Golf Yields One More ‘Lesson’

What can I say? Here I was ready to finally write finis to the golf analogies of the past couple weeks and what happens? Dustin Johnson happens, that’s what. For the unfamiliar, let me set the stage: there are about 15 to 20 or so golf tournaments in the US that are conducted under the auspices of the PGA, the Professional Golfers’ Association of America. There are a few others like the Dubai Open or the Shanghai open that are played annually around the world. There are, however, only 4 “major” tournaments:the Masters, at the Augusta Golf Club; the US Open held at different US venues each year; the British Open and the PGA championship, the season’s last major. The PGA championship is in fact referred to by CBS as “Glory’s last shot!”. It is the last opportunity for professional golfers to win a “major” in the calendar year. Needless to say, winning a major is a big deal. In fact an underlying storyline this past weekend was that it was Tiger Woods last and final opportunity to “redeem” his otherwise disastrous year (and I’m only referring to his golf). But this story is not about Tiger, it is about Dustin.

Last weekend ( Thursday thru Sunday) the PGA championship was played out at the Whistling Straits country club in Kohler, Wisconsin. It is a course that straddles the eastern shores of Lake Michigan and offers views that are both breathtaking and stunning in its beauty. The course, however, is challenging in its layout, length and its over 1,000 “sand traps”; so many of the latter in fact that the fairways and greens look like slender bodies of water surrounded by all that sand, which is probably how it got its name, i.e. straits. It is a course designed by the renowned golf course architect, Pete Dye. Perhaps as a backhanded tribute to his reputation, Whistling Straits is often called “Dyebolical”.

So here comes Dustin Johnson, this poor soul. He is a young golfer whose erstwhile claim to fame was his wretched meltdown on the final day of the US Open at
Pebble Beach a few months back.

Anyway, last Sunday he was in the final pairing at Whistling Straits. He was among 4 or 5 other young golfers who hugged the leaderboard all afternoon long. Finally, at the 18th hole he had a chance to win the championship outright by sinking a tantalizingly close 18 foot putt. He failed, bogeyed and was slated to participate in a 3 player playoff with Bubba Watson and German phenom Martin Kaymer, the eventual winner.

Poor Dustin, however, could not even join the playoff. Right after he sank his bogey and as he headed to the scorer’s table he was met by the chairman of the rules committee. “Not so fast, old boy!”. No, the chairman did not say that and in fact. approached Dustin with due reverence and respect. He did ask Dustin though, if, prior to his 3rd to the last shot, he had “grounded” his club prior to hitting the ball in the “bunker” (sand trap). Puzzled, “what bunker?” he asked. Wow, controversy city!

As it happens, his 1st shot went wayward and “off the ropes”. In fact it landed in the midst of about 200 spectators some sitting, some standing around what looked like ordinary terrain. As he was about to take his 2nd shot from where his ball landed no one ever noticed it was a bunker or sand trap. Not him, not his caddy, none of the golf commentators and analysts from CBS.

You see, in a “normal” bunker, only the golfer is supposed to be in there to make the shot. He can’t have his caddy in the trap. He can’t even lay another club in there. Needless to say there should be no spectators in it as well. So, the “ambiance” or setting, if you will, of the 2nd shot, did not lend itself to anyone noticing this was a trap. Dustin went into his normal routine in hitting a normal shot. Before hitting the ball, he let his club touch the ground immediately adjacent to the rear of his ball, or as the chairman later explained, he “grounded” his club. Which was then a violation costing Dustin a two-stroke penalty, thus casting him out of the playoffs.

Rules for hitting the shot in a bunker are quite strict and stringent. A golfer, for example, cannot try a practice shot on the sand itself. By “grounding” a club in the sand trap a golfer could gain an advantage because this action could give him a feel for the texture of the sand, therefore a no-no. And the thing about golf is that the golfer is personally and solely responsible for understanding the rules. If circumstances are such that clarification is necessary based on conditions, the golfer can and will always ask for a ruling from the official in the field. Yet the official is there to answer questions, not to provide golfers with unsolicited advice.

Dustin Johnson sadly, yet graciously acknowledged his mistake and accepted the verdict. In the process he lost an opportunity to be a prestigious “majors” champion and also the chance to win the $1.4 million first prize. Honor, honesty, integrity were more important to him, as it would be to many professional golfers.

And how this ties in to my two previous pieces is that perhaps Sen. Vicente Sotto III is really on to something when he emphatically and passionately expressed opposition to the appointment of Angelito Alvarez to the post of Customs Commissioner because, he said, the latter had cheated in a recent golf tournament. Transplanting golf ethics and behavior standards to Philippine government, business and even daily lives could create a triumphant transformation if it did indeed come about. The events on a golf course last weekend showcased the value of adhering rigidly to rules and not to digress into “accommodation” or in Philippine parlance “bigayan”. A policeman, for example, ought not to conveniently “look the other way” when writing up traffic violations simply because the person guilty of the infraction is a fellow government employee or a town mate. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for example, ought not be allowed to pardon Joseph Estrada with the expectation that her successor would act in a similar vein when the time comes for her to account for her and her family’s notorious transgressions. For the people to once again trust their government the virtues of honor, honesty and integrity must be the dominant strain in the DNA of the country’s leaders.

I hope that Sen. Sotto III continues with, and expands, his crusade to make the rules of golf, and strict adherence to the same, the standard by which Philippine public officials are judged and measured.And with Aquino III as president he has a strong and vocal ally.

And yes, this is finis to my golf series…perhaps.

ldq44@aol.com