I am getting tired of the Bubba put downs in the media

This guy is great for golf and is an exceptional talent whose honesty is mistaken for stupidity. He is neither dumb or lucky. He is intelligent and skilled.

http://msn.foxsports.com/golf/story/robert-lusetich-bubba-watson-may-be-different-but-success-at-the-masters-is-no-fluke-041314

He is also a very nice guy.

I'm absolutely amazed by his creativity and nerve... tiger and more so mickleson have it... but it shines in bubba.

That risk and flair is what I love about golf. I play that way too... but mostly go from a tough spot to a worse one.

Part of the Bubba phenomenon is a carryover to the knee-jerk stereotype of the small-town south and southerners. I say "carryover" because it still exists but it's not as bad as the days when hit tv shows portrayed small-town southerners as Jethros and Gomers and Goobers.
As with all stereotypes, some of it is deserved. But a lot of it is that anti-rural south bigotry.

And how Watson is perceived is complicated. Yes he's seen as a rube in an elitist game. But at the same time, pro golf needs and wants a kind of everyman character to make it more receptive to people who aren't part of the country club set.

Since Watson won the Masters in 2012, he's been under the media microscope. And here is an example of what happens after that.

http://www.sbnation.com/golf/2014/4/13/5610624/bubba-watson-masters-2014-anti-gay-comments-caddie

The caddy thing is way overblown in that piece and so are the innocent comments about gays. But that goes with the territory when it's somebody like Watson.

I do not know if anybody saw the Morning Joe show after Bubba won the 2012 Masters. Joe was doing one of these homer pieces, and Bubba made it extremely clear that he was NOT like Joe.......there was an embarrassing silence, and I rather doubt he will be going on Morning Joe in 2014. He knows who he is and he could care less if somebody judges him because of the same. I like the purity of his honesty. He does not try to hold back his emotion, but responds in the moment, and in this 24/7/365 news cycle he will continually be a target for stereotypes, but as long as he has two jackets......he wins......history will care little what the media heads put down...his name will remain in the books.

But Pkr has it right.  By far the most interesting thing (and what I like most) about Bubba Watson is how he invented his own unique style of play that is so unorthodox and so outside of "golf lessons".
When the camera is behind the tee his stance is so unusual that it sometimes looks like he's aiming at the adjacent fairway.  And that control he has over fading the drives as a lefty is uncanny.  Couple that with the sheer power he displays when hitting the ball and we're seeing golf shots that literally no one has ever done before him.

It's really an interesting story when you delve into it.  He learned how to play golf as a kid by hitting whiffle balls.  Using the whiffle balls,  he designed a makeshift "golf course" that encircled his house.  And when the whiffle ball landed in a tree he played the shot out of the tree. Kinda like Lee Trevino learning to play golf using a coke bottle as a golf club.

Bob wrote:But Pkr has it right.  By far the most interesting thing (and what I like most) about Bubba Watson is how he invented his own unique style of play that is so unorthodox and so outside of "golf lessons".  
When the camera is behind the tee his stance is so unusual that it sometimes looks like he's aiming at the adjacent fairway.  And that control he has over fading the drives as a lefty is uncanny.  Couple that with the sheer power he displays when hitting the ball and we're seeing golf shots that literally no one has ever done before him.

It's really an interesting story when you delve into it.  He learned how to play golf as a kid by hitting whiffle balls.  Using the whiffle balls,  he designed a makeshift "golf course" that encircled his house.  And when the whiffle ball landed in a tree he played the shot out of the tree.  Kinda like Lee Trevino learning to play golf using a coke bottle as a golf club.

Jerry Pate, as a kid, made a golf course in the woods off Summit Blvd across from Roger Scott tennis club.....as we walked to the courts....many snickered at Jerry. Then he snickered all the way to the bank.


Left handed golf swings usually look weird.. .

His folks had a house at the Tanglewood Golf course in Milton. Or so that is what everyone said when we played there. I never saw his Mom but his Dad was always there with him. Not a great course, lots of trees, small greens, Etc. But it served the purpose. My son played in the same American Junior Golf Association as Bubba in Selma Ala. Different age groups, Bubba won overall and I think my son came in third in his Division.. He had a lot of people watching him even in those days.

