Now that all the smoke has settled from the past two major USGA
events, let’s talk a little bit about what went down from the bigger picture. Let me begin this post by saying I agree that something has to be done in regards to video replay if they are going to implement something like that in the future, but let’s look even bigger! Thinking as big as possible, it’s easy for the both of us to agree golf is the best…it’s one of the only sports where the team is you, the one and only! It’s the only sport, and I could be wrong about this one, where you can call, and etiquette-ly speaking, should call, a penalty on yourself. If I could only find a way to write only, only more time in this post…if only! My point is, you don’t see LeBron raising his hands in the final minutes of Game 7 telling the ref it was his foul. You don’t see offensive lineman raising their hands in the final minutes of the Super Bowl telling the refs to take the game winning touchdown away because they didn’t see that accidental hold and should have thrown a flag. Golf brings out the best and worst of people, and YOU are the ref. You call the fouls and throw the flags, and best of all, call the penalties on yourself. But technology is seeming to take away the YOU and most importantly downsizing the integrity of the game. Now people are calling penalties on players from the comfort of their homes. It’s not our responsibility to have enough integrity to call a penalty on ourselves, it’s our responsibility to get over someone else calling a penalty on us…and that isn’t golf. I feel proud to play this game, when players like Shane Lowry call a penalty on himself, as dumb as that penalty may be, when they are in the hunt to win a major! And I feel embarrassed, when DJ is told he may or may not have a penalty after his round or Anna Nordqvist is penalized from a HD camera. Yes it is a penalty, but let her call it! And if she didn’t notice then let it go…I let go all the penalties the Broncos had against the Patriots in last year’s playoff game! What do you think?
GolfTooter 