A game that defines etiquette

“Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening – and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented.”

Above are the words of Arnold Palmer – a quotation that has probably been cited a million times at golf club dinners for it so perfectly sums up this game that frustrates us so and yet keeps us so enthralled.

I remembered that I had kept a clipping of these words while reading an article on etiquette by Palmer in the latest edition of Stuart McLean’s excellent SA Golf Digest.

As far as I can establish golf is the only major sport that describes good manners in its rule book – in fact, it is the very first item in the “Rules of Golf.”

The opening paragraph states that “the overriding principle is that consideration should be shown to others on the course at all times.”

It goes on to point out that “all players should conduct themselves in a disciplined manner, demonstrating courtesy and sportsmanship at all times, irrespective of how competitive they may be.”

“This,” says the bible of the Royal & Ancient, “is the spirit of the game of golf.”

In my previous column I condemned the behaviour of certain participants in the recent Ryder Cup; believing that while the commentators bent over backwards to laud the conduct of particularly the Americans they had in fact overstepped the mark.

To me it just wasn’t golf and I found it interesting, and embarrassing, that Palmer, the man whose charisma and style was the catalyst for what today is a multi-billion dollar profession and industry, should have penned (with the help of Golf Digest Playing Editor Guy Yocom) a gentle reminder of the underpinning values of golf.

My embarrassment came from the realisation that my own conduct was not what it should be. I am not a club thrower, but I have allowed myself to slip into what seems to be the all-too-frequent norm of banging the ground or cursing loudly. It’s not on and I have resolved to cut it out. As Palmers says about keeping your temper under control: “We all have our moments of frustration, but the trick is to vent it in an inoffensive way.”

Palmer’s “10 Commandments” go to many of the modern bugbears – slow play, a lack of respect for the course and fellow competitors, cart hogs, not knowing the rules and cell phones.

I found myself in agreement and started to write down my own list of “my least favourite things” about golf.

I thought there would not be many, seeing as I play seldom and so look forward to a round when I do, and was surprised as the list just grew and grew. This prompted me to mention it at my club and my golfing mates either concurred or added something of their own.

Seeing as a crusty old sub-editor once admonished me that “if you write more than 250 words you’ve lost your reader” I’ll not get into it now but in the next few weeks I intend to list them, if only to start a discussion about some of the norms that have been allowed to slide as golf succumbs to the force of numbers.

As Palmer says we should play “with a considerate heart” and “know that golf has a way of returning favours, and every piece of etiquette you practice will be repaid tenfold.”