Rules of Golf and Lessons in Life

Vicente Sotto III versus Angelito Alvarez
Oosthuizen Toasts Nelson Mandela

Some of the July 12 headlines touched on the demand from Sen. Vicente Sotto III that President Aquino rescind the appointment of Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez as the latter was reportedly caught cheating in a golf tournament in Alabang.

“If the President wants to have a clean image in (the Bureau of) Customs, he should not put someone there with a record of dishonesty,” Sotto is quoted as saying. He emphasized that as head of the historically and notoriously graft ridden Customs collections apparatus, the commissioner must adhere to the highest standards of honesty and integrity. As a suspected cheater in golf Alvarez would be rendered ineffective, Sotto’s statement implied.

While one might be tempted to scratch one’s head and wonder just how petty Philippine political discourse has become, one cannot offhand dismiss Sotto’s charges and concerns. Golf, after all, is a very apt metaphor for life.
I have played golf, starting quite late in life and thus am not in any way good at it. I do have an understanding of the rules and in a crude and simplistic way I will try to discuss how I believe the rules work.

Unlike basketball or other sports where there is a referee or umpire present to call infractions and mete out penalties, in golf the player is usually out there on the fairway by himself. So, if as an example, his ball sails into a wooded area ( a common occurrence, let me assure all) and finds that his ball is behind a grown tree (not a sapling) which stands between his ball and the green, he usually has to take a shot horizontally to move his ball to the fairway from which he can hit the next shot to the green. In the process an extra shot is added to his score (a bad thing in golf!)

Kicking that ball so that it is better positioned without losing a stroke is cheating. If a golfer tries to clear loose rubble, dried leaves or any other obstructions surrounding his ball he must do so without the ball moving even in the slightest way. If it does he is honor bound to report the infraction to the other players and charge himself with an extra shot. And that is the uniqueness about golf. It is a gentleman’s” game. Trying to get an undeserved advantage is an absolute “no, no”. It is far better to lose a round than to get a score that is better than what a golfer actually shot. This is true for the most accomplished professionals as it is for the novice.

I, and I’m sure many who play golf whether as weekend hackers or more avid aficionados, can therefore completely understand why Senator Sotto is so outraged to the point that he wants Alvarez to be kicked out of the country club he plays at and to have his appointment as Customs Commissioner rescinded. If the man can blatantly cheat in golf surely he has no place in respectable society, so to speak. Not that the Customs environment and reputation can really be labeled “respectable”.

And this goes to Sotto’s point, I think. Since P.Noy has forcefully and vigorously averred that a strict code of honesty and integrity will characterize his administration having an alleged golf cheater in the job would seem to run afoul of the president’s objectives.

And this is where golf as metaphor for life becomes relevant. If people can adhere to the rules of life with the same strict ethic required of a golfer, then there is, I believe, some hope that Philippine society and culture could transform and elevate.
President Barack Obama, in the few times that he committed a gaffe or was on the wrong side of an issue, is fond of citing such incidents as “teachable moments”. And I believe that is what we have with the Sotto outrage over Alvarez’ faus pax. It can be a teachable moment for all. We have here an opportunity to set a new standard of behavior for officeholders and the rest of Philippine society where a strict ethic is observed and those who violate the rules turn themselves in and face the consequences. Perhaps in this “new and improved” version of Philippine life, the mark of success of a public servant is how much poorer he is monetarily at the end of his term. Penury as the new badge of honor. How fascinating!

Can you imagine a Philippines where the president, his cabinet ministers, members of congress, governors, mayors and every manner of government official devoted his time, talents and energies not to the effort to enrich himself, his family and friends but to the task to which he swore he would undertake? Is this possible? Perhaps it is. We have a President Aquino who has a reputation for honesty and integrity and we have a Senator Sotto who exposes even the seemingly most trivial forms of cheating. So why not?

I recently saw the film “Invictus” which chronicled how a newly elected President Nelson Mandela used rugby as a means to create unity among the white and black populations of South Africa. Perhaps golf can do for the Philippines what rugby did for South Africa.

And speaking of which, this past weekend South Africa was once again the focus of worldwide sporting news. A white South African, Louis Oosthuizen spectacularly won the British Open, a one hundred and fifty year old tournament. After sinking the last putt on the 18th hole Louis very warmly embraced his black South African caddy Zack Rasego, a scene that was unthinkable in that formerly apartheid country only 20 or so years earlier. Oosthuizen further anointed the moment when he, first and foremost, dedicated his win as a tribute to Nelson Mandela who on that special day celebrated his 92nd birthday. Golf as a vehicle for racial harmony. What an accomplishment.

In discussing the golf controversy between Sotto III and Alvarez I do not intend to tar and feather the latter. All Alvarez has to do is admit to his mistakes on the golf course, turn in whatever benefits he may have gained, apologize to his fellow golfers and ask President Aquino to withdraw his appointment as Customs Commissioner. Alvarez can make this incident a true teaching moment for the country. Do the unexpected. Demonstrate in the clearest way possible that honor and integrity are more important for him than the Customs job. There can be redemption, yet it must be preceded by contrition. In golf, as in life, we all make mistakes. No one is perfect. And Angelito Alvarez will help himself immensely by recognizing and admitting this. And in the process help begin to usher in a new code of conduct in government. His golfing weekend, instead of sinking his reputation, could lead to the country’s reformation.

A most commendable feat indeed.

ldq@aol.com