Force of Nature -- The Looming Golf Industry Shipwreck -- Golf is Unethical -- MODIFIED -- PDF --...

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THE 2016SUMMER OLYMPICS

The 2016 Summer Olympics, officiallyknown as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad,are a major international multisport eventto be celebrated in 2016 . The host city ofthe Games will be Rio de Janeiro , Brazi l . The events are scheduled to be held fromAugust 5 to 21, 2016 .

The 2016 Summer Olympic program is scheduled to feature 28 sportsand a total of38 disciplines. There were two open spots for sports andinitiallyseven sports ( including GOLF ) began the bidding for inclusionin the 2016 program. Baseball and softball, which were dropped fromthe program in 2005 , GOLF, karate, squash, roller sports ( inline speedskating ), and rugby sevens, all applied to be included. Leaders of theseven sports held presentations in front of the International OlympicCommittee executive board in June 2009.

On October 9th, 2009, the International Olympic Committee voted to INCLUDE

GOLF and rugby sevens on the program for the Games in Rio. The other26 sports were also confirmed with a large majority of the votes.

GOLF WAS an Olympic event for the first and onlytime in 1904 , in Saint Louis, Missouri. In a coldrain storm, George S . Lyon won the GOLD MEDAL forCanada. Twelve years later, in 1916 , Lyon wouldestablish a committee to administer the RULES OFGOLF in Canada . He also became the committeesfirst chairman. Nineteen years later, in 1923 ,Lyon would serve as President of the Royal Cana-

dian Golf Associat ion ( R.C.G.A. ). Lyon wasknown as Canadas Grand Old Man of Golf .Lyon traveled to London in 1908 to defend hisOlympic title, but plans to stage a golf tournament there were CAN-CELLED at the last minute, and golfHAS NOT BEEN HELD in the Olympicssince.


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IS GOLF UNETHICAL ?

August 18 t h , 2009

Randy Cohen

THE ISSUE

Last week in Berl in , the International Olympic Committee s [ I .O.C. ] execu-

tive board voted to recommend thatGOLF be INCLUDED in the 2016 Games; the

full membership will vote in October [ 2009 ] .

In July , in Caracas, the Venezuelan president Hugo ChvezDENOUNCED GOLF as a bourgeois sport , and officials have

taken steps TO CLOSE TWO COURSES. The joys or miseries of

playing the game aside, when it comes to assessing golfs un-

derlying ethos, who is more persuasive, Chvez or the I .O .C . ?


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Hugo Chvez denounced golf

as a bourgeois sport

THE ARGUMENT

While it would be oversimplifying either to uncritically exalt or utterly damn theculture of golf, on balance ChvezHAS THE STRONGER CASE.

The golf community, like most others, is neither monolithic nor immutable, but

the current customs and values of bigtime professional golfers, those most

likely to dominate Olympic play, seem remote from the Olympic ideal.

Heres how those golfers look from one international perspective, that ofBruce

Selcraig, writing in The Ir ish Times during Ryder Cup week in 2006 :

>


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American golfers are even more homogeneous and more conservative than their

global colleagues, Selcraig asserts, citing a Sports I l lustrated survey of 76

P.G.A. tour players :

91 percent endorsed the confirmation ofJust ice Samuel A. Al i to Jr . ;

88 percent supported the invasion ofIraq; and

0 percent had seen Brokeback Mountain.

Not science, perhaps, but not unrevealing.

[ BACKGROUND INFORMATION S AMUEL A. A L I TO JR . IS A CONSERVATIVE ASSO-

CIATE JUS TICE O F THE SUPREME CO URT O F THE UNITED STA TES. HE WA S NO MINA TED BY

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH AND HAS SERVED ON THE COURT S INCE JANUARY 31 S T,

2006. ]

As stated on an official Olympic Web site, the goal of the Olympic Movement

it is a movement, not just a gateway to aWheaties box

>

The culture Selcraig describes is MORE REDOLENT OF A GATED COMMUNITY THAN

AMIABLE INTERNATIONAL POPULISM.


