The Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup

Greetings Golfers,

The Ryder Cup.

We need to talk about it. But first … let me start with some quotes:

“We can easily forgive a child who’s afraid of the dark. The tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” — Plato

“I just read that the PGA of America hired a ‘comedienne’ to fire up the crowd by everyone chanting ‘F-you Rory’. Who ever hired her should be fired.” — Some guy on Facebook

“The slow unhurried courtesy which was once the accepted manner of an American, gives way to an impersonal brusqueness in other places, particularly those under the influence of New York. There, a pleasant mien is apparently held as a sign of weakness.” — An old (1950) book I’m reading

And … a letter written to George Washington by his friend Chris Madsen, who was being held captive by the British during the War of Independence: “All of them behaved with decency to me and I have not had the least insult offered to me.”

I guess that the Ryder Cup is more combative than war.

What’s going on? How did our society become so disrespectful?

Don’t tell me that America was phony and now it’s “real.”

I like directness. I don’t like phonies. But that doesn’t mean being disrespectful.

Back to that Plato quote … those “fans” at the Ryder Cup aren’t afraid of the dark … they embrace the dark. They hate the light.

PGA of America chief executive — Derek Sprague — said, “It’s unfortunate that people crossed the line last week.”

Yeah … how about taking responsibility for that madness.

Sprague again, “There’s no place for this at the Ryder Cup, nor in the game of golf, and we are not happy with what happened.”

Ok … you didn’t see this coming?

I like to think of golf as a sanctuary from the madness. Not a phony, uptight scene … but as a genuinely fun, friendly atmosphere.

Our society has become hyper-critical. People sitting on the sidelines of life and complaining about everything.

Here’s a great quote from Teddy Roosevelt:

“It’s not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strongman stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is actually marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while doing greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory or defeat.”

Teddy nailed it — written about 100 years ago. Since then, we’ve become a society of petty bystanders … who think that being important is being a critic.

I see all of this as a rejection of personal responsibility. That “I have a right to be a jerk, and you can’t call me out on it.”

You wonder why we’re having trouble in our country? People are rude and nasty and irresponsible. And are proud of it.

Basically … a society of spoiled children. And I don’t mean rich kids … I mean that so many people are so removed from reality that they can’t deal with anything. They are the opposite of Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena.”

What I’ve always loved about golf is: Hit it, find it, deal with it.

What a great wake-up call.

The meaning of life is how we deal with reality. As a spoiled child … or as a grown-up?

We can’t keep on allowing or even rewarding bad behavior. It will only escalate.

Cheers!

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