Professional players look spoiled when they throw tantrums on the court.
Don’t take my word for it – that’s according to Max Homa.
“I don’t like it when people break clubs,” Homa told the RBC Heritage. “I don’t like it when people beat the golf course because we deal with it, and I think breaking clubs makes us look very, very spoiled. I try my hardest not to do that, and when it happens, as far as hitting a box, I’m very upset with myself because we’re so lucky to play the game we do, and I think it’s a bad look.”
There was more than a hint of retroactive irony in Homa’s statement, which came in response to a question about Sergio Garcia’s smash during the final round of the Masters (Garcia slammed his driver on a refrigerator, was promptly reprimanded by a green jacket and eventually issued a public apology).
Days after criticizing Garcia, Homa violently threw his bat after a botched punch from the trees in Harbor Town. He had done something similar at last year’s PGA Championship and at the 2023 WM Phoenix Open. To his credit, Homa acknowledged his blowout history while being critical of Garcia.
Throwing clubs and having explosions is not a new phenomenon in golf. One of my quintessential golf memories is seeing Rory McIlroy drop a 3-iron into a lake at Doral. Hell, Tommy “Thunder” Bolt was throwing clubs in the 1950s. Golf has a long history of outrage.
Garcia would definitely be in the hall of fame for such actions given his extensive history of acting out as a child. In 2019, Garcia misbehaved so badly during Saudi Arabia – he went berserk in a bunker and damaged multiple greens – that he was given a extremely rare disqualification based on “serious misconduct”.
These DQs are so rare that you can hardly find any examples of them.
The fine line between anger and inappropriate behavior
I think the first reaction when you watch a professional golfer swing a club is that he’s hooked.
I’ve thrown a few sticks in my day. I left a few broken barrels sitting in the trash cans.
It’s good to know that professional players are not immune to such frustrations. Even the best players in the world get so impatient that they snap.
At the same time, temper tantrums are… not so connected.
These are athletes who play for millions of dollars. Garcia, Homa and others are extremely rich because of this game. They have a platform in front of millions of fans.
Outbursts are common in many sports, but it’s reasonable to think that golfers should be held to a higher standard than a hockey player whose performance depends on aggression.
Would it be appropriate to hit golfers with harsher penalties for these tantrums?
As mentioned, Garcia was disqualified once. Should a guy like Homa be penalized, more than a nasty fine, for throwing a stick? Should it be a penalty kick or a DQ?
Or is this all going too far?
“I don’t know where exactly I would draw that line, but I definitely think it would probably be hitting a golf course, because the rest of us have to play it,” Homa said when asked what’s okay and what’s not for outrage. “But that’s a hard thing to address or decide because it’s so subjective. If I do something where no one’s watching on TV, it’s rated much lower than when it’s in front of everyone. I don’t know how you’re going to land that plane.”
Homa brings up an interesting point about TV. If he didn’t show up tossing the stick in Harbor Town, none of this would be a story. There would be no clips to be shared on social media.
At the same time, some would argue that the PGA Tour and other golf organizations could draw a slightly harder line here.
Players who have personality is great. Players slamming their clubs and acting like children is not.
Taking Sean
I guess it depends on how you view professional golf.
If you see it simply as an entertainment product that should act like any other sport, the outrage probably doesn’t bother you at all.
Maybe you don’t care if the players wear shorts. Traditional standards of golf must be thrown out the window. More like the WM Phoenix Open, less like the Masters.
This will come as no surprise to those reading and commenting, but I prefer the more traditional approach.
Now, do the tantrums “concern” me? No. I think they’re pretty funny, honestly.
However, I think something like what Garcia did is a bit beyond the spirit of the game. Golfers should be held to a higher standard than grabbing clubs over the cooler and removing a section from the tee box where everyone else now has to play.
I would have had no problem disqualifying Garcia for what he did, but a warning is probably in order.
The enforcement of this is a difficult question to answer, but I would like to see the tournament take a slightly stronger stance if a player causes visible damage to the course with their explosion. In exceptional cases, players DQ. In more common anger situations, give the players a warning that lasts for several turns. Another offense and you’re out of the tournament.
What do you think? Let me know below in the comments.
Main photo caption: Sergio Garcia swings a club during the Masters. (GETTY IMAGES/Scott K. Brown)