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That culture was discreditably displayed in 2002, when protests arose over the

Masters Tournament being held, as ever, at the Augusta National Golf Club ,

a private club WITHOUT A SINGLE WOMAN MEMBER.

[ BACKGROUND INFORMATION AUGUS TA NATIONAL GO LF CLUB , L O CA TED IN THE

U.S. CITY O F AUGUS TA, GEO RGIA, IS ONE OF THE MOST EXCLUSIVE GOLF CLUBS IN THE

WORLD . THE CLUB OPENED FOR PLAY IN JANUARY 1933. S INCE 1934 IT HAS PLAYED

HOST TO THE ANNUAL MASTERS TOURNAMENT , ONE OF THE FOUR MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS IN

PROFESSIONAL GOLF . IT IS CURRENTLY RANKED THE NUMBER ONE COURSE IN GO LF D I -

GEST 'S L IST OF AMERICA'S 100 GREA TES T CO URS ES. ]

Lamentably, FEW male golf stars joined the protest. Tiger Woods was con-spicuously willing to play at a sexually segregated club ( and one that did not

accept a black member until 1 9 9 0 ). He had no particular duty to step up

no honorable person can play at a segregated club but his inspiring per-

sonal history made his complacency especially sad. As ofApri l [ 2009 ], when

the Masters again returned to Augusta, the club still had NO WOMEN, a fact

that should worry the golfbesotted I .O.C. , which trumpets its determination

to enhance womens participation in sport at all levels .

Reactionary bastions like Augusta are not the whole story. Golf is also played

on public courses there are 16,000 nationwide and some pros emerge

from that modest terrain. New York City , for example, has 12 municipal

courses. ( Queens , with four, has the most. Manhattan has none, although I

can envision a concrete course that begins with a tee at the Apollo and ends

on a green near the stock exchange. Itll keep pedestrians alert. )


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Yet golfers appear to be a less diverse group, and a group less interested in di-

versity, than, say, soccer players or runners.

As Chvez put it:

>

He answered his own question : >

Although not explicitly mentioned byChvez or the I .O .C . , GOLF ENTAILS QUES-TIONABLE ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS. UNESCO warns of the lamentable conse-

quences of building golf courses to attract international tourists :

>

[ BACKGROUND INFORMATION THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL , SCIENTIF IC

AND CUL TURA L ORGA N IZA T IO N ( UNESCO ) IS A SPECIAL IZED AGENCY OF THE UNITED

NATIONS ESTABL ISHED ON NOVEMBER 16 T H , 1945. ITS STATED PURPOSE IS TO CONTRIB-

UTE TO PEACE AND SECURITY BY PROMOTING INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION THROUGH

EDUCATION , S CIENCE, AND CULTURE IN ORDER TO FURTHER UNIVERSAL RESPECT FOR JUS-

TICE , THE RUL E O F L A W , AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS PRO-

CLAIMED IN THE UNITED NATIONS CHARTER . ]


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Golf entails questionable

environmental ethics

Some courses have become more frugal with water, and a team of British sci-

entists argues in The Biologist thatmany golf courses actively promote

nature conservation and harbour some of our rarest plant and animal

species .

But IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE that the bestdesigned nature preserve includes 18

putting greens, orTHAT EVEN THE MOST SOPHISTICATED GOLF COURSE IS BETTER FOR

THE ENVIRONMENT THAN NO GOLF COURSE AT ALL.

These considerations are putatively important to the Olympic Movement ,

which declares its intentto encourage and support a responsible concern

for environmental issues, to promote sustainable development in sport .

