Jack Nicklaus, who at this writing still holds the title of Greatest Golfer Ever, advises kids not to focus on just one sport:

“You see kids specialize in golf. I think that is idiotic,” he said. “To play all the sports is great. I played everything. My dad played everything. Golf to me was just another sport until I was about 19. When I won the National Amateur at 19, I finally said, ‘Hmm, I must be a little better than I think I am.’ It was just a game - still is a game.”

His advice to young golfers?

“I think kids should be playing everything, doing everything,” he said. “Eventually, if you want to specialize in something, that’s fine. But go out and enjoy, and be happy to be able to play other things.”

I think its going to be interesting to see whether the current generation of young golf stars—especially those who have been focusing on the game since a relatively young age—will show the same kind of longevity as Nicklaus. I’ve long thought that Tiger would face this issue. Nicklas was very competitive into his 40s, but he didn’t play a full round of competitive golf until he was in his teens. In that sense, Tiger (and others) have a six to ten year head start on Nicklaus.

Seve Ballesteros perhaps is the poster child for this. He turned pro at 16, and won the last of his five majors at age 31. He was a physical and mental wreck by 40.

Tiger is such a freak of nature, though, that this probablky doesn’t apply to him. But others with lesser physical skills trying to follow in his footsteps may run into trouble.

Although terms of the agreement were not officially disclosed, Tiger’s recent $100 million deal with Gatorade seems likely to put him at—or near—the $1 billion mark for career endorsements. Think about that. Golf has made Woods the first billionaire in professional sports.

While as a free market economist, I understand intellectually the idea that Tiger should be able to charge whatever the market can bear, there’s a part of me wondering how our priorities got so out of whack. How in God’s name did a golfer come to be worth a billion dollars? In the end—foundations and charity not withstanding—golfers produce nothing of lasting value—not jobs, nor products that make people’s lives better or easier. I’ll toss golfers loosely into the same category as actors and junk bond dealers.

But maybe I’m underselling the actors. A movie star can, at least, provide jobs for thousands in the film industry by lending her star power to the selling of tickets.

But now I’m starting to sound like a socialist., and must remind myself that income is all a matter of supply and demand. Tiger can demand unlimited rents because there is only one Tiger. Business owners, doctors, nurses—and movie actors—in comparison, are a dime a dozen.

Still, I wonder what makes Gatorade think that Tiger is worth $100 million to their business. When I think Gatorade, I think sweat. And that’s not what I associate with golf.  Sure, golfers get drenched when playing, but it’s not a good basketball or football effort sweat; it’s an “I’m standing around and it’s hot” sweat.

Mrs. Golfblogger says that I’m a natural skeptic, but even working hard to be optimistic, I can’t see this deal working for Gatorade. I frankly don’t know many golfers who chug sports performance beverages while playing. Mostly, they drink beer. Or water. And I can’t imagine anyone could think that drinking Tigerade will improve their game; it’s a big enough stretch to think that playing the same ball and clubs will help.

So Tiger must be adding something else to the Gatorade franchise. As it turns out, he’s picked out the flavors: cherry blend, citrus blend and grape. And, he apparently will be donating his sweat for analysis. Gatorade will figure out what he’s leaking through his pores, and replicate it in the drink. So golfers all over the world will be able to chug Tiger sweat.

Yuck. I’ll leave tasting his sweat to Elin.

But the striped one isn’t going to stop there. Apparently, other products in the offing:

“Gatorade has been part of my game plan for years, whether I’m training or competing, so this is an ideal match,” Woods said in a statement. “I’m eager to launch my first signature product in a few months and look forward to developing additional sports performance beverages with Gatorade in the coming years.”

How about a Tiger Woods Gatorade Popsicle so you can lick his sweat?

AP golf writer Doug Ferguson touts Tiger’s most recent adventures and then asks a scary question: What if Tiger still hasn’t hit his prime?

I don’t think he has. But I also think that his peak is closer than we think. He’s been playing golf for a very, very long time, and in spite of his unprecedented conditioning, all of those violent swings have to take a toll on his joints.

Jeff Maggert has some suggestions for improving the FedEx Cup format:

“I’d like to see Tiger play all four tournaments,” Maggert said. “I’m sorry he’s not here. ... I’d like to see some type of criteria or rule that if you pull out of a tournament, you’re pulling out of the playoffs.

“Another thing I would like to see the last tournament, maybe everyone starting equally, because then you eliminate the fact that a guy could win the first three tournaments and the last tournament means nothing.”

Interestingly, he is pretty much saying the same thing that Sabbatini said earlier—that the Tour players are unhappy that Tiger decided to sit out the first round because he was “tired.” Maggert, however, doesn’t have a history of saying things about Tiger, so he won’t get the same kind of flack.

He’s at it again. Rory Sabbatini has taken another verbal shot at Tiger. This time, he seems miffed about Tiger’s absence from the first round of the FedEx Cup.

“It’s a disappointment because obviously the whole purpose of this new system was to try and create an atmosphere that would draw everybody to the final four events of the year,” Sabbatini said. “Obviously, it has kind of backfired by Tiger skipping the first event.”

“It leaves a lot of questions and a lot of interesting questions to what they need to do,” the 31-year-old South African said after his bogey-free, eight-birdie round. “Maybe change it so that you definitely have the incentive to play all four. Whether it be, you play three you only get 75 percent of the $10 million or you play two, you get 50 percent, make it something where, ‘You want the $10 million, you’ve got to play for it.’”

And as for Woods’ claim that he needs a break after having played two weeks in extreme heat (as did many of the golfers here), “Oh, I definitely think it’s something other than fatigue,” Sabbatini said.

On the one hand, I think Sabbatini is just saying what a lot of golfers are thinking.

On the other, he needs to remember that discretion is the better part of valor.