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Duffy? Duffy!

© Bill Howard

Duffy Waldorf won at Disney World last week. He shot lights out in the last round and blew right past a certain golfer who shall remain nameless. Duffy winning isn't a total shock, he's won a few times before. This win guarantees his return to Augusta National for the Masters. This is good. Duffy, who has finished as high as tied for 5th, needs to be there.

Duffy wears shirts that can be charitably described as semi-Hawaiian. They might also be described as extremely floral prints. In a further affront to blandness, his baseball hats match. He is not hard to spot on the course. A sartorial breath of fresh air. He's no Doug Sanders, but at least he's bucking the trend.

He also plays with golf balls decorated by his kids. I read an article that compared them to Easter eggs. A passing glance at a Sports Center highlight might make you think he was playing a range ball. Again, existing against the grain... many bonus points.

Pondering Duffy's many admirable qualities brought another player to mind. Bruce Lietzke used to play just often enough to support his fishing habit. Since he was awfully good, he didn't have to play very often. I always thought that was an extremely cool plan. There, but for lack of a golf game, go I.

Waldorf, Lietzke, Craig Stadler, and a few others constitute the PGA Tour's counter culture. Guys who have a reasonable grip on the absurdity that surrounds them. Guys that are, for lack of a better word, real. Like the unique humans you and I play golf with, not packaged personalities. Guys like these are just fun to root for.

In my opinion, they are indispensable to the Tour. It's all beige out there without some floral print contrast. They are distinct individuals. Call them the spice, the flair, the good 'ol boys, or the lunatic fringe, they are desperately needed. They follow in the footsteps of Walter Hagen, Tommy Bolt, Arnold Palmer and countless others. There is no nobler path.

There are some new non-conformists on the horizon. As an example, I am convinced that Jesper Parnevik has just begun to explore his bizarre side. He shows staggering potential. I am unsure of the remainder of the current crop. We need to be on the lookout for those who dare to exist outside the cookie cutter. We need to identify and encourage them. If they can encourage us to play golf, we can encourage them to be human. It's the least we can do.

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