Golf’s embarrassment on the Champions Tour

By Paul Gueorgieff

Golf’s embarrassment on the Champions Tour

Steve Alker has helped bring the PGA Tour Champions to our television screens.

The Hamilton golfer has been one of the stars on the United States golf circuit for those aged 50 and older. 

As a consequence I have been watching the competition more than anytime beforehand but I could hardly believe my eyes to what I saw recently. 

On the screen was Padraig Harrington from Ireland. He made his usual six or seven powerful practice swings and then boomed his tee shot down the middle of the fairway.

But it was what I saw next that blew me away. 

The next picture of Harrington was of him jumping into a golf cart and driving off by himself. 

Must have a medical exemption, I thought. 

A little time later I saw another shot of another player -- can't remember who it was -- jumping into a golf cart and driving off by himself.

What's going on here, I wondered. 

Two players driving golf carts. Surely they both can't have medical exemptions, I thought.

The players had caddies. It was still the caddie's job to strap the big golf bags to their backs and trundle off down the fairway as the golf carts whizzed by.

Surely the players are not allowed to drive a cart without a medical exemption, I thought.

I thought wrong. 

After some digging, I came across the following statement on internet encyclopedia Wikipedia.

``In 2006, the Champions Tour division board of the PGA Tour organisation voted to allow players the option to use golf carts during most events on the tour. The five major championships and certain other events, including pro-ams, are excluded.''

The Champions Tour is for golf's oldies. But they are not that old. 

Harrington, for example, is aged 51. 

Champions Tour veteran Bernhard Langer is 65. Fred Couples is 63. Miguel Angel Jimenez is 58. Ernie Els is 52. Steve Stricker is 55.

These guys are all younger than most of the guys I play with. 

These guys play tournaments that are generally of only three rounds. 

These guys just trot off down the fairway and when they get to the ball they ask the caddie for the eight iron, play the shot and hand the club back to the caddie. 

None of the guys I play with have a caddie. 

Most of the guys I play with, push their own trundler.

Although some of the guys I play with do have a motorised trundler. Tut, tut.

Why on Earth would the Champions Tour allow players to drive carts?

I wondered if what I saw was not meant to be screened. Should it have been edited out? Television producers would have been told not to show such shots, I thought to myself.

Golf is not an aggressive sport. It’s not hard to walk down the fairway when someone else is carrying the clubs. I can’t think of one good reason to allow not-that-old players to drive carts.

While watching Harrington drive his cart, I felt an embarrassment for the sport. Golfers don’t have to run or jump. They just walk. If they can’t walk, they can get a medical exemption.