GOLF LEADERS PILING ON TRUMP ARE OUT OF BOUNDS

I don’t dislike Donald Trump. I don’t necessarily like him, either.  I have the same feeling for him as I have for the Yankees, Patriots, Packers and Montreal Canadiens.  I hate them because they are always beating my teams. But I have to admit I respect them because they are so successful. I certainly respect Trump’s success. He does what he says and says what he does. I think people in general admire people like that.  Mr. Trump has done a lot for golf.  I was fortunate to play at Trump International in Palm Beach awhile back.  The course was quite impressive and the operation was first class. Now, the odds that I could play any of his courses on a regular basis are a million-to-one, but I am okay with that.  I don’t begrudge wealthy people having places to go that I, in my present state, could never set foot on. Life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.  Remember that stuff?  When did we stop admiring success?  People at the top create opportunity for those down the line.  For every Trump International, there are hundreds of World Woods, a top-100 golf course that right now you can play for $30.  It’s $500 to play Pebble Beach, but down the road there’s Pacific Grove for $50, with vistas just as spectacular. The golf authorities want to distance themselves from Trump because of words.  Hey, whatever happened to free speech? Who made them the moral authority?  If people feel The Donald crossed a line, they will punish him with their wallets.  I loathe it when organizations, politicians, or talking heads begin a sentence with, “The American people want,” when they actually have no clue what the average person wants.  I have found over the years that people are pretty adept at running their own lives. It requires wealth to run in Trump’s circles, and in America anyone has an opportunity to accumulate wealth, but it is not required to live a pretty good life and enjoy a lot of good things.  Until Mr. Trump actually demonstrates discrimination against anyone, I say to the USGA, PGA, PGA Tour, and any other golf organization, mind your own p’s & q’s.  People in glass houses, as the saying goes.