Golfer shows extreme integrity

Veteran golfer, J.P. Hayes, turned himself in for using a golf ball not approved for play by the United States Golf Association.? In doing so, it disqualified him from the Q-School tournament and he did not get a coveted 2009 PGA tour card.? There are many articles and blog posts about this event when you do a Google search. There is also a great discussion on Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio here.

I played golf on my high school golf team (Go Chiefs!!–That’s for Ronnie!).? With those experiences, I learned a lot of lessons about integrity and life.? I also learned that the game of golf is officiated by each player and there is the possibility for a lot of cheating to take place.? I had an experience one time during a match where an opponant’s father was watching the match.? He came up to his son after we left the green and told him something.? The player then told the guy with the score card that he had not properly marked his ball on the putting green and would need to take a two stroke penalty.? Amazing couple of minutes for sure.? Turns out that his team needed those strokes to win and they lost the match.? Again, there is a ton of stories like this that come out of sports, especially golf.

So, for the weekend hacker, don’t kick your ball from behind the tree, play “winter rules” in the middle of the summer, take a mulligan every hole, and the list goes on and on.? Play the game with integrity and most importantly–enjoy the game!? Enjoy the day that the Lord has made!? Enjoy the people you are playing with (though it is extremely difficult at times!). Enjoy this terrible, horrible, exellent, frustrating game we call golf!

When have you seen someone show integrity when no one would have known?