Capitalism in civvy clothes

Sometimes, and without flinching, one has to ask the big and difficult questions. So, here goes and let the consequences be what they may: does golf cause amorality? Or does the game just appeal to the already amoral?

Golf is the most corporate of sports. It is played in civvies, and no-one works up a sweat. In America, to golf is a verb, although a golf cart does all the verbing. It lugs the broad beams of prosperity around amanicured land where the grass is shorn by immigrant labour and the water is dyed to look pretty. It’s a corporate vision of heaven.

Golf’s also expensive, of course, and therefore exclusive, which is part of its appeal. It is associatedwith country clubs whose membership is old white men with new white teeth. Inevitably, then, Trump plays golf. But so do all American presidents, even the occasional nice one. Golf’s link with power and money and the status quo is forged in steel. It’s the game of the haves. It votes Republican, resents taxation, and thrives on economic apartheid. Golf, in other words, is founded on a soggy moral footing. Were it to sink further, one should perhaps not be surprised.

All over the world, golf and capitalism go hand in hand. The Japanese are fanatical about both. Just to get a tee time in Japan is synonymous with success. Golf is also popular in the Middle East, where they are blessed with two of golf’s main ingredients, money and sand. Which brings us to today’s story.

Professional golf is controlled by the Professional Golfers’ Association. But a challenger to that monopoly has arisen, a proposed new circuit of professional tournaments. Healthy competition, one might think, and just the sort of thing that the most capitalist of games would approve of. But the money for this new venture has been put up by Saudi Arabia.

Yes, that Saudi Arabia, the place now run by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He’s the man who high-fived a grinning Putin, and gave $2 billion to Trump’s son-in-law. Most notoriously, he ordered the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

Khashoggi was a journalist who’d been critical of the Saudi regime. He was lured to a Saudi embassy to collect some papers, and was met by a team of 15 butchers with a garrotte and bone saws. His remains have never been found. The Saudis initially denied he’d been murdered, then claimed it was an accident, then tried and condemned a few underlings in secret. Meanwhile, an international inquiry concluded that it had all happened at the behest of the crown prince.

So, using a technique that dates back to the games of Ancient Rome, Saudi Arabia is funding sport to improve its image. To help things along Saudi has hired some well-known golfers, such as Greg Norman.

One has to feel a little sorry for Mr Norman. He is 67 years old, so he’s been around professional golf for half a century. That’s half a century of polo shirts and dress slacks, and hunching over putts, and American spectators shouting ‘‘get in the hole’’. That’s half a century of thinking golf mattered. You wouldn’t wish such a life on your enemies. It would be remarkable if it hadn’t had at least some effect on him.

Journalists have asked him about working for the Saudis. Specifically, they’ve asked how he feels about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. To which Mr Norman replied, and I quote: ‘‘Look, we’ve all made mistakes.’’

And so I return to my opening question: did golf corrupt Greg Norman? Or is he an amoral man who just happens to play golf?