Strength of character, a sacred golf value

The date was Aug. 28, 1963, that Dr. Martin Luther King gave his famous “I have a dream” speech before a gathering of more than a million people lining the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

That sentence has been quoted countless times, but still it seems America hasn’t got the bedrock of “character” fully right yet. We continue to see politicians holding high public office guilty of sexual abuse, mass shootings are in the news daily, and we regularly learn of scams that fleece elderly Americans out of their life savings, perpetrated by sub-human thieves who should be hanged. But I digress.

This column is about “strength of character” as a trait that should be developed by everyone who plays the game of golf. There are dozens of personal traits that certainly fall into the category of character strengths. As a kid I was a Boy Scout and had to remember the “Scout Law:” A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.

It’s a shame those values fell by the wayside as the coddling of children took over. In my view the three most important of all character traits, as they related to sports competition, are honesty, integrity and trustworthiness. Those three things mean that one values the companionship of others and can be counted upon to do the right thing even though no one is looking.

Golf is one of the only games where competitors call penalties on themselves because there are no referees hovering around each player. In that respect golf stands above most other sports as morally sound; in a sport like football players are rewarded for “getting away with” a rules infraction. 

Thomas Jefferson once said, “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”

Your character is actually an amalgam of your thoughts, your feelings and your actions. Like personality, it begins to develop at a very early age. Parents play a crucial role in that development. Children learn by seeing, hearing and sensing – it’s called “observational learning.” They internalize even seemingly small things, like anger, arguments and lack of loving care.

The antithesis of good character in golf is epitomized by sandbaggers, cheaters and whiners. If you don’t know what a “sandbagger” is, it is a low-life golfer who goes to great lengths to protect his bloated handicap by submitting falsely elevated scores for multiple golf rounds.

Cheaters come in all shapes, sizes and ages. Just recently, an amateur golfer in Missouri, playing in a club-member tournament at his own course, faked a hole-in-one. He excused himself to go a hole ahead to take a call regarding his “mortally ill grandmother.”

Apparently, it was greed that prompted the golfer’s actions. After security camera footage was examined, the golfer admitted the trick he played and issued an apology. But the damage was done. One’s fine reputation takes a long time to set in place, but it can be undone completely in one momentary lapse of judgement.

When I think of strength of character among professional golfers I think first of current No.1 Scottie Scheffler. That mostly stems from his stated feelings that golf is not his internal identity. His family and his faith are more important. Also high on my list are Jack Nicklaus and the late Payne Stewart. Way down that list, near the bottom, are Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Hundreds of years ago Leonardo da Vinci recognized that personal status and recognition can be fleeting. He said, “Character matters more than wealth or accomplishment.” And more than 2500 years ago the Greek philosopher Heraclitus advised, “Your character is your destiny.”