Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Stephen Duncan on December 14, 2009 at 4:50am

I am not at all a sports collector, but it sure sounds silly to get a golf ball signed, when if given the chance, a Sports Illustrated or a golf magazine sure would be a better and clearer signed collectable.

Permalink Reply by Louis Becerra on December 17, 2009 at 4:15pm

I suspect that the Woods signed golf balls may have been signed earlier in his career before he adopted a personal policy of not signing them. Or, they could have been signed for close friends or family of his and changed hands with others. Most up and coming stars will sign anything early on in their career, and get more particular about their signing habits and what items they sign later on after they become wildly popular...

Permalink Reply by DB on December 6, 2011 at 9:13am

In lieu of a recent "auctioneers" episode on Tiger Woods signed golfballs thought we'd bring this thread back.  Seems Tiger stopped signing golf balls in 1997 and while there may always be rare exceptions he seems to hold...

So as I was watching this episode it appears that this individual name Winward was trying to sell a Tiger Woods signed golf ball.  The story goes that his now ex-wife and father were walking a course (torry pines) where Woods was practicing and hit an errant shot.  She alledges that she picked it up and asked Tiger to sign it which he supposedly did.  During the divorce one of the attornies estimated the value at several thousand dollars as part of the financials.

The auctioneers brought in an expert who specializes in Tiger Wood Golf balls and while the signature seemed "passable" there was something troubling him about the ball.  He then contacted the manufacturer who indicated this specific ball wasn't issued for use until the mid 2000s (i.e. 2005...) and thus it would be impossible for Woods to have signed it 14 or 15 years earlier.

the episode closes with Winward giving the bird to the cameraman while having a "meltdown" on why his wife would have alledgedly mislead him.  It's an interesting episode to watch in it's entirety.

Permalink Reply by DB on December 6, 2011 at 9:45am

and in partial answer to the why question:

“It is Tiger's policy NOT to sign golf balls,” said Rob McNamara, vice president of Tiger’s ETW Corporation. “This has been his policy since a very early age, prior to turning professional.”

It’s much the same for Mickelson.  Mickelson has signed a number of balls for each of his children and locked away the boxes, hoping his children’s special gift will be valuable years from now.”

Golf balls are small with uneven surfaces that make them difficult to sign in the best of circumstances and certainly not when a player is walking or moving through a crowd.  The fact that they are hard to sign is compounded when those signatures then become hard to authenticate and even major authenticators have been fooled.

Reports from McNamara relate that Tiger can’t remember the exact date, the superstar stopped signing golf balls but apparently it was before he turned pro and that could certainly coincide with 1997 as he won his first major (the masters) although he was ROY for 1996 with the PGA.

Permalink Reply by DB on January 17, 2012 at 1:21pm

Mike you are certainly entitled to your belief and theory.  It would also seem to me Rob McNamara would be in a much better position.

I wonder what the value of a Tiger Woods golf ball would fetch by his kids if Tiger was playing 18 in the clouds?  Would it be the equivalent to his portfolio (or what he still has left at the moment) of course not....  but for some it would be valuable as it defines him to the sport he loves.

Nonetheless, I'll take McNamara at his "observation" until such time there is empirical evidence to the contrary.

Wow, they will actually confiscate memorabillia... what have you autograph hounds done to those poor Golfers   lol