Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Golf, unfortunately, often has the stigma of being fairly dull and boring attached to it. The young, new breed of players are doing a lot to rid the game of this image.
Tiger has done wonders for the sport in the past decade or so, but every now and again incidents occur to show the public that golf is not the old 'fuddy duddy' game it, maybe, once was.
Henrik Stenson hit the headlines during the first round of the WGC-CA Championship at Doral with an impromptu strip show on the third hole. The Swedish star hit a wayward drive and his ball landed close to the water hazard in a particularly muddy part of the course.
With Stenson running the risk of having to play the rest of his round with dirty clothes from his swampy lie, he decided to ditch almost all of his attire before playing his shot. Spectators got more than they bargained for when Stenson stripped off before hitting his second shot.
Standing in the water and wearing only his underwear and a golf glove he managed to get the ball back into play and save himself a shot. Playing in Florida he didn't have any rain gear in the bag so that more preferable option went out of the window.
Golfers these days are athletes - a very different shape to some of the big names from years gone by. I don't think that many of the stars from yesteryear would have been too keen to strip off in front of their gallery; a pair of muddied slacks would have been far preferable!
Golfers are more image conscious nowadays, and while I hope golf never goes the way of the footballing prima donnas, there is no doubt that the top players are global stars and they have no problem with upping their profiles through a piece of well placed publicity. What are the odds of an underwear sponsorship deal now for the Swede?!
Unusual incidents like this one occur from time to time during tournament golf; the prizes in the game are now so big that players will do almost anything to save a single shot.
Jean Van de Velde taking off his shoes and socks and attempting to play from the Barry Burn springs to mind. The Frenchman was leading the 1999 Open Championship by three on the 72nd hole when a series of poor shots and bad luck led to his ball finishing in the water.
What followed is now famous golfing history and while Van de Velde lost the Open in those moments of madness, the headlines hit the back pages, the public enjoyed the spectacle and interest in the sport increased.
Players climbing trees to hit shots, hitting balls off their knees, falling in the water, animal intrusions onto the course; I could go on all day. But a striptease - that's a new one!
Golf is heading the right way and has a bright future; the players are more appealing to a wider audience, we have a large batch of potential superstars to help grow the game, but these incidents can only help to increase public interest in our sport.
I'm just glad, for golf's sake, that it was Stenson and not John Daly playing from the Florida mud!!
