Superstition is … An irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome.
A belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation.
An irrational abject attitude of mind toward the supernatural, nature, or God resulting from superstition.
A notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary.
People say that golfers, by nature, are superstitious. We always see Tiger Woods in a RED T-shirt on Sundays play … let us take a look at some other professionals bitten by the superstition bugs (as picked up on the net):
Fuzzy Zoellerwas in the final round of the 1995 GTE Byron Nelson Classic. "We're on the sixth hole," remembers Cayce Kerr, Zoeller's longtime caddie. "He turns to me and says, 'Mex, you got a nickel?' I ask him what he needs a nickel for. He says, 'On the first hole I used a quarter, the next three holes a dime. Now the penny doesn't work, either. It's gotta be the nickel!' " Kerr laughs. "A couple of months earlier," he says, "Fuzzy told me he didn't have any superstitions."
Jesper Parneviknever marks his ball with the coin "heads" up. However, once at the BellSouth Classic with his caddie Lance Ten Broeck, "We had four dimes," Parnevik recalls, "and we're like, 'Which one are we going to play?' That's the biggest decision we make all day: which dime we're going to use. So we toss all four in the air, and whichever comes up tails is the one we'll use, but all four come up heads. We throw them up a second time and all four come up heads again. So now we've got to throw them up a third time. All four come up heads again."
"Sometimes even the underwear is important," Parnevik says. "At the Honda Classic this year my wife bought me five new pairs of underwear, and I won. Maybe that will be my new thing."
Mark O'Mearainsists on using white tees, not because he thinks they make him play better, but because the colored ones leave marks on his ball.
Superstitious or just a matter of preference?
Phil Mickelsononly uses high-numbered Titleists (5 through 8) not because he's afraid of low numbers, but to avoid confusing his egg with someone else's. Really?
Frank Sarubbi, manager of a Nevada Bob’s in the Monterey area, told a story that Mickelson’s caddie, Jim MacKay, came into the shop the week of the AT&T and “bought every short white tee that I had in the store. He said, ‘That’s what he uses, only white.’”
Curtis Strange"I never wore anything but the solid red," says Curtis Strange, who started the crimson tide back in the late 1980s. "That was the only shirt Nike made that looked any good.”
Scott Hoch"If I see something becoming a trend, I'll do something different just to prove otherwise," says Scott Hoch. "I've worn a new shirt and played poorly, then worn it a second time and played well. My wife says, 'Don't wear that shirt. You played lousy in it.' I tell her that's why I'm wearing it again."
Jack Nicklaus carries three coins in his pocket. Nicklaus once explained, "If I carried only one penny and lost it, I'd be without a ball marker. If I had only two pennies and lost one and a fellow player needed to borrow one to mark his ball, I'd be still out of ball markers."
Superstition or just being practical?
But it seems that Nicklaus does have a few. He always marked his ball with the tails facing up. On par 3s he would keep his good tees in his pocket and search for a broken one on the tee box.
John Cookwon't mark his ball with one of the new quarters unless it represents a state in which he has had success.
Ernie Elshas said that every ball has only one birdie in it, insinuating that he usually ditches them after he makes one.
Davis Love III“I don’t really have any, except I only mark my ball with a 1965 or 1966 penny and I only use white tees.”
Tom Lehman“I might mark my ball with a dime, if it’s working. If that’s not working I try a penny, or if that’s not working I’ll try a Spanish coin or something I have lying around. If I’m driving the ball great, I’ll make sure I’m using the same color tee. It seems like subconsciously I tend to wear blue a lot when I’m playing well. A lady gave me a tea leaf necklace in Hawaii last year and it was in the bag nearly all year. A buddy of mine gave me a four-leaf clover, so I kept that in the bag. Oh, and I always mark with a penny and I always have the head facing up.”
Todd Hamilton“I carry some coins that are supposed to be lucky, just things I’ve picked up over the years and had success with them and kept them in my pocket. But some days they don’t quite work.”
Joe Ogilvie“The only superstition I have is when I’m putting well or I make a long putt, I usually use the same ball marker for a while. But I don’t have a specific one that I use. Also, I never change my underwear if I shoot under par.” He paused, then said, ”No, I’m just kidding.”
Paul Azingermarks his ball with the penny head facing upwards and always with Lincoln looking at the hole.
Fred Funkflips his coin on the green, and if it lands on tails he marks the ball in a normal fashion. If it comes up heads, he'll turn the coin to make sure the head is facing the hole. “If it's facing backwards,” he says, “I feel I'll three-putt the hole.
So, the question is,
Are You Superstitious?
