If you were to ask the average person to give a short description of golf, I’m sure they might say things like country club, sedate, slow, boring, difficult, time consuming or any number of other similar phrases. What I’m guessing you would probably not hear are rules controversy, doping scandal or gambling problem. Yet recently all three of these issues have cropped up in the serene, gentlemanly world of amateur and professional golf.
In this year’s Masters tournament, Tiger Woods was penalized two strokes for an illegal drop after hitting an approach shot into a water hazard. What made this controversial was that at the time, the on course official ruled that Tiger had made a legal drop. It wasn’t until after the round, when an ex-golf official called in and noticed that Tiger had made an illegal drop thus incurring a penalty. Since Tiger had already signed an incorrect score card, it was possible that he would be disqualified from further play. He was allowed to go on because he (and the course official) did not know that he had made the illegal drop and he had signed what he believed was a valid score card.
Now a lot of people surmised that since it was Tiger Woods (still tv’s main golfing draw), the rules had been bent for his benefit. However, the rules do clearly allow for some discretion when the golfer signs what he thinks is a valid card. I have no problem with this for one and only one reason – the call-in rule. According to the USGA, it is appropriate for an outside source to call a penalty or at least bring this to the player’s or the official’s attention if they think a rule has been violated. In fact, this is not the first time that a tv viewer has called in a rules violation. My problem is that this act is purely arbitrary since not all golfers are on tv all the time except for Tiger and those in contention during the round. So, unless all golfers are under televised scrutiny at all times then none of them should be subjected to an unfair evaluation.
Also, earlier this year, Vijay Singh was suspended for using deer antler spray because it contains a banned substance. Now, upon further investigation, the PGA deemed that the amount of banned substance was infinitestimal and that Vijaj’s blood test showed no signs of the banned substance. So now, Vijay is suing the PGA for defamation of character and all of the other usual lawsuit indignities. My only question to Vijay would be, “Deer antlers? Really, did you run out of Motrin or Ibuprofin?”.
The last controversy this week concerned gambling by college athletes. It seems that college golfers gamble way more than any other college athletes. Now, I’m not sure if Vegas has odds for college golf matches, but I would bet (sorry ’bout that) that most of the gambling is done on the course in the form of some wagers that are almost as much a part of golf as the 19th hole beer and bragging. So, it’s probably safe to say that college golfers are not pulling a Pete Rose and betting on their own teams. And, if the gambling carries over to casinos or card games or football pools or whatever, well, isn’t that merely a microcosm of society? With all of the lotteries and casinos run by states and other municipalities to generate income, it seems hypocritical to chastise collegians for doing what the rest of society not only condones but also encourages.
Now, back to working on the short game.
