We recently seen Hatton toss a club and yesterday Rory snap one.
Is this appropriate behaviour for a professional golfer, particularly those on TV?
I personally don’t mind it, it shows passion and character (sometimes negatively I admit) but I’d rather this and the likes of Reed (not his cheating)/ Daly than you custom robot golfer who you couldn’t name a week later.
It’s a good question. As a parent of a junior golfer, it’s a mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s not something I want him to see as an example. But on the other, it’s often a good opportunity to say, “Do you see how ridiculous that looks?”
I did this with the documentary The Short Game. Kirke has his share of hyper-competitive temper issues, and seeing how foolish that looks like in someone else is very effective is learning how your own behavior looks to others.
I see it as a reminder that they get their clubs for free. 
Honestly, if anyone has earned the right to get that mad it’s touring pros. They’ve put in the hours and hours of work necessary to have some level of expectation. But it’s still not a great look for them.
At an amateur level, I’ve certainly had my share of outbursts on the course, but it’s something I never want to do and am working to eliminate. Most of us just don’t practice or play enough to get that mad about bad shots.
There is definitely a very thin line in the sand, if you will. I think of Sergio Garcia who is notorious for having a hot temper, and I think his behavior is unacceptable. However, the occasional outburst from a Hatton or Rors, I don’t mind. They are passionate about their sport and they expect better from themselves. Generally speaking, nobody really complains when a baseball, football, or basketball player gets upset and throws a temper tantrum. I feel sometimes golfers are held to such a different standard. On one hand people will say golf isn’t a sport and on another, when they have emotions like a normal human or elite athlete, they get mad that they are bringing negative energy to the sport.
So the long of the short of it is this, an occasional passionate outburst, in my opinion is totally acceptable, they are elite athletes that are also human and expect a lot from themselves. It’s ok to show that emotion, both positively and negatively.
I think there are varying levels to this stuff. Hatton makes me laugh with his self deprecation and little - super smooth - club toss. Zero issue with this stuff.
Sergio damaging courses is a whole other thing. Zero place for that in the game. It’s gross and he should have been suspended for his now almost a handful of transgressions.
To @mpatrickriley point, as a parent who hopes my son develops a love for the game there’s a real thin line between having fire and passion and just an immature temper. Navigating that and trying to stay on the right side of that line is hard even for many adults.
If Rory needed to snap that club yesterday to get out what he needed to get out in order to right the ship, then whatever. He wasn’t swearing or throwing a fit or affecting his playing partners in any way. Just a little snap and carry on. Whatever. It’s fine.
Absolutely agree on the scale you’ve set up here: we should organize these “antics” from most to least acceptable based on the effect they have on others around you.
Damaging the course is clearly way over the line, because it definitely is something that other people are going to have to deal with.
Subtly chewing yourself out after a bad shot is probably the other end of the spectrum.
The club throw is in the middle, because of the real potential for unintended consequences:
I once saw a guy throw his entire bag into the lake, storm off, storm back on, wade into the lake, dig his car keys out of his bag and then throw the bag back into the lake… that basically ended me getting mad on the golf course.
I don’t find anger to be a useful emotion on the golf course… seeing professionals lose themselves to their anger just shows me everyone deals with it and struggles to channel it productively.
Totally agree, there are different levels to this. Sergio really crossed the line in my opinion. Also, it’s hard for me to judge these guys because I don’t know what it’s like to play under that much pressure. Seeing Rory snap the wedge or Hatton toss his club (hilarious btw), didn’t necessarily make me think any less of them. But I’m sure everyone views this differently.
I’ve had temper issues on the course before, and I think have broken 4-5 clubs total (all before the age of 25 I believe). Each time I felt like an idiot, and I know I looked like an idiot. So it’s not something I think recreational players should be doing (and it is pretty cost prohibitive).
Absolutely! My junior golfer watched The Short Game as well and it was a great opportunity to talk about how emotions can affect the game. The good and the bad as well. Being overly excited about a great shot to the green can often amount to being overly excited on the putt. Staying in the moment, playing shot by shot and realizing you have a ton of shots to make still.
I think most of you guys here are probably too young to remember “Terrible” Tommy Bolt. There wasn’t a round that went by when he didn’t chuck at least one club. His manta was, “throw them in the direction that you’re walking so that you don’t have to go back and pick them up”. No one seemed to make a big deal of his temper tantums. Maybe today’s overly politically correct view of the world makes more out of this than there needs to be. Sergio was definitely out of line with his course damage, but Rory nonchalantly snapping his wedge only proves that he’s human and that he cares.
Unless they’re causing damaging to the course or other people I don’t care. Nobody cares when baseball players snap their bat over their leg, nobody cares when a hockey player breaks his stick over the crossbar, why should we care whether or not Rory breaks a club? Might be a minority opinion, but I don’t care if pro golfers do what athletes in every other professional sport get a pass for.
Sorry, I can’t accept this boorish behavior on the golf course. Comportment is one of the things that separates golf from other sports.
Seems majority agree that Garcia damaging the course is an absolute no no but Rory and Tyrell is embarrassing (for them) but acceptable…
If we spin this into Ryder Cup thinking, I personally want to see all these characters, fist pumping, crowd baiting like Reed did. Anyone who’s been to a RC will know it is hugely crowd orientated which requires characters, both good and bad!!
I was at THAT Ryder Cup. Never had more fun watching live golf in my life.
I can certainly understand being frustrated on the course, but I’ve never snapped a club myself (at least not in anger, snapped a few heads on shots back when I was younger). I really don’t get what would push you to do it, after all unless you’re on the 18th, you’re putting yourself at a competitive disadvantage.
I broke a lot of clubs (maybe 10) when I was a kid and didn’t have a grasp on my temper or responsibility. I haven’t broken a club in at least 20 years, though. I’ve feigned snapping my putter over my knee - A LOT - but never actually done it.
I agree with you. It doesn’t make you feel better. If anything it makes you feel worse because now you have to get a club reshafted and you look like a dummy to whoever you’re playing with.
Just not worth it to get that mad on the course.
I’m of the opinion that the pros should be above these tantrums. I’ve been playing for many years, off and on, and even on my WORST shots I’ve never had the urge to throw or break equipment.
Do I get frustrated sometimes, sure, it’s the nature of the sport. My friends know I’m pissed when I drop an f-bomb.
The club tossing, breaking, damaging the course et al is disrespectful of the sport, the course, the
other players and those watching.
They’re being childish.
I’ve been quite surprised at how accepting people are of this - both on here and on Twitter. I think it’s totally unacceptable personally - like it or not they are setting the example that others follow, especially young people learning the game.
I’d be in favour of instant disqualification. I’m sure it wouldn’t happen again. 🤷
I was on the 15th tee at Mt Osmond GC today waiting for the group in front to hit their second shots and move on. Saw an iron go flying through the air up ahead.
I do practice a fair bit and sometimes its hard to accept there’s no ‘fair’ in golf. Just because I can hit 150 consecutive chips without chunking one, it doesn’t confer a divine right never to chunk one when it matters. However, when I do, I am prone to the red mist because its JUST NOT FAIR! 