![]() The fairway, of course, leads to the green, a small, manicured area that contains the hole, the winner’s circle, the C-suite, the gated community, the Oval Office. (Golf nomenclature, including “par” and “lie,” which is where the ball comes to rest after a shot, is too vulnerable to mockery to be addressed here.) You strike out from the tees (usually at different distances from the hole for men and women) onto a long carpet called a “fairway” that winds among natural “hazards” to be avoided: small ponds, sand traps, patches of undergrowth representing the oceans, deserts, and jungles that must be colonized or conquered on your 18-hole journey to capitalistic triumph. A golf course is laid out as a hero’s journey. Golf is marketed as a test of character - especially of those business school values of focus, perseverance, and self-improvement. There has to be a better use for the millions of dollars that will be squandered this year on overpriced golf duds and equipment, lessons, playing fees, and memberships in the latest trendy clubs (that these days often have you-know-who’s name on them in large golden letters). Think of the affordable housing that could be built on that land. Think of all the organic vegetables that could be grown on those swards or the walking trails and wildlife sanctuaries that could be established. Golf is also a waste of space and water, and a sinkhole for chemicals poisoning the local aquifer. There’s far more to golf, however, than mere inequality or a history of institutional racism and sexism. It was time to start counting the days until he dropped off the scoreboard.įor successful greedheads and their wannabes, golf is the most sacred of sports, the symbol of all that is retrograde and exclusionary in American life. In doing so, he committed an unpardonable sacrilege in the high church of capitalism. On June 9th, President Trump alienated his true base - the reactionary rich - by driving his golf cart onto the green at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. While waiting for Trump to jump the tracks, let’s savor the day when his inevitable train wreck first passed through a critical safety switch. This piece originally appeared on TomDispatch. ![]()
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