Stonebrook and Hiram Cook always produced first rate tournaments for the Jrs. Good People..


AL.com
He grew up playing the game at Tanglewood Golf Course in Milton and Stonebrook Golf Club in nearby Pace, under the guidance of co-owner Hiram Cook.

"He lived and breathed the game seven days a week," Cook said.

"He was always at my house. I have a daughter (Robin Dezarn), who went on to play golf for Auburn and coach the women's golf team at the University of West Florida, and a son (Bryan) close in age to him.

"By the time he was 12 or 13, he could hit as far as the older boys. He always had lots of power." Did Cook think he could make it in the pro ranks?

"I didn't know if he could play in college, but he proved me wrong. He always had the talent, but I didn't know if he could control his mind and his attitude. Later on, his wife (Angie) and caddie (Ted Scott) have been key in this.

"More than anything he's learned to forget the bad shots."

After high school, Watson moved across the state line to Bay Minette, where he enrolled at Faulkner State Community College and played there for Coach Leo Kling III in 1997-99, earning Junior College All-American honors along the way.

During his time there he was on 18 all-tournament teams (out of 20 events played), won five events and was on the team that finished second at the junior college national tournament in 1998.

Kling remembers Watson had played in American Junior Golf Association events, where he became close with AJGA director Chris Hack.

"Chris subsequently resigned to become the golf coach at Georgia and I got a call from him asking could Bubba play for me as he couldn't get in Georgia (academically)? I was thrilled," Kling said.

Eventually, Watson graduated from both Faulkner State and Georgia.

"One day we were at Rock Creek for practice and a friend of mine was on the range, struggling with his driver," Kling recalled. "I asked Bubba to come over and hit a drive (left-handed like normal) which he flew at least 320 yards. He then proceeded to take my friend's right-hand driver, turned the face backwards and hit it 280 yards. He turned to my friend and said, 'It obviously wasn't the club.' Classic Bubba

He's being criticized for going to Waffle House to celebrate his win.

Another Watson good guy story...
http://www.augusta.com/masters/story/news/caddies-wife-gets-ring-help-bubba-watson

Nekochan wrote:He's being criticized for going to Waffle House to celebrate his win.

But he's not being criticized for it, neko. That's what's so cool. People are loving him for it.
Most people are waffle house people (including me).

Im not into golf, but I can vouch that southern stereotype bigotry is alive and well.

We have it here on this forum all the time.

and Ive seen it all my life.

Have a strong accent, people make a lot of assumptions that are not always correct and often not.

Bob wrote:

Nekochan wrote:He's being criticized for going to Waffle House to celebrate his win.

But he's not being criticized for it,  neko.  That's what's so cool.  People are loving him for it.  
Most people are waffle house people (including me).  

A guest on the Neil Cavuto show was criticizing him today for going to Waffle House.

Maybe he should have went to a strip club and ground on some Porn star whores....I guess that would be better to the media than going to the Waffle House with his wife. Worked for Tiger.

Nekochan wrote:

Bob wrote:

Nekochan wrote:He's being criticized for going to Waffle House to celebrate his win.

But he's not being criticized for it,  neko.  That's what's so cool.  People are loving him for it.  
Most people are waffle house people (including me).  

A guest on the Neil Cavuto show was criticizing him today for going to Waffle House.

I don't think Bubba cares....He got a green jacket, a lifetime invitation to future Masters Tournaments and he will be depositing a 1.62 million dollar check. The glory belongs to Bubba.

Somebody named Cuntvoodoo or whatever his name is can put talking heads on a tv show to trash Bubba Watson, but nobody is watching Fox Business Channel anyway so Bubba is still a hero to the masses.

Sorry, some folks here are so sensative that no matter what someone says, they discount it as a put down.

The headline praised that his accomplishments were no fluke and he was a good, down to earth guy.

My guess is that none of this fazed Bubba Watson in the least and that he is very proud of his second green blazer and the addition to his bank account.