Golfer does the RIGHT thing!

This Golfer has more character than ANYONE in the political world at this time.

The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching. John Wooden said that, or maybe it was Spider-Man. Whatever, it still holds true; being noble and upstanding is easy enough when you’ve got people watching, but when you’re alone with yourself, when you could do the wrong thing (or avoid the right thing) and get away with it, well — that’s when you find out what kind of person you are.

By that standard, then, J.P. Hayes is among the best that sports has to offer. He played a nonconforming ball for a single hole of the second stage of Q School last weekend. He realized it more than a day after the “violation,” called it on himself, and thus disqualified himself from Q School … with some severe, career-altering effects down the line.

So how did this go down? So easily, you’ll cringe:

On his 12th hole of the first round at Deerwood Country Club last Wednesday, Hayes’ caddie reached into his golf bag, pulled out a ball and flipped it to Hayes, who missed the green with his tee shot. He then chipped on and marked his ball. It was then that Hayes realized the ball was not the same model Titleist with which he had started his round. That was in violation of the one-ball rule, which stipulates that a player must play the same model throughout a round.

Okay, so, two-stroke penalty, no big deal. He recovered well enough to put himself in position to finish in the top 20 and advance to the third and final round of Q School. The top 25 finishers in that round, plus ties, earn exempt status for the entire 2009 PGA season. So, breathe deep, think about how close you came to disaster, then tee it up for the next round.

Only, while Hayes was breathing deep, he realized something else — not only did he play the wrong ball, he might have played a ball that wasn’t even approved for play at all.

“It was a Titleist prototype, and somehow it had gotten into my bag,” he said. “It had been four weeks since Titleist gave me some prototype balls and I tested them. I have no idea how or why it was still in there … I called an official in Houston that night and said, ‘I think I may have a problem. He said they’d call Titleist the next day. I pretty much knew at that point I was going to be disqualified.”

So tell me if YOU would have done that.. With a wife and kid at home, your dream of a pro career on the line, would you have made that call? I can honestly say I would have, and I HAVE made those decisions on the golf course, and in my work life.

I played in SEVERAL amateur golf tournaments, some very big tournaments with very good prizes like the opportunity to PLAY IN THE US OPEN, and I have seen more character on the golf course than I have EVER SEEN in politics.

IF you play golf, and you think you know the rules of golf, chances are you only know the basics. There are thousands of rules that most weekend golfers don’t know, or don’t use, or don’t penalize themselves for breaking. BUT in tournament play, YOU are accountable for YOUR actions, YOU are expected to protect the field (Players) from cheating, and they are TRUSTING you to have the moral character to penalize yourself in the event that the marshal is not looking. YOU are expected to play by the rules and if you have questions to CALL the Marshal for clarity. The rule committee person in the tournament will clarify any issues.

This particular golfer showed more moral fiber, and character than any in the political realm, but I say, MOST Golfers have that same moral fiber and character. The unfortunate part of all of this is; We are treating this as heroic, where this should be normal..

Kudos to J.P. Hayes for doing what is right.

SHAME on US for not rewarding this behavior more, so that this type of thing doesn’t garner the “Surprise factor” when it happens.