Jun 14

Rory Sabbatini's Terrible Twos Temper Tantrum no solution for slow play

I like to play golf at a brisk pace. Not George Bush Sr. and W. fast, but fast. And sure there’s nothing more annoying than waiting while some double-gutted yahoo who thinks he’s Tiger Woods sizes up that five footer for the 15th time.

But that doesn’t mean I’d storm off the green and tee it up on the next hole. Because I’m not an donkey’s behind. The Rory Sabbatini situation is really as simple as that.

The smattering of Sabbatini defenders, including TravelGolf.com’s own Tim McDonald are either clueless or dedicated to rude arrogance.

This guy is a pro. At least he’s supposed to be. This isn’t you playing a round at your local muni buzzed on six-pack of Bud. This was a PGA tournament. Ben Crane was playing for a lot of money. Crane taking forever is a little different than the guy playing for a beer drawing out every shot. This is his job. And it’s Sabbatini’s too.

You’re going to be annoyed on your job. It happens. That’s why it’s a job. That doesn’t mean you get to go off like a 2-year-old in a temper tantrum. If Sabbatini had a beef he should have taken it up with an official, a la Vijay Singh with Phil Mickelson’s spikes (when you cannot even reach Vijay’s level of civility, you know something’s wrong).

I cannot imagine a weekend golfer I’ve met pulling a Sabbatini and you meet plenty of weekend hackers in this job who are hardly knights of the round table. Sabbatini’s a pro and he cannot even live up to these barebones standards? There’s enough rudeness and inconsideration in the world.

Now we have some dorks cheering it out on the golf course!

And equating slow play at your local public course to slow play on the PGA Tour is ridiculous. There’s no connection. They’re pros, you’re not. It’s two different worlds. The only thing that should transfer is the respect for your fellow golfer.

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9 comments

Comment from: Kiel Christianson [Visitor]

Um, Sabbatini was playing for a lot of money, too. And he was doing quite well until the final round, when his timing was thrown off by the exceedingly slow play of Crane and being put on the clock due to Crane's pace. This said, Sabbatini handled the incident VERY poorly and unprofessionally. My point is, though, that everyone out there on a weekend is playing for a lot of money, and etiquette dictates first and foremost that a player not impede his partner's pursuit of a good finish. That goes for BOTH Sabbatini AND Crane.

2005-06-15 @ 09:06

Comment from: Jack Lord [Visitor]

Slow play has not been addressed seriously by the Tour. The problem is that golf shouldn't even take 4 hours to play realistically. As long as fans watch tour pros go through routines - sometimes over a minute - the same will happen at the local course. If it took Sabbatini's etiquette breach to move the issue forward then so be it. More people would get spusal permission to play golf if it would take less time and that is the real issue.

2005-06-15 @ 10:14

Comment from: Ryan [Visitor]

Hey Kiel Christianson -

Rory played with Crane for the first two rounds, too. Did it throw him off then?

Of course not. He went 69-68.

2005-06-15 @ 10:38

Comment from: Kevin Couch [Visitor]

Sure, Sabbatini was paired with Crane the first two days and somehow had two good rounds. But he was also in the group BEHIND that snail on Saturday. Crane being a picka55 is well known on tour, and he knows he's slow as all get out too, yet does nothing about it. Crane has been seen pulling out shaded in drawings of greens to help him with his read! This behavior is rediculous.

Granted, Sabbatini didn't make his point in the proper manner, but something has to be done and the USGA doesn't seem to give a hoot. A lot goes on behind closed doors on tour and maybe a harsh action as this was needed to make the USGA take more notice and have to address the situation publicly.

2005-06-16 @ 15:26

Comment from: John Sanders [Visitor]

Go Rory. They were both put on the clock for slow play and who's fault was that - Crane. What's worse - normally in those cases the faster player plays even faster to try and catch up and the slow player doesn't speed up at all. Slow play is rude! If it takes this action from Sabbatini to get tour officals to do something more (like identifying the actual culprits rather than the twosome) then good for him.

2005-06-16 @ 18:49

Comment from: D. Aubry [Visitor]

Rory was smart enough to not break a rule of golf. Crane broke the rules of golf etiquette and then so did Sabbatini. Who's more wrong? I say the guy who started it: action-reaction.
Crane knows he needs to get that ball off or get off the course. He's pushing his luck at 4 minutes per shot.

2005-06-16 @ 19:29

Comment from: Steve Mead [Visitor]

It was rude. It was wrong. It was unprofessional.
Ultimately, it will cause the powers that be to re-address the issue of slow play.
Therefore, it was effective.
Only Cory S. knows if it was worth it.

2005-06-17 @ 10:19

Comment from: Rob Semingson [Visitor]

First things first. For Paul Azinger to make the comments he did about Rory Sabbatini be a "pyscho" and "hot headed" is wrong and unprofessional on his part. Paul A. should apoligize to Rory for such comments. Rory is a great husband and father on top of being a talented golfer and I have seen this first hand off of the golf course. He also is a great supporter of our troops overseas. I watched on national TV when Paul Azinger made a fool of himself with those comments and it upset me and many others. I am behind Rory 100%. Keep your comments to yourself Paul and I will now always turn the volume off when you are a commentator covering these events.

2005-06-17 @ 15:40

Comment from: Joe [Visitor]

Again everyone says its rude to play fast but its also rude to play too slow....i personally know both of these players and have even played with Sabbatini on a few occasions. Yes Rory is arogant and cocky and probably could have handled the situation better but he shook Cranes hand at the end of the round and both apologized for their speed of play. Everyone needs to sit down and shut up and let these guys do their job...no one insults u at work on how fast, slow, kind, or rude u do ur job

2005-06-21 @ 02:52

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