Letter From Saugerties: Amateurism Edition
Following Sunday's U.S. Amateur at Chambers Bay, former USGA Executive Director Frank Hannigan shares these thoughts on the state of amateur golf.
August 31, 2010
The annual USGA pre-professional championship concluded on Sunday. Of the 64 players who made it to match play only 11 were 25 years of age or older.
One of the 11, Skip Berkmeyer, actually won a match before succumbing in the second round to a student athlete from Stanford.
The last time an adult won the event was in 1993 when John Harris of Minnesota prevailed. Harris had been a pro, was reinstated, then turned pro again to make serious money on the senior tour. But the ultimate adult golfer of our time was Jay Sigel, who beat all the college children in both 1982 and 1983, a feat so unlikely it warrants his enshrinement in golf's Hall of Fame.
My point is this: what is called the Amateur Championship is not an equitable competition because college golfers have an inordinate advantage in that they play golf nine months a year at someone else's expense and then milk their parents for money to play the other three.
Some pick up the semblance of an education in the process. Many do not. Only a minority of PGA Tour members who enrolled in college obtained degrees.
There is nothing new in this condition. Back in 1979 after only one adult, Dick Siderowf, reached the round of 16, two of the USGA's finest officials--Jim Hand and Sandy Tatum--asked me to concoct a new championship for post college golfers who had not attained seniority.
I came up with what is called the Mid Amateur Championship which bears a minimum age limit of 25. It has been a success in the sense that low handicap golfers enter in droves. The concept has been widely emulated by regional and state golf associations and even the R&A. (By the way, just what is a "mid amateur"?)
The USGA once declared in its code of amateurism that golf scholarships were forbidden. Such an attitude was deemed anti American. The USGA caved in during the 1950s.
Assiduous research led me to conclude that the very first golf scholarships were given at LSU during the 1930s with some other label. Among the recipients was Freddie Haas, who later gained fame by ending Byron Nelson's winning streak of 11 straight victories.
Ah, but who gave out the scholarships? None other than Huey Long, the Kingfish, governor of Louisiana, who wanted LSU to be first in everything except perhaps learning.
Amateurism was a class Victorian notion designed to keep the well bred apart from working men in sport. It evolved, however, into something sane and decent. So long as golf enjoyed its tradition of "open" competitions it was natural to have events limited to those who did not enjoy the advantage of playing golf for a living.
College golf scholarships blew that concept up in that the elite of college golf are better than the best club professionals.
The Rules of Amateur Status are made up of about 2,000 words of rationalizations. Among them is the proclamation that an amateur golfer is one who does not accept remuneration. A college scholarship based on golf skill is obviously a form of remuneration. The entire code, in reality, could be reduced fairly to 13 words: "An amateur golfer is one who does not attempt to win prize money."
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 10:34 PM
Reader Comments (51)
Jackie Burke lording over the grounds/proceedings...truly a Man in Full!!!
Justin there to defend after winning at Muirfield the year before and flat wearing out that old 7* Taylor Pittsburgh Persimmon with the gold colored graphite/boron shaft!
Notah on the putting green with two big hoops and doing early work on the two way stroke.
Lumpy skulking all around the place and explaining to the press how Tiger was in for a taste of what major league amateur golf is all about ;-)~ (that British fella whooped him, Tiger never lost a US Am match after that)
Larry Barber (X's stepson) giving a real life demo of what we now know as "bomb and gouge".
Sittin' down at Pappasito's for some TexMex only to turn and see Jay Sigel and Justin L. seated at the table directly behind ours.
John Harris just chillin'...so far under the radar he didn't even register. (if you've never done so please read his wikipedia entry for a real understanding of what a truly incredible athlete this guy really is)
MASSIVE galleries for one Tiger Woods, just a high school kid. The college guys did not like the attention he was getting (from fans and press) one iota.
Spying uncountable lunkers and rueing the fact I did not have a rig with me...
SO much fun.
I think there should be an automatic claw-back arrangement for all sponsored 'amateurs' who then make it onto the main tours-they are going to make heaps of money-they can afford to repay the favour.
It would be interesting to know what percentage of college scholarship golfers eventually make it to the Nationwide or PGA or EuroPGA tour. Ditto, the under 25s who qualify for the US Am in any one year.
Frank asks "what is a mid amateur"? It would seem that if he helped create the USGA Mid Am Championship he shoud know, above all.
Based on 25+ years of living in South Louisiana during my prime "mid am" years and on reading T. Harry Williams pulitzer prize winning "Huey Long", I suspect Huey wished to be number one in learning as well as all things athletic. I doubt there were any athletic scholarships at the state medical schools he established. (Disclosure: I am not a native of and no longer reside in Louisiana.)
I'm not saying anything can or should be done about it. But Frank might as well of not written anything considering the effort on this letter.
The USGA with its support of rules limiting compensation (NCAA football) has limited access to premier tournaments to those who parents can support such activities (time and money). Junior tournaments are not so interesting except when one wonders who could be there were the opportunity afforded more youngsters.
If a pro can turn back into an amatuer the term amatuer is meaningless or pertinent to time only. If class isn't a consideration, why is there a US Amatuer and a Public Links Amatuer?
Not all club pros are good players-not all are great teachers-not all are wonderful retailers but quite a few are pretty good at one or another.
But then again I'm biased!
another way to view college golf scholarships is that they allow kids who are not from wealthy families to compete on fairly equal footing with those who don't inherit spark plug fortunes, no?
