The Invisible Referee

Integrity is the quiet strength of a person’s character. It is not measured in the applause of others, but in the choices made when no one else is watching. The easy road is often to cut corners, to shade the truth, or to seek advantage at the expense of what is right. But the man or woman of integrity holds firm, knowing that character is built in silence, in the unseen decisions that shape the soul.

Doing what is right when nobody is looking creates a foundation that cannot be shaken. A reputation built on deceit or compromise will one day collapse, but integrity endures. It brings trust, peace of mind, and the respect of others. It aligns us with a higher standard.

Each unseen moment is a test. Do we act with honesty in small matters? Do we resist temptation when no one would know otherwise? In those hidden choices, we reveal who we truly are. Integrity is not about being perfect, but about being faithful to what is right, even in the dark.

The year was 1925, and a young amateur phenom by the name of Bobby Jones had captivated the golf world.

The US Open that year was played at Worcester Country Club, where upon playing the 11th hole, Jones hit his ball in the rough. Before playing his approach shot he inadvertently caused his ball to move.

Nobody saw it move; not his competitors nor the officials following the group. Despite suggestions from his competitors that he needn’t enforce the penalty, he insisted upon penalizing himself 1 stroke, according to the rules at the time. A true showing of his integrity and moral compass, and what golf is all about at its core. It’s a gentleman’s game, policed by the players. He went on to tie Willie Macfarlane at the end of 72 holes, and lose by a single shot in a 36 hole playoff.

(Pretty wild that the playoff was 36 holes back then. Let’s bring that back.)

When questioned afterwards about the penalty, Jones replied with a now-famous line:

“You might as well praise a man for not robbing a bank”

A remarkable perspective on what the rules of golf mean. Golf is unique in that behavior like this is (or should be) standard for any self-respecting player. It’s a self-governed game, and relies on the integrity and morality of it’s players to uphold its standards.

Golf is the only sport that is self-governed and policed. Have you ever seen a defensive back in the NFL walk over to the ref and confess to pass interference? Nope, and even if he did confess, it’s not a penalty unless the ref throws the flag.

Integrity in all actions is the heartbeat of golf, and cheaters develop a reputation and are known. If you cheat and think you got away with it, you may have that one time, but everyone will know you’re a cheater. The golf community is small, and you’ll be wearing that label for a long time.

As I write this, I am reminded of one of the best examples of integrity I have heard in recent years. Chris Crawford, then an amateur, disqualified himself from the US Am at LACC as he was on the precipice of qualifying for match play. He had played in 5 US Ams, and had never made match play. He also quotes the exact Bobby Jones quote in the interview he gave after DQing himself for using the slope function on his rangefinder.

That’s the kind of move that earns you a lifetime reputation as a guy that always does the right thing. Let’s all strive to be like Chris.

Olympic Club’s Burger Dog was back in the spotlight a few weeks ago as it played host to the U.S. Amateur. It got me thinking, whats the origin story?

Well, to paraphrase the above story, it all started with “Hot Dog” Bill Parrish, who was a hamburger entrepreneur. (What a sentence). “Hot Dog” was perhaps the first to employ a mobile food truck to serve his burger dogs, which were created to maximize space in the small truck. (I love capitalism).

Anyway, he set up shop in Lake Merced in the 1950s, and the burger dogs were so good that they attracted players of the local Olympic Club mid-round. As you could imagine, this situation wasn’t conducive to fast pace of play, and the mobile truck was soon had a permanent spot on the 10th tee of the Lake Course.

As an attendee of the 2012 US Open at Olympic, I am kicking myself for not purchasing one of the 17,000 dogs they sold that week.

The best USGA event of the year is upon us, and it’s not even televised. As an aside, no former pros should be allowed to compete in amateur events. We must make amateur golf great again. I’m all for turning pro, but that should mean its the end of your amateur career for good.

Below are a few guys to watch from the opening two days:

Mason Howell

Chicago Golf Club, Early 1900s “Ball Limit” Rule

In the club’s early rule book, members were restricted to carrying no more than six golf balls during a round. At the time, golf balls were hand-wound gutta or Haskell balls, which were expensive and prone to falling apart. The bylaw was partly about preserving the integrity of the game (discouraging players from hitting multiple practice balls during rounds) and partly about curbing slow play. It reflected a broader ethos of the era: golf was meant to be played quickly.

My intention with BowtiedGolf is to grow it as the elite clubs do — through referrals.

If you’ve improved your look, laughed a little bit, or learned something because of this newsletter… why keep it to yourself?