Golf world mourns the loss of Steve Jobs

• By Rex Hoggard
• Oct 6, 2011 8:30 AM ET

It is a telling sign of Steve Jobs’ reach that the Apple founder was mourned on Wednesday across golf-dom despite reports that he was no fan of the game.

According to an August 2011 report on CNN.com, Jobs, who died on Wednesday following a lengthy bout with pancreatic cancer, refused to hold staff meetings at resorts with golf courses and in 2010 Karsten Manufacturing forced Apple into a trademark agreement when the electronics giant dubbed its iTunes social music program Ping.

But on Wednesday many in the game mourned the loss of Jobs.

“Steve Jobs RIP,” Ian Poulter tweeted. “You have changed the way people work forever. A true genius.”

While Nationwide Tour player Brock Mackenzie joined the chorus tweeting, “I bet even God has an iPod. RIP Steve Jobs.”

“Great people are never forgotten,” tweeted Luke Donald.

Tweeted Jason Gore, “3 Apples that changed the world: the one that Eve ate, the one that fell on Newton's head & the one that Steve built. Godspeed Steve Jobs.”

Like almost every other sporting endeavor, golf had embraced the functionality and reach of Jobs’ iTunes/iPod/iPad/iPhone platform. Ping introduced its putting iPhone “cradle” last year – a device that allowed users to attach the iPhone to a putter shaft and measure stroke type, impact angle and tempo – and a search of iTunes’ “app store” produced over 500 golf applications for the iPhone.