I hope you're keeping well. 

So, the pandemic that has been blighting so many of our lives, for what is now a considerable amount of time, seems to be showing no signs of going away soon. As bad as it is, and I am well aware that there will be people reading this who have been directly affected by Covid 19, I am sadly not talking about the virus.

Just over two weeks ago, Justin Thomas, having held off a shortish putt, admonished himself under his breath by saying a word that all of us know we shouldn’t now say. There is no argument about that. The fact that it was only heard by high powered microphones is irrelevant – firstly he knew they were there and secondly, you still shouldn’t say it! He was notified the moment he left the course that the mics had picked it up and in interviews that immediately followed he was totally repentant, stating how unacceptable it was and that he was totally sorry.

Most of us would be happy to leave it there, especially as it is clear what a nice guy Thomas is. The recent father and son tournament, that he won with his dad, seemed to reinforce this. We would all support the fact that it was wrong, but it was a momentary lapse and not aimed at anyone but himself (not that that makes it ok).

My problem isn’t what happened up to that point. It’s what’s happened since then.

Ralph Lauren dropped him almost immediately. Now, let’s get something straight – is Justin Thomas going to go broke because he’s lost a clothing contract? Not unless someone steals the lots of millions that he has stashed in an account somewhere. So that’s not the issue. My point is this: Was this a business decision? Did they do this because they genuinely thought that none of us would now want to buy their very expensive golf and leisure wear? I very much doubt it as they did it almost without thinking. That sort of decision is made over a longer period of time. No, I believe they did it because of the pandemic that has been with us for far longer than CV19. It was virtue signalling through and through.

Habits are something that I talk about a lot in the golf swing/game. It is very hard to break them. It requires perseverance and lots of repetition of correct movements to override what is embedded within us so that under pressure the right thing happens. That is also true of all things in life. Try to quit smoking (this is of course harder still because of physical dependencies), or to stop biting your nails. How about changing your lifestyle so that you exercise every day, without fail, and stop eating two packets of crisps everyday (yep, that’s me!). All of these things can be achieved but I guarantee you that you will trip up on the way and need constant reminding and pressure, in some way, to keep you on track in the early days. Eventually, it becomes easier as the old habits are replaced by new until one day, you can’t even remember the old way.

(Just as an aside: How many of you call yourself one of the following when making a mistake when doing something: idiot, ignoramus, or moron. In technical terms each one of those describes someone with an intellectual disability. In the case of idiot, according to Wikipedia, it was actually a classification used in ‘legal and psychiatric contexts’. So by using those words are we not discriminating against those with a disability? You see how far this could go?)

On our way to wiping out racism, homophobia, sexism, ageism, and every other ism that I’ve missed, we are going to trip up. It is inevitable. I do not believe that Justin Thomas is homophobic because he uttered something under his breath, aimed at himself. It is firstly something he has probably learned to say from hearing others say it, and secondly, it’s a habit that he would say himself needs to be broken. The shock of knowing he was heard will have gone a long way to stopping him ever saying it again. So why the need for the cancelled clothing contract?

I’ll wager with you now that it has an adverse effect on Ralph Lauren and RLX rather than a positive one. Most of us (and I do mean most) are getting a bit fed up of the constant ramming down our throats of various causes, implying that we are all racist, homophobic, ageist, and so on, as if we are all guilty. Of course this makes me sound a little hypocritical – didn’t I just say that we need reminding on the way? Yes, but you have to be careful: The father who pushes his son too hard sometimes makes him rebel, the student who is never congratulated loses heart, and the person who is constantly pushed eventually pushes back.

If I were Justin Thomas I would now go out to win more tournaments than I have ever done. I would want to make RL sorry. I would want that because I would know that it didn’t happen because I am homophobic - it was a bad habit that I totally agree needs to be stopped. If RL then come crawling back I would take great pleasure in showing them the door. That’s me, of course, but it comes with the territory when you are competitive and feel you are being unjustifiably attacked. I would not be surprised at all if JT feels similarly, in private if not publicly.

As I said previously, you have to be very careful how you try to influence people. Too much pressure and you get pressure back. It seems in this case this issue has entered golf, once again. I hope it doesn’t backfire on those who are trying to profit from it.

David.