CHEATING THE ELEPHANT IN GOLF’S LOCKER ROOM
In the first round of the 1925 US Open, Bobby Jones was preparing to hit from the rough when he felt his club move the ball slightly. Although nobody had seen anything untoward, he called a penalty on himself. Praised for his sportsmanship after the round, he replied, “You might as well praise me for not robbing a bank.”
This story encapsulates the absolute importance of integrity in golf. Knowingly breaking the rules, or keeping quiet about rules infractions, is simply not acceptable in this sport.
Ours is such an expansive and largely unmonitored game that it falls upon individuals to be utterly honest with themselves and thereby their fellow golfers in order to retain a level playing field on which we all compete, in line with the same rules, in the same spirit.
But, as in pretty much every facet of human life, there will be those prepared to bend or break the rules to gain an advantage. There are always suggestions of