( While not strictly a matter of environmental ethics, as a kid playing pitch and

putt in Charleston, South Carol ina, I saw an alligator on the course

theyve got plenty down there adding excitement to an otherwise placid pur-

suit. If the I .O.C. does go with golf in 2016, I hope it will be a version that fea-

tures large carnivores. )


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It is hard to believe that

the most sophisticated golf course

is better for the environment

than no golf course at all

Every bigtime sport has its disheartening elements. College basketball, a

game I love, is marred by periodic recruiting scandals; academic mischief; the

strange behavior of the N.C.A.A. [ National Collegiate Athletic Associat ion ],

its governing body; and Rick Pit ino s love life. [ Pitino is an American basket-

ball coach. ]

Perhaps the only moments of grace and beauty and virtue in any game occur

during actual play, and we should not look too closely at its broader culture

and implicit ethics without expecting to be dismayed. But there are genuine

differences between the ethos of one sport and another. It is hard to imaginethe Duke of Well ington declaring, The Battle of Waterloo was won in the

corporate hospitality tents of the P.G.A. tour.

[ BACKGROUND INFORMATION THE PGA TOUR IS THE ORGANIZATION THAT OPER-

ATES THE MAIN PROFESSIONAL GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS IN THE UNITED STA TES. ]


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CANADIAN ASSO CIAT IO N O F PHY SIC IANS FO R T HE ENVIRO NMENT (C.A.P.E . )

CANADIAN CANCER S O CIET Y (C.C.S.)

CANADIAN CO AL IT IO N FO R HEALT H

A ND ENVIRO NMENT (C.C.H.E.)

CANADIAN ENVIRO NMENT AL LAW

ASSO CIAT IO N (C.E .L .A.)

DA V I D SUZUK I FO UNDAT IO N

GREEN PART Y O F ONT AR IO

NE W DEMO CRAT IC PART Y

OF ONT AR IO (N.D.P. )

PEST IC IDE FREE ONT AR IO (P.F .O.)

REGIST ERED NURSES ASSO CIAT IO NOF ONT AR IO (R.N.A.O.)

S IERRA CLUB O F CANADA


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WARNING : Regardless of itsException Status in many jurisdic-tions, the Golf Industry faces somehuge challenges because of its HIGHDEGREE OF VULNERABILITY concerningseveral public affairs issues. In or-der to successfully deter the mali-cious efforts of all EnviroManiac

Activists, the Golf Industry mustimmediately address the followingsixteen critical issues.

1. The Golf Industry must CEASEfocusing on the ineffective INTE-GRATED PEST MANAGEMENT ( I .P .M. )strategies as the solution to its pub-lic affairs problems. Unfortunately,I .P .M. has been designed to be ap-plicable to the Agriculture Indus-try, and NOT the Golf Industry.

2. The Golf Industry must publiclyDIVULGE to the public ALL scientificinformation that ascertains that itschemicals are definitely minimumrisk orreducedrisk.

3. The Golf Industry must publiclyDENOUNCE the socalled green alter-natives to conventional pest controlproducts as bogus, and the biologi-calnaturalorganic methods, as al-mostINEFFECTIVE and NONEXISTENT.

4. The Golf Industry mustCREATEa FULLY TRANSPARENT database forrighttoknow information concern-ing its chemicals.

5. The Golf Industry must directlyand actively SUPPORT LITIGATIONlaunched against those enviromaniacactivists that have conspi-red to prohibitFEDERALLY LEGAL, SCI-ENTIFICALLY SAFE, TOTALLY IRREPLA-

CEABLE, and ABSOLUTELY INDISPENSA-BLE pest control products, and cease

being a mere casual observer.

6. The Golf Industry must explainwhy some of its chemicals are pro-hibited by other nations, but not inCanada, and cease its wasteful Wag The Dog policies on irrele-

vant issues such as saving quintoz-ene.

BACKGROUND INFORMAT I ON FROM AN INDEPENDENTPERSPECT I VE IN THE UNI T ED ST AT ES, THE ENVI -

RONMENTAL PROT ECT I ON AGENCY ( E.P.A . ) CON-CLUDED T HAT T HE R I SKS WHEN USI NG QUI NT OZ ENE

WERE SUB ST ANT I AL FROM AN ENVI RONMENT AL ST AND-PO I NT. THE E.P.A . CONCLUDED T HAT T HE RE REGI ST RAT I ON OF QUI NT OZ ENE WAS ACCEPT AB LE PRO -