It may be that the majority of PGA Tour pros don't have degrees, but I would bet that the majority of D-1 golfers get their degrees and don't turn pro.
I don't mind club pros getting reinstated, but if you have set out on the mini tours to forge your living, you are a pro.
So the mid am does not refer to waist size.....always wondered.
the comment about 'Publinks vs Am' I find telling. I honestly was offended by it, and it's implications the first time I became aware years ago.
I like your reducing the am description to 13 words, though the preemptive 'pay' of scholarship should have some bearing, somehow. The reinstatement of pros is also disturbing, on several levels.
Sort of like virginity. Once you lose it (am status) it's gone. I guess yall could esablish a semi virgin open.
You have to wonder if that might draw a certain 'red shirt' to the mix, though, given that nomenclature. Ah, that was uncalled for.
play well.
digsouth
Like tennis, golf tournaments should be open to all.
Any time you attempt to control entries there will be inequities.
Of course, as a senior I do enjoy competitions limited to us older folks.
I think it's clear that Mr. Hanigan considers scholarship golfers to be non-amateurs, and I agree.
I have said this multiple times on here, but Dillard Pruitt was reinstated and he won on the PGA Tour. Later took the Canadian Am title.
yea, but that's in Canada, where they are debating on beng able to play each other's ball.
ds
1. Huey Long could have given Glenn Beck 2 shots a side. Not only have i read the Williams biography;
I own it and Williams signed it for me.
2. Bobby Jones alleged to be a full time amateur: Jones played in 3 or 4 tournaments per year. He
declined a place in a Walker Cup because it conflicted with his getting a degree in English at Harvard
after earning an engineering degree at Georgia Tech and before earning a law degree at Emory.
3 Reinstatement to amateur status is consistent with the Christian tenet of redemption.
4. Golf scholarships as social equalizers: most golf scholarships go to middle and upper middle
class white kids.
5. Harvie Ward was stripped of his amateur status by the USGA and Ken Venturi would have been
except he turned pro
6.Jay Sigel accused of using Ram equipment: he had to play with something, didn't he.?
7. l00% right: the guy who said my proposed l3 word definition of amateurism is how the USGA
now manages the code - not what it should be.
.
Those of us who work for a living and try to continue competitive golf have a hard time competing against the kids. But, even among mid-Ams, those who are succesful often have jobs in golf, or sales jobs where they can play all the time. Look at who wins the mid-am. You'll be hard-pressed to find a winner who works at a 9-5 desk job.
So, ultimately, those are the breaks, no? Some players are taller and hit it further and play at elite country clubs, and some don't have that advantage. You wouldn't suggest a that a guy who's job is "Titleist sales rep" from San Diego would be ineligible for the Mid-Am, even though he has a clear advantage over the software engineer from St. Paul. Similarly, the college player has an advantage over the adults. Unless they want to make all the USGA events "net score", there will always be players with distinct advantages.
Thanks for the letter Frank but put it in your pipe and smoke it.
Best,
Amen Cororner aka 2 hcap playing golf for the love of it
Thanks for your words. They are thought provoking and real. Unlike most who try to pussy foot around as to not hurt their chances on kissing somebodies butt.
IT'S A CLEAR DICHOTOMY IN THE DEFINITION OF AMATEURISM. Thanks for pointing that out.
As for reinstatement of amateur status being consistent with the Christian tenet of redemption, deciding to become a professional golfer is not a sin. But it should be irreversible. And you do not have to channel that consummate misanthrope Avery Brundage to believe that.
The only thing legit I find in the comments above is the complaining of an actual touring pro regaining amateur status. I'm good with club pros and mini-tour pros regaining am status. But a PGA Tour player, and a PGA Tour winner for crying out loud...no way!
But I would think that the real advantage college players have is time, not money. Time to practice, play and, above all, compete. There is no substitute for being tournament tough. Look at how the recent college grads fair in the US Am. They rarely make it to match play and then usually get beat early, and they had those same advantages just a short time ago. I would think that college players have enjoyed the same advantages for many years, but I won't be checking the record books to back it up.
And I'm sorry, but again, college kids are indeed amateurs. I know a few of them from my home club. These kids can barely scrape up enough money to buy a burger, and 90% of them are more likely to sell insurance than play golf for a living.
A couple of my friends had parents making high 6 figures annually, and lived at home, and were on full scholarships at major universities!
It's funny, when I grew up, the USGA was the epitome of rich, white snobbery. They were elitists with an unbelievable bent towards wealth, especially at the top of the organization. I grew up in the golf business in New Jersey, and had many dealings with it.
College players, without a doubt have advantages. They also have classes, finals and eligibility to deal with. I have two students who are top level amateurs, one in his 40's, one who is 19. Both about equal in abilities right now. The 40 year old just got ANOTHER free set of clubs from a major manufacturer, and the young kid, can't get a set of conforming grooves for 5 weeks, and he's paying for them. The 40 year old is loaded btw.
There are bigger problems than scholarships in "amateur" golf. One of the biggest is the ruling body.
I wonder to what extent the USGA's (or at least Hannigan's) reluctance here is that the NCAA and not the USGA is really policing the extent to which the player is taking classes and being a good amateur. Nobody likes letting someone else enforce your rules.
There are certainly problems with Shamateurism in golf, but I do think a full throated attack on scholarships in college golf isn't the right way to address the issue.