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GOLFERS ARE MENTAL MASOCHISTS
"Golf is a game that creates emotions that sometimes cannot be sustained with club still on one's hand" Bobby Jones
The majority of sports today require both the participant, and the spectator to have masochistic tendencies. Spectators want action. They do not want to watch a boxing match with two powder puff punchers. They want to see someone get their block knocked off. They go to the car races to see the spectacular crashes. This is the case in nearly all so-called contact sports. Some youngsters get into contact sports to impress someone of the opposite sex. It is not that they enjoy getting beat around, but it seemed that that was the best way to impress the young lady. When I was in school I had a sports injury and had to walk around with a crutch for a couple of weeks. I was a hero, but I missed the big dance, and someone else took my girl.
Golf and golfers are different. They don't go out with the intention of hurting anyone physically, although I don't advise you to agitate one after a bad round. They go out to face mental anguish.
Pros, who play for a living, are exposed on TV, and their actions have resulted in new rules and fines for temper outbursts. There have been instances many years ago concerning habitual violators. Terrible Tommy Bolt was one, but the king of them all was W. A. "lefty" Stackhouse. I played behind him in a tournament on one occasion when he was not having a good day, and he lived up to his reputation. He used to love to gamble, and one time he was in a little money match and losing. He got mad and started beating his head against some rocks. He stopped momentarily and reached in his back pocket and took out his wallet. He threw the wallet t on the ground and told the guys he was playing with to take out what he owed them in case he killed himself, and then went back to beating his head against the rock.
Tommy Bolt is well remembered for the picture taken of him at the National Open one year when he was giving his driver some air time. He used to advocate always throwing your club ahead of you, so that you don't have use up any energy going back to pick it up.
Sergio Garcia claims that tournaments love to see him show up because they make money off of him in fines.
I had a youngster who used to take lessons from me in Florida. He became a good golfer, but was subject to throwing clubs. I got on his case pretty hard, and one day we we playing together and he was about to have apoplexexy. He wanted to throw a club so bad, but could not do so because I was there watching him. Finally he could stand it no longer and he went to the nearest sand trap and stuck his head in the sand and started covering his head with sand.
I had a member who would go wild at times and he would have spontaneous fits of temper and could be dangerous. We stopped him my making a rule that the first time he threw a club he would have to pay off all bets. He used pull a cart, and one day he was chipping to a green, and he stubbed his chip shot. He turned around and tried to spear his club into his bag, but missed. He tried it three times, and missed each time. Finally he picked bag and cart up and threw them over a fence.
We all have played golf when these little butterflies will perch on your hat or shoulder, and stay with you for a long time. This same man was getting ready to putt one day when one of these little butterflies lit on his ball. He chased it off and went through his routine in lining up his putt. Along came the butterfly back on his ball. This happened three times. After the third time he threw his putter down and shook his fist at the butterfly, and said, "You little S.O.B. If I catch you I am going to tear both of your wings off. Needless to say, this man died at a very early age.
I used to have printed on my score cards, "Golf reveals your character, play accordingly.' I don't think I mad a whole lot of friends with that, but I am of a devious nature.
Another one of my members was the nicest, most gentle person in the world away from the golf course. He was Jeykle and Hyde personality and I have seen him have three clubs in the air at the same time. One day we were coming back from playing at a resort club. On the way there we saw this nice little house nestled in the trees with a For Sale sign in front. He said that he wanted to stop and check that house out on the way home. He did not have a good day and was in a sour mood when we stopped to look at the house. The owner showed us through the house, and when he told my friend the price, which was very high, my friend said, "You have showed us the barn, now where is the house?"
Late one afternoon I noticed a golfer sitting and drinking a coke. He sat there for a long time and finally he got up to go home, and said, "If my wife don't have my supper ready when I get there, I am going to beat hell out of her. If she does have it ready, I am not going to eat it."