VI DED T HAT ALL TURF USES WERE TERMINATED. IN V I EW OF T HE MANY QUEST I ONS CONCERNI NG T HE

SAFETY OF QUINTOZENE , I T WOULD SEEM PREFERAB LETHAT THE GOL F I NDUST RY WI T HDRAW I T S PET I T I ON I N

SUPPORT OF T H I S I NGREDI ENT . MOREOVER, BY DEFEND-I NG A PRODUCT ASSOCI AT ED WI T H SER I OUS HEALT H , ENVI RONMENT AL , AND T URF PHY T O T OX I C I T Y I SSUES ,

THE GOL F INDUST RY HAS WEAKENED I T S CREDI B I L I T Y . THE PES T MANAGEMENT REGULAT ORY AGENCY OF

HEALT H CANADA ( P.M.R.A . ) WI LL FOLLOW WI T H T HE


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SAME DEC I S I ON AS T HE E.P.A . BY PROHIBIT ING THESALE OF QUI NT OZ ENE B EY OND 2010, AND B Y PROHI B I T -I NG T HE USE OF QUI NT OZ ENE B EY OND 2011. THE

MANUFACT UR I NG INDUST RY WILL NOT DEFEND QUI N-TOZENE . FURTHERMORE , THE MANUFACT UR I NG I NDUS-

T RY WI LL NO LONGER I NVEST I N ANY PEST CONTROLPRODUCT S I N CANADA , SI NCE I T AB HORS OPERAT I NG I N

MARKET S MADE UNSTABLE B Y TERRORISM, WHET HERPOL I T I CAL OR ENVI RONMENT AL.

7. The Golf Industry must VIGOR-OUSLY EMBARK on a massive publicrelations campaign to stop the pro-posed scheme by EnviroManiac

Activists and National DemocraticParty of Canada threatening a NA-TIONAL prohibition of pest controlproducts. N.D.P . is the POLITICALSHIELD for the EnvironmentalTer-

rorMovement.

8. The Golf Industry must reviewand justify its current and extensivearray of chemicals.

9. The Golf Industry must plan forthe INEVITABLE and TOTAL REVOCATIONof its EXCEPTION STATUS in most ju-risdictions across Canada, in two tofour years. The Golf Industry will

lose many or ALL of its valued andnecessary pest control products.

10. The Golf Industry must providethe public with scientific informa-tion supporting the idea that its in-novative management practices MAYSLIGHTLY reduce the use of pest con-trol products.

11. The Golf Industry must de-

velop and publish golf maintenanceprotocols and the performancestandards EXPECTED by its playingcustomers. So far, the Golf Indus-try has been ridiculously inconsis-tent in defining suitable playing sur-faces.

12. The Golf Industry mustSCIEN-TIFICALLY DEFINE and PUBLICALLY DIS-CREDIT the misleading term Or-ganic Golf Course , and establishpolicies for expelling clubs using

thisINACCURATE

andMISLEADING

term from its trade associations.

13. The Golf Industry must VERYSTRONGLY ADDRESS and DISCREDIT themisconceptions concerning imida-cloprid, chlorothaloni l, 2,4D, andother chemicals.

14. The Golf Industry mustTERMINATE

all relationships with Environmental TerrorOrganizations like the Con-temptibleCanadianCancerSocie-ty, World Wildl i fe Fund , and oth-ers. All related charitable tourna-ments that provide financial dona-tions and support to these Environ-mentalTerrorOrganizations must

be SUSPENDED and REDIRECTED.

15. The Golf Industry must OP-POSE the LOATHSOME and RIDICULOUSRoyal Canadian Golf Association( R.C.G.A . ) that raises millions ofdollars for the MillionaireCanadi-anCancerSociety, an Environmen-talTerrorOrganization that uses thismoney in its conspiracy to prohibitof FEDERALLY LEGAL, SCIENTIFICALLYSAFE, TOTALLY IRREPLACEABLE, andABSOLUTELY INDISPENSABLE conven-

tional pest control products.

16. The Golf Industry must openlyand financially SUPPORT POLITICALCANDIDATES that oppose any prohibi-tion of pest control products.


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