Onehulluvaguy and Flip,
Golf is—or can be—such a revelation of character so quickly.
I feel myself making a judgment about another player I’ve never played with after the first drive just on the basis of how the person reacts to his first drive.
But what is most revealing is to see how a golfer responds when he is in trouble on the course, and every golfer will be in trouble on the course at some place within 6 holes.
Golf is a remarkable game in how it makes not just physical demands but both emotional and mental ones on the golfer.
I also think it has higher ethics than any other sport.
Rick Reilly who had written for Sports Illustrated has great book called Commander in Cheat: a well researched book on Trump’s cheating in golf and lying about championships he’s won.
Bill Clinton too was notorious for cheating in golf, but not as bad as Trump according to Reilly. I like to imagine Eisenhower as an honest golfer, and he loved to play.
I love John Updike’s essays on golf collected in a book called “Golf Dreams” and a early 1900s book by Arnold Haultain called “The Mystery of Golf” (1907), which you can find for free on internet as a PDF.
I don’t drink alcohol on the course. Golf itself is just such a high, even when it’s bad golf. I would not play on a Trump course even if someone paid my green fees. He seemed quite hurt about losing the PGA at his course in Bedminister, and I think Scotland tried to put some ban on his visiting there

