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Golf, Manners & The Ryder Cup

What started as a stunning victory for the American Ryder Cup squad against the Europeans seems to be quickly degenerating into a prolonged squabble about the behavior of the yanks in victory. The Brits, especially, seem to feel that the Americans were, shall we say, overly exhuberant in victory - their unstiff upper lips and pumped fists positively undiginified, bringing shame to the game born of dour Scottish persistence.

I am second to no man in my admiration of golf as the last bastion of courtesy in sports. The tendency of American athletes (football players are by far the worst) to strut and preen and taunt and generally act as if each minor success represent the pinnacle of existence is reprehensible and utterly lacking in class. As Bud Grant said, "Act as if you've been there before".

But it would be a serious mistake to interpret the behavior of the American golfers as an extension of this egotistical self-worship into the sport of golf. That this was fundamentally different in kind from the "Dirty Bird" celebration dance can be most easily gauged by the reaction of Tom Lehman upon sinking a critical birdie putt. Mr. Lehman is a remarkably self-disciplined, generally dour, Minnesotan. I have never so much as seen a smile or frown cross his face in victory or defeat, and he has experienced some remarkable victories and some crushing defeats. When that putt dropped, he reacted like a schoolboy who learned he has made the varsity, jumping up and down and pumping his fist in a fit of enthusiasm that stunned the viewer.

This dichotomy was repeated over and over. Duvall, Stewart, Sutton, Leonard and the rest have been criticized as the "boring" generation of golf, utterly lacking the flair and pizzazz of Trevino or Chi Chi, veritable automatons on the course. The only one with anything resembling a demonstrative nature is Tiger Woods. Yet to a man, these level headed golfers went bananas in the face of victory. This is especially odd in that this is the best group of golfers in the world. they have been there before, and the generally act like it. So, a long lead in to a simple question, why did they do it?

Two reasons come immediately to mind.

  1. Professional golf is overwhelmingly an individual sport. Players compete with each other only to the extent the compete with the course. It doesn't matter how many people you beat, if you don't play the course better than a single competitor you lose. This environment does not lend itself to an "in your face" attitude. Victory goes to the man who shows self-control and balance, not to the most pumped. The Ryder Cup on the other hand is a Team effort, where individual achievement is subordinated to the success of the team. This completely changes the nature of the competition from one of individual achievement to one of "beating" the other team. This is a radically different emotional dynamic, as anyone who has watched a group of American males, from street gangs to fraternities to political parties, understands. These individuals acted this way because they were a true team, interested in, and rewarded by, the success of the team more than their own success. Tom Lehman wasn't celebrating Tom Lehman, he was celebrating the American Team's success in one of the greatest comebacks in the annals of sport.
  1. Which leads us directly to the second reason: Patriotism. This team clearly saw themselves as representatives of America. They desperately wanted to do right by their duty, and each success was amplified by the reality that it was not just their success, not just the team's success, but America's success. This gave them an incredble advantage over the European team, representatives of, at best, their individual countries. Perhaps this is what puzzles and bothers the Euros. They just don't see how this friendly match could be a national mission.

Whether I am right or wrong, one thing is clear. The boisterousness of the Americans was not an expression of exaggerated self-regard, it was sheer, unalloyed joy. They were ecstatic because they had won one for their country.

Could they have been more dignified? Sure. But it is a breath of fresh air to see a bunch of wealthy folks as happy as they have ever been in their lives for no other reason than they have done right by their country.