Oh my, Phil McGleno aka Phillip McClelland O’Grady aka Mac O’Grady is making news headlines for the first time in a while.  "When Nicklaus and Palmer played, when (Ben) Hogan played and Sam Snead played, on a scale of zero to 10, they were a nine-plus," he said. "Tiger Woods is not even a one-plus."

"The reason why (Woods) can hit it on the green is because he has square grooves," he said.

"He doesn’t have that, he’s dead. He cannot do it — it’s impossible. For him to go after Nicklaus’ records is cheating. This is like steroids."

Single word response; WOW!  How do you like that for brash off the wall nonsense? Mr. McGleno/O’Grady/ O’Grady has obviously has one too many name changes leading him to believe anyone would take him seriously.  To call Tiger Woods a complete hack exemplifies chutzpah enough to make my grandmother respond "Oy vey".  What is this guy thinking?  Oh right, he’s not.  My bad.  These three quotes are without doubt the most ridiculous things a non politician has said since my Uncle Norton volunteered to go first in a game of Russian Roulette played with a single shot weapon.

I should just leave this end here but for the sake of argument and a little filler let’s examine these statements a bit closer.  To say that Mr. Woods is not even a one plus on a scale of ten without todays equipment is equivalent to saying no golfer can compare to Tom Morris, Old and Young, because that was real golf.  The equiment allowed Nicklaus, Palmer, Player and the rest to play as well as they did; why they even used machines instead of sheep to mow the grass. That’s not golf as it was meant to be played.  Mr. McGleno/O’Grady/O’Grady is apparently of the belief that it was only his generation that could play the game properly.  My guess is he’s a closet Luddite.

Next is the statement that Mr. Woods can only hit the green because of square grooves.  Hello.  Earth to McGleno/O’Grady/O’Grady, you can’t really mean if I gave Mr. Woods a V grooved wedge he’d be unable to hit the green can you?  If this isn’t one of the most bitter statements I’ve never seen a case of "wedge envy" before.  The Eagles wrote a song about this whole thing; Get Over It.

To compare the use of modern equipment in golf to the use of steroids in other sports mimics whistling past the graveyard on a dark and stormy night, it’ll make you feel better a little bit about your own mortality.   How much have scores improved?  Are there a raft of players scoring the equivalent of hitting 70 home runs.  Is it easier to get the ball in the hole?  Did you watch the US Open by any chance and take note of the winning score? 

There’s more but you get the idea.  I’ve not read a more childish set of statements uttered in earnest.  My initial reaction was to offer Mr. McGleno/O’Grady/O’Grady some cheese and crackers to enjoy with his whine.  That was followed by my wondering what’s the motivation for these assertions? Does he hope to get his name in the papers?  Well that worked.  It also got him all over the internet because there are a lot of folks like myself .  Maybe I should throw away my 460cc headed driver, cavity back irons,  square grooved wedges, and three piece urethane covered ball because I’m overwelmed with guilt at the prospect of being a cheat and the equivalent of a drug user.  Oh the anguish.  Consternation grips my thoughts; I’m torn by the ethical dilemma the words of Mr. McGleno/O’Grady/O’Grady have created inside my tiny little brain. What to do! What to do!  HA!  The game is too much fun these days,  not easy, but fun so I do believe I shall continue on and leave the whiner to cry in the desert on his own.  I don’t believe my soul is in danger, nor do I believe the soul of the game is in any dire need of repair.