Golf Course Rage

Posted July 12th, 2009 at 3:51 pm in Golf Swing

A Sign of the Times?

First we had road rage, then when that got old we progressed to air rage, and now finally, we have arrived at golf rage. Arguments and actual fights on the golf course due to slow play or other perceived transgressions are not a new phenomenon brought about by the current sad state of man's consideration to man but this may be one of the few times it's gotten so out of hand that it's resulted in serious injuries and a prison sentence.

It may seem a bit insensitive of me to post this in the golf swing category, I know, but a golf swing with a six-iron is what sent this guy to prison.

No Laughing Matter

C'mon guys it's just a game, isn't it? Not worth brain damage and someone's whole life being negatively impacted just because some discourteous jerk had to hit a mulligan, or two, or three, or…? Our golf clubs should not be classified as "deadly weapons." Besides, this isn't really about golf, is it?

According to court records this incident occurred as a result of an argument about slow play. The guy in the picture had his feathers ruffled because he got called on his slow play antics. Boy, if I had a dollar for every time that happened to me over a 35 year golf career I would truly be a rich man. However, no matter how idiotic some "golfer" acted in front of me, never once did I brandish a golf club and go on the attack, common sense prevailed, words were exchanged, then forgotten. Being hit with a golf club, any golf club, can kill you. Shoot, I would rather face an attacker with a golf club in hand than the biggest knife, they aren't called clubs for no reason, you know.

Slow play on the golf course has been a curse to the game since it was invented. No one really understands why it has become such a serious issue and what can be done to alleviate it but I can list a few of my own theories (see part 2). The PGA tour has had to accept the brunt of the outrage on this issue because they are the ones that amateur golfers emulate at the muni on Saturday. They see a pro on TV walk off the entire length of his approach shot to the green, waggle endlessly, plumb bob a 10 ft putt, mark a one-footer and take a whole bunch of time doing. I guess in their demented minds these amateurs think that by emulating the pros they will play like them. Tour players are reviled for deliberateness, a term used to soften slow play, even calling other players on it, right Mr. Sabbatini? or does anyone remember Glen "All" Day?

The tour has had to bow to pressure and now puts players on the clock. A two-stroke penalty when in competition will definitely wake you up! What the amateur golfer tends to forget is that the PGA Tour player is doing this for a living, millions of dollars are at stake and one mistake can cost him thousands. However, there are limits, remember the old Sergio? He used to have me screaming at the TV screen, pull the trigger, goddam it! Jack Nicklaus could stand over a putt until you thought he had had a stroke or something, somebody check his pulse! Hubert Green drove me nuts with his endless waggling and fidgeting.

The amateur sees this and the next time they go to the golf course they start acting like Sergio or Hubert. It's called paralysis by analysis, and it just kills the game.

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