Golf and the Moral Code

Golf and the Moral Code

Greetings Golfers,

So it looks like LIV is done. I can’t imagine that anyone is shocked. Maybe mildly surprised … but definitely not shocked.

A few nights ago, a friend sent me this article about the demise of LIV … LINK … I highly recommend reading it. The writer nails why we love golf … and why we loved the PGA TOUR.

If you notice … I said loved … not love. He believes that LIV was a bad influence on the Tour.

In a nutshell, he says that we play golf for love. And, that our heroes - PGA TOUR players - also played golf for love. As he said, “The money never made a particular impression on us, except as a convenient shorthand for who was playing best.”

And … “The PGA TOUR has dismissed the very thing that made it so singularly attractive: guaranteed NOTHING. Earn it, earn it, earn it. Earn the right to play in 2026 based on what you did in 2025, that’s golf. Earn the right to play on Saturday and Sunday based on what you did Thursday and Friday. Yep. Has worked forever.”

Jumping ship to LIV was just about greed. These guys weren’t starving. Greed is unbelievably unattractive. And basing LIV on greed was a recipe for failure.

I’m a Capitalist - not a Communist. I believe in freedom and liberty and independence and hard work. I see Communism as a form of slavery disguised as a form of love and fairness and equality.

And yet, I can see why Communism could be attractive. Capitalism without morality is ugly. Remember in the movie “Wall Street” when Gordon Gekko said, “Greed is good”? I almost puked.

What does greed lead to? Charming qualities like entitlement and pretentiousness.

But those are not just ugly Capitalist qualities. Communists have also taken on those qualities in their own way.

Both groups believe that they are entitled. And they believe that entitlement means they are above the law … and above the basic norms of civilized society. They even value being rude. Or worse.

I just read an article about streaming star Hasan Piker and writer Jia Tolentino discussing lawbreaking, which they both endorsed not as a habit of mind, but as resistance to “actual tyranny today.”

They agreed that shoplifting is good … because “every major grocery chain steals from workers and customers." And “Streaming services are bad for creators and worthy of being ripped off." Piker also said he would steal cars “if I could get away with it."

This is not civil disobedience, it’s self-centered rights violations … “I have concocted grievances about you, and as such, I get to take your things."

Again … this greed. This is not about doing the right thing. This is an ugly form of entitlement.

Why don’t these guys ever stand-up to the bad guys? Shoplifting? Really? That’s taking a courageous stand?

Both sides just want to rationalize their greedy, selfish, shallow behavior.

We need people to stand-up to both groups’ bad behavior.

Golf should be a game and a place that rewards hard work, skill, integrity, manners, and sportsmanship.

The PGA TOUR should set that example.

Cheers!

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com