Golf stuck in the closet?

Thought for the Day:
When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane

Liberal we’re not
An American football player Mike Sam has stirred up considerable interest in the USA because he is the first in his sport to acknowledge that he is gay. He’s currently a college player but was expected to feature prominently in the draft picks in May. Worryingly, several head coaches have been polled and almost all have said they think they might be less likely to select him now that he has discussed his sexual orientation – not because they’re prejudiced, you understand, but because of the way the decision would be received in the locker room by potential team-mates.

The story has caused me to consider the issue in relation to golf. The official World Golf Ranking (for men) goes as high (or low, depending on your point of view) as position 1,505, and bottom spot is currently held by Mark Ahrens of Canada – way to go Mark. That’s a lot of golfers but, to the best of my knowledge, not one of those 1,505 golf professionals is known to be gay, which suggests one of two things. First, that professional golf, unlike any other well-populated social group, is a gay-free zone. But considering that the general incidence of homosexuality in any given society is broadly estimated to be 2-4% of the population (not 10%, as widely but mistakenly reported), then we should anticipate that between 30 and 60 of our top 1,505 pro golfers would be gay. Even allowing for a wide margin of error, logic dictates that at least some of that overall figure will have avoided heterosexuality.

The second possibility, and a much more likely one I would suggest, is that golfers who are gay do not feel able to discuss or reveal their sexuality. If that is the case, given golf’s historical treatment of other minorities or groups, their reticence is hardly surprising but it remains disappointing.

Does it matter if some high profile golfers are gay – of course not. Does it matter if they choose to keep their sexual orientation to themselves? Again, no it does not. But it does matter if the reason they keep their sexuality secret is because they are worried about the way in which they will be treated if they come out of the closet. Golf clubs, club members and the wider establishment of the game have not always shown themselves to be in the vanguard of liberal thinking, or the first to step up to the plate when open-minded tolerance has been required (that’s me being uncharacteristically polite. The truth is that many golf clubs remain bastions of old-fashioned, right-wing, intolerant, prejudicial and petty-minded thinking). But in golf, as in society generally, it would be nice to think that someone’s sexual orientation was not worthy of comment, or regarded as a secret that has to be kept.

Lost in translation
Pablo Larrazabal tweet, after playing final round of the Dubai Desert Classic, successfully defended by Stephen Gallacher. ‘I had a nice day out there. I really enjoyed playing with Tiger Woods. He is better guy than a golfer.’

Hanging in there
Lat time out I mentioned American pro Jimmy Walker, who had overcome several years of relative mediocrity to win twice in close succession. Well, he’s done it again with victory in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am by a shot, having started the last round six clear. He wobbled badly, particularly over the back nine but just held it together. He has now won three of the last eight events he has played, tops the FedEx rankings and Ryder Cup points total and has climbed to 24th in the world rankings.

Early in his career he demonstrated on various min- and feeder tours that he could shoot low numbers but after graduating to the full US PGA Tour in 2008 (he also played in 2006 but then lost his card, missing the cut 12 times in 21 events and finishing no higher than Tied 24th) it seemed like a case of close but no coconut.
It is and remains beyond explanation how a clearly talented golfer can go so long without a win and then score the breakthrough victory that opens the floodgates. It should give enduring hope to we hackers who knew that our real ability and untapped potential is just waiting to be released.

Conversely, of course, we also see the opposite phenomenon; the supremely gifted, proven winner who disappears without a trace. Remember Paul Way? Or from a more modern era, Nick Dougherty? Perhaps best not to dwell.

Quote of the Week
Missing a short putt does not mean you have to hit your next drive out of bounds
Sir Henry Cotton