IS GOLF STILL A GENTLEMAN'S GAME?

With “The Masters” in hand, the topic of Bobby Jones, it’s founder and unarguably the best amateur of all time, always comes up. It can’t be helped, Bobby Jones is to The Masters what the USGA is to the U.S. Open; if you talk about one, you can’t help but to talk about the other one. Conversely, when you talk about Bobby Jones, you can’t help but to talk about the traditions and image of the game. In the last few years, and as recently as last week, there have been those who feel that the game is not what it once was: a gentleman’s game. I disagree.

The answer is categorically "YES", GOLF IS STILL A GENTLEMAN'S GAME (OR LADIES FOR THAT MATTER)... THE GAME IS THE SAME: IT'S HISTORY HAS NOT CHANGED. OR HAS BEEN REWRITTEN, NOR HAVE IT'S VALUES, WHICH ARE THE CORNERSTONE OF THE GAME. No other game reveals one's character as golf does. No other game's rules and history embody so many of life's principles as does the game of golf: judgement, honesty, respect, confidence, courtesy (etiquette), integrity, honor, sportsmanship, responsibility and perseverance.... among others; what has truly changed, simply, is people... the truth is that a great percentage of the people who play golf, or rather, who think they play golf, are truly playing a game I –and others- are not familiar with. Just because one can afford a set of “PINGS” and a dozen Titleist to hit around a regulation course, it does not make one a golfer. A true golfer has regard for all of the principles that the game represents, beginning with the simple acts of courtesy and respect.

People have changed, not the spirit of the game. So, if you love golf, you are not wasting your energy and we need more people like you.

Now, if you want to do a little extra for the game… and your community? Help us “patrol” our own grounds, our own community. Don’t allow people to disrespect the game, your city or even property, because, in the end, if they see a person with a set of clubs, doing something that should not be done, they’ll mistake this person as a “golfer”, when we know better. You want to help even a little more? Take a youngster to play golf and play by the rules, every rule, even playing the ball as it lies. Now, that will show this young person that rules are there to be followed and respected.

This is Masters week, remember not only Bobby Jones, but remember that golf made Bobby Jones, not the other way around…. and that is the beauty of the game.