Where's the rabbi from the film A Serious Man when you need him? In a world where we try and justify actions based on man-made law there has to be a place for some other kind of decision making when faced with a dilemma that seems to beg for it. And that place, strangely enough is in the word of professional golf.
Cheating and golf are words that aren't generally used in the same sentence. As one of the last bastions of self-policing in sports, the game of golf has prided itself on its athletes acting honorably. But cheating and its counterpoint word, "slander" were bandied about last week by one of the world's highest ranked members of the PGA Tour.
While the name calling has been muted for the moment, the issue that sparked the controversy has not been resolved. It might not resolve itself amicably and that is the problem for the PGA and its commissioner, Tim Finchem.
Phil Mickelson, known as a fan favorite and a guy who is affable, bordering on jovial was moved to cry "slander" after publicly being told that he is cheating by using a decades-old golf club. The club, manufactured by Ping has a face with grooves that have been banned now by the USGA and the PGA Tour.
Ping's wedge has been grandfathered in solely as a result of a lawsuit, settled in 1990. The Ping exception has brought about an ethical dilemma for golfers who still own an old Ping wedge. Do they use it because it is allowed or do they refuse to do so and fall in line with the spirit of the rule change?
There is no easy way to resolve this problem unless PGA Tour members decide on their own to fall in line and just toss the Ping wedge out of their bags. The Tour can't force them to do it even if it tried because spokesmen for Ping have taken the position that a litigation settlement would be violated if it did.
Finchem is trying face-to-face meetings to see if he can ratchet down the level of rhetoric and get Mickelson and Scott McCarron, the golfer who threw the word "cheating around", to settle this without more mud slinging. After a meeting in Los Angeles on Tuesday the only tangible result of Finchem's straight talk was an apology by McCarron.
Mickelson for his part hasn't said he will discontinue using his beloved Ping wedge and even if he would, there are other less high-profile golfers who have used the club without any publicity. Although it is acknowledged to give the user an advantage for shots off the fairway, that alone can't win anyone a golf tournament without everything else going right on the course.
And that is where this stands. They are at an impasse with one side pointing to a rule and the other advocating rising above it. Anyone seen the rabbi?
UPDATE On Wednesday, Phil Mickelson announced he won't use the Ping wedge this week in the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles. While reserving his right to do so in the future he accepted McCarron's apology and made it plain what this flap was all about.
Mickelson has a big problem with the way the USGA approves or disapproves golf equipment. He had attempted to get a wedge approved that he believed was a compromise between the old and new grooved clubs. He was turned down. He claims he tried to warn the golfing gods that there would be a firestorm over the new ban and it looks like the PGA Tour underestimated the problem.
In a statement on Wednesday, PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem admitted that he miscalculated the number of old Ping wedges that were still in golfers' equipment arsenals as well as the ease with which they can be found on EBay. Finchem hopes that Mickelson's willingness to give up his use of the Ping will be permanent but Phil isn't going there...at least yet.
Mickelson told media on Wednesday that he was looking for other golfers, less high-profile than him, to agree to to keep their offending clubs at home. If that doesn't happen he would expect the PGA to come to some arrangement with Ping that would allow the Tour to ban them, despite the litigation settlement between the parties. If none of it works, look for Phil to reintroduce the club into a tournament later this season.
To be continued...