of Fame at 41, it was only downhill from there on. Of course when the comments about the alcohol drinking became rude whispers, he only went on getting ruder and ruder as time went by.
So falling into the deep, there was little Ernie Els could hold on to. His ‘The Big Easy’ reputation was suffering of course. Who would not become more of a recluse, given situations like this?
The thing about professional golf is that it is a lonely game. When you are out on the field, you are completely alone and have no team to rely on for encouragement, as would be expected in other team sports like soccer, football, rugby, hockey, ice hockey
and even doubles tennis.
In golf, you have to believe in yourself and your abilities perhaps a lot more compared to other sports because you are truly alone and as the pressure mounts. It tells a lot about what you can do and what you tell yourself you cannot do.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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