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By the way, these two are big-time amateur players. Golden, now a tennis instructor, played in the 2007 US Open. Dull, a former caddie, finished runner-up at the 2015 US Mid- Amateur. Neither wishes to talk about the day. “I will respectfully decline making any comments,” Golden says, “as I would love for this event to be way in the past.” We’ve danced around booze’s role in these brouhahas, but one story from a public course in Ohio stands out. Head pro Jimmy Beers (yep) had double-booked outings, and when one group accused the other of drinking from its keg, it led to one golfer going to his truck and coming back waving a pistol. “I know beer is important because that’s the first thing groups usually ask about when booking an outing, but, wow, it got heated,” Beers says. “It just shows how fast things can turn.” Fortunately, no one got hurt, so Beers can laugh about it now, but it’s a wild story you’ve likely never heard about. Why? Because it happened two decades ago. “If it happened ‘Everybody’s me against you,’ a sport psychologist says. ‘It’s unfortunate because we’ve lost civility to some degree.’ •••
today,” Beers says, “there would probably be 100 videos, and it would definitely be on the news.” Lessons can be gleaned from these tales. Be careful about hitting into people because that’s dangerous and never ends well. Be careful who you call a sandbagger because those are fighting words. Be careful who you pick a fight with because you never know if he’s going to be a former MMA competitor. As for whipping out your phone to record a fight, we condone this because it can be helpful for the course or club. “If they’re a responsible club operator, they’re going to want to know the details,” says attorney Rob Harris, who runs the website Golfdisputeresolution.com. “Their insurance company is going to want to know also because anybody that’s victimised is going to sue anybody and everybody that ostensibly has some connection to it, including the club, even if it’s some crazy member or public participant who goes rogue.” Have the rules of society changed so much since the “Seinfeld” finale a quarter-century ago in which Jerry, Kramer, George and Elaine get arrested for violating a “Good Samaritan Law” for filming (on a camcorder) someone getting carjacked instead of helping? Well, that’s not going to happen today. “We’ve got security cameras on property, but we can’t catch everything, and any kind of record helps,” says one general manager. “I’d love someone watching to be able to stop the altercation, but I’d also love to have the video.” If you wind up sharing that video on social media, golf fans everywhere will love seeing it, too.
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80 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
NOVEMBER 2023
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