On Sunday in Dubai, as his round was slowly disintegrating, Tiger Woods knelt behind a putt on the 15th green. While trying to figure out the line, Tiger turned his head to the right and fired off a quit spit. Immediately, the announcers went off on him, pointing out that this was both disgusting and disrespectful because there were other people on the course and now they might potentially have to putt through Tiger's spit. (Although, this was Dubai and it was 115 degrees outside. For all we know it evaporated before it hit the green.) Still, the European Tour agreed and fined Woods an undisclosed amount for it the next day, after which Tiger apologized through Twitter. But, because this is Tiger Woods we are talking about, the issue couldn't just be over after that. People have taken to the airwaves and blogs to either condemn Tiger as a petulant brat who doesn't respect the game or defend him as a human being who did absolutely nothing wrong because, hey, everyone spits. As with most things in life, I find myself landing somewhere in the middle.
I'll start off by saying that I am not a spitter. Those who say everyone spits on the golf course have never played a round with me. I have never understood why some people think athletic competition is an excuse to become part-camel. However, I have friends who spit when they golf and I'm not about to end our friendships over a little saliva. My issue is with the location. If you have to spit, you shouldn't be doing it on the green. Aim for the woods or the deep rough. I find it very ironic that Tiger was grouped with Sergio Garcia, who might have conducted the most disgusting act on a golf course when he spit into the cup after he picked up his ball. I think about spitting the same way I think about smoking - I don't care if you do it, but watch where your smoke is blowing. I don't care if you spit, but do it over in an area where a ball shouldn't be landing. As long as your spit isn't going to end up on mine or anyone else's ball then we don't have a problem.
