What Has Happened to the Game of Golf?

Bobby Jones 

Although I don't play golf, I come by the game, honestly. My grandfather played golf with Bobby Jones.  My father played duffer golf as long as he was able.  My son-in-law is a golfer and golf coach. So, you can see that I have been around golf most of my life.  I have always enjoyed the fact that the players displayed a certain reserve, followed a strict code of ethics and engaged in a sport where skill ranked above brute strength.

In the last two decades, golf has gone from club swingers to just plain swingers.  The announcers still speak in hushed tones, galleries remain silent for shots and country clubs still ooze their haughty ambiance, but many of the golfers lack social skills, are rowdy and disrespectful of other golfers.  Instead of a doff of the cap, we have fist pumps and high-fives. Who pulled the plug on decorum?

When publications such as Golf Digest and Sports Illustrated think it is appropriate to have photos of the UCLA men's golf team sporting nothing but a strategically placed bucket of balls, it does give one pause.  In August last year, when the Bethany College golf team replicated the stunt (and it appeared on Facebook) there was quite a stir because it was not in keeping with the moral values of the Lutheran college.  What does  it say about the morals of the rest of America?
In May this year, there was an uproar at the prestigious Piedmont Driving Club in Atlanta, when  a member complained about the horrendous behavior exhibited by club members including; urinating on the greens, playing naked, displaying bodily parts, using foul language and rampant drunkenness.

Not enough for you?  This week, two women were arrested after they flashed a group of golfers. The women, Alicia Binford and Shelly Lewis (both in their 40's) were "exposed" by a citizen complaint.  If this sounds like your kind of golf course, check out the Woodlands Golf Course in Illinois...it is rumored that they also have and illegal, naked golf tournament.  With that thought in mind, I was wondering if there was such a thing as legal naked golf.  I won't keep you in suspense...Cyprus Cove Nudist Resort and Spa in Florida.