Stewart Cink gives me a lesson on how to Twitter

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Twitter account active. No posts but already have seven followers. Now comes the hard part. What to do with my first 140 characters?

They said this was going to be fun. And easy. After all, words are my life. I do my best thinking when my hands are on a keyboard and I'm trying to take you inside Tiger's visit to the Oval Office or Greg Norman's world during last year's Open Championship or Phil Mickelson's latest adventure.

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But what could I have to say in 140 characters that would capture someone's attention? A peek at the press room? A view from just inside the ropes? A candid moment from the parking lot?

Faced with the unknown, I sat down in the locker room with Stewart Cink . A couple of months ago he was in exactly the same place. And now? He's passed the 150,000 mark in followers, given away a Nike driver and is the official king of tweeting on the PGA TOUR.

He got the idea while watching ESPN's PTI -- Pardon the Interruption, of course -- which happens to be his favorite show. Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser were debating whether Toronto's Chris Bosh -- he played at Georgia Tech as did Cink -- was tweeting in the right way.

"Tony and Wilbon were asking -- is this too much information?'' Cink said. "They were saying, they see this as in the future that this could be the way players are going to sidestep the media and getting the information out unfiltered withithout depending on a writer or columnist to get their ideas into words.''

Cink asked his sons about it and it sounded simple. So they helped him open an account and he tried not to overthink his first post. He just went with stream of conciousness.

Taking the kids to hockey practice ... again.

Pretty soon he had 22 followers. One story later, he had 375. Then 3,000. He posted pictures at the Masters, a few more reporters noted that and he was over 100,000. Heck, he picked up 450 followers Tuesday afternoon during a 90-minute workout in the gym.

So why should I start tweeting?

"I can't answer why you should, but I know why I did,'' he said. "The reason I picked it up was because out here it's difficult to get your personality through the camera lens and to the people unless you're Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson or Anthony Kim. You know, flamboyant personalities. And golf is a sport where we struggle to be known for who we are because of the way you sort have to keep yourself -- even keel, keep your emotions in check -- to play the game.

Halleran/Getty Images

Stewart Cink is the patron saint of Twittering on TOUR.

"Tiger thrives on the fist pumping and charisma. Most of us do better when we stay the course, even-keel and boring, basically, so I thought that would be a way to get out a little of who I am rather than go through the traditional media outlets. No offense.''

None taken. For what it's worth, Cink's posts -- sorry, "tweets" sounds strange -- are very Stewart. I've known him for more than a decade now and he writes like he speaks, which your best writers always do. Ever talked to Dan Jenkins? It sounds pretty much like you're talking with one of his semi-fictional characters.

Cink doesn't over-golf his followers. Take this week's PLAYERS Championship. He might snap a picture from the 17th tee today or let you know what it's like to watch that tee shot roll into the water -- something every player in the field has had happen to them. He'll also talk food, give you a view from his room and ... well, just twit in. (Click here for Cink's Twitter feed.)

"Rest is just about crap that happens to me that I think people can identify with; things that I find funny,'' he said. "I always find little things that happen in life that are very funny ... and just try to put those things on there.

"I get a kick out of posting it and I think people get a kick out of reading it ... I turned it into a legitimate fan base that I would never been able to reach before.''

The basic premise to all this started out as, hey, what are you doing? But Cink has morphed it into more of what are you thinking? Or what are you experiencing?

He said the key is to give people something they can't get with a ticket. Like an inside-the-ropes picture from the Masters. And don't sweat the time factor.

He sends 30-40 text messages a day to friends and family, so what's another few posts?

"When people ask how do you find the time, I think, what time?'' he said. "I do it between the parking lot time and the first stop sign.''

And it doesn't take much time to read everything sent to him either -- and he does read them all.

One follower even taught him how to save a waterlogged iPod -- he left the roof of his truck open and it rained -- by sealing it in a Ziploc bag with rice.

Meanwhile, among Cink's latest observations is one in which he noticed how tall Lakers coach Phil Jackson sits in his chair and how he whistles with both fingers in his mouth -- like he's calling a dog -- most of the game.

"Little things that you think are mundane -- things you know that I don't know, things I know you don't know -- people out there love it,'' he said. "It's stuff they can't get anywhere else.''

With that, my lesson was done. Cink had to do a radio show in Atlanta, then do the math and post the name of his 150,000th follower and winner of a Nike driver.

Me? I went off to study Cink's tweets and sign up to follow a few other players -- Davis Love III, Parker McLachlin. Chris DiMarco and Ian Poulter. And, of course, ponder this column and my first tweet.

Now both are done and posted.

Off to find Fred Couples .... After that, meet up with Cink to have him critique my first tweet. And see if he kept it dry at 17.

Melanie Hauser is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.