One
of the attributes that makes golf special and different is the
commitment to the rules of the game. Players at all levels appreciate
golf's gentile nature. Professional golfers will call themselves out
for rules violations that in some cases have cost them hundreds of
thousands of dollars or tournament victories. How many offensive
linemen in the NFL would go to the referee and say please give me a
15-yard penalty, I held on the last play?
At the recent 2018 US Open, iconic golfer Phil Mickelson blew a
fuse. Frustrated by the conditions of the course and his performance,
Mickelson hit a putt and charged after it as the ball passed the
hole. When Phil caught up to the ball, he hit it back towards the hole
while the ball was still moving. For those of you who are unfamiliar
with the rules of golf, what Mickelson did was comparable to breaking
one of the 10 commandments. What makes his action even more horrific is
that it was Mickelson who behaved as about as unprofessional as one can
on a golf course. Phil Mickelson is arguably among the top three most
popular golfers in the world playing today and is one of the most
accomplished professionals of his generation. He has won 43 tournaments,
including five majors and currently ranks number 9 on the all-time list
of professional golf winners.
Given Mickelson's stature and popularity it seemed totally
inconceivable that he would hit a moving ball at any event, let alone
his country's national championship. The act itself to golf fans was
unimaginable. What was worse was his initial explanation. Mickelson
said the reason he hit a moving ball was that it was better to take a
two-stroke penalty than to try and hit the wayward putt back into the
hole when the ball came to a complete stop. In other words, Mickelson
believed that it would have taken him more than two strokes to get the
ball into the hole, so it was better for him to violate rules that to
almost every golfer at his level (and many of us below that level as
well) are sacrosanct. Several days after the US Open ended, Phil issued
a formal apology, but that occurred after the damage had been done and
the back tracking seemed more to stem additional harm to his reputation
than it was to show contrition.
Mickelson's initial explanation was shocking and lowered Phil's
reputation and esteem in the minds of not only his millions of fans, but
also anyone who follows golf. And therein lies the lesson. We all
make mistakes. We all lose our temper. Anyone who has ever attempted to
play the game of golf, can understand Mickelson's frustration. Most
people are forgiving of errors. What's not forgiving is a lack of
accountability. If Mickelson would have initially stated "What I did
today is inexcusable. I lost my temper and let my frustration get the
better of me. I want to apologize to my fellow professionals, to the
United States Golf Association and to my many fans around the world who
have supported me in my professional efforts. I am truly sorry for what
I did." How would that have resonated as opposed to I cheated because
it was less costly than playing by the rules? Instead, several days
later he issued a formal apology and said,"It was not one of my finest
moments."
When you or your team makes a mistake, it's how you respond that is more telling than what you did.
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