A gentleman can be defined as a well-mannered man, and golf, is a gentleman’s sport
By Bret Walts
Golf is a centuries old sport. It is said to have originated on the links in Scotland and hundreds of years later, in a country that is younger than golf itself, golfers play from sea to shining sea making millions and pleasing fans.
Now, if you’re not familiar with the game, there are a couple of things you need to know. Golf was made to be a gentleman’s sport. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s only the wealthiest, high classed men would play the game. Of course, when amateur golfer Francis Ouimet won the US Open in 1913, the way the world thought of golfers began, in a way, to change. Ouimet, only 20 at the time, defeated Harry Vardon, who is considered the best golfer of that time, and Ted Ray. The defeat of British golfers Vardon and Ray brought about a change in golf for America and for those who are less fortunate. In fact, in what might be amongst the most famous golf movies on the planet, the Ouimet, Vardon, Ray battle was documented in the 2005 movie, The Greatest Game Ever Played.
While golf has expanded to a place where it is morally acceptable for anyone to play, one thing has not changed. Golf is still a gentleman’s sport. To play golf, specifically professionally, but also leisurely, one must know proper etiquette. Along with that, there are no referees in golf. It is the responsibility of the golfer to bring attention to any problem or possible penalty. A golfer is expected to call a penalty upon oneself if one is noticed. It is worth noting, with new modern technology, any unnoticed penalties are often caught and assessed. However, it is still the responsibility of the golfer to bring any possible infraction to the attention of an official or a competitor. Cheating, on the professional level, is an exceptionally uncommon occurrence, so much so that most fans have never even seen a pro golfer cheat. Frankly, it just doesn’t happen. Golfers are expected to know the rules of golf and how they apply, and there are many. As a gentleman’s sport, golfers are expected to be courteous to fans, respectful to the course, and cursing, among other un-sportsman like conduct, is frowned upon.
And then, there is Tiger Woods.
Woods is considered one of the, if not the greatest, golfers to ever walk the planet. Woods’ 14 major championships and 80+ wins worldwide at such a young age was unprecedented, and was a shoe in to surpass Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships. That is, until his 2009 sex scandal. Since that time, Woods has not won a major, and until recently, was not a factor in hardly any tournaments. However, that’s beside the point.
The point of Woods is that he is not, in fact, a golfer. Listed above are all the things it takes to be a golfer. The only thing missing is talent, and that separates a golfer from a professional golfer. However, Woods is neither. Go out and follow Woods at a golf tournament one day. Woods curses. Woods throws his club when he hits a bad shot. He slams his clubs on the ground. He spits in golf holes – yes, he did that. He pulls out of tournaments with mysterious injuries when he is playing poorly. He hardly acknowledges his fans, even though he still has a faithful following of fans that believe he is a golf god. He may be, but he is still no golfer. And to put the icing on the cake, Woods clearly doesn’t have a grasp on the rules of the game.
Not just once, but on several occasions just this season. Most recently, in the BMW Championship, his ball was caught on camera moving after Woods removed a loose impediment from behind his ball. While the ball hardly moved, it did move. Even the slightest movement from its position would incur a two stroke penalty. Woods decided, without calling an official over for standard procedure, the ball oscillated; therefore he continued and said nothing. Later when it was pointed out, instead of accepting his mistake, he was involved in a heated argument with an official. Not that he had recently incurred several penalties such as this recently, no, to Tiger, he is always right.
At the Masters in April, Woods took an illegal drop and was lucky to only incur a two stroke penalty, he could have been disqualified. In an important worldwide event in Abu Dhabi, Woods took illegal relief from a sandy area for an embedded ball, incurred a two stroke penalty, and missed the cut. At The Players Championship in May, a tournament in which Woods won, he took a “questionable” drop on the 14th hole on the way to victory. In fact, commentator and former professional golfer, Johnny Miller went on to say on the air: “That Tiger drop was really borderline. I can’t live with myself without saying that.”
While the Woods penalties are the most recent area of discussion, the on course mannerisms really tell the tale. Woods curses, well, can yell almost any curse word in the dictionary when he hits a poor shot, without the consideration that there are young children around. He certainly doesn’t act like a gentleman. He has proved he doesn’t know the rules; he isn’t as likely to give a golf ball or an autograph to a young fan on the golf course as his rival, Phil Mickelson. Other than the fact that he is an exceptional player of the game, Woods has no real aspects of being golfer, and with his age quickly growing, he has a short amount of time in his professional career to become one.