You know listening to Brandel Chamblee, who epitomises American golf and the rambling man, provides an insight into the current plight of the United States. What do I mean by this? Well, the uber verbose Chamblee reminds me of another prolix character on the American stage at the moment. Yes, Donald J Trump, the man the rest of the world has come to hate. Trump too professes to love golf, much to the chagrin of many other golf afficionados. These two share a rambling man nature that adores the sound of their own voice.
Mister Golf America Telling Us Stories
Listening to Brandel Chamblee in his role as post round commentator at the majors one wonders whether he could be charging power stations with the amount of hot air he generates. Creating the narrative is what this data driven Mister Golf does. Golf tournaments are a collection of strokes and scores generated by a bunch of golfers. Someone has to make sense of all these figures, especially for the broadcasters who go to the trouble of televising these sporting events. Four days of 18 holes for scores of professional golfers competing for masses of money, points and recognition. Chamblee crafts stories out of this morass of information beyond the obvious one for the victor.
The Rambling Nature Of Americans
Americans talk a lot more than many other peoples. I have often wondered why this is? What has driven this national characteristic to emerge? Is it the sales orientated nature of the place? American golf and the rambling man expounds upon these largely quiet and introverted golfers to weave narratives for the consumption of their audience. Their job is to turn dull into something else. To dig down into the minutia to find broadcasting gold where possible. Brandel Chamblee is the ultimate rambling man. Currently he is paired with an Irishman, Paul McGinley, both are former touring pros. Now, the Irish are famous for their gift of the gab and the competitive spirit is alive and well between these two talking heads. The cult of Trump has been explained in part by the American appetite for long winded ramblers. Men who love to expound endlessly about not much at all. It is, as if, the American character respects anyone who can stand up and rant without taking too many breaths for the longest time. Garrulous guys giving forth their interpretations of golf, the universe, and whatever takes their fancy.
“Brandel Chamblee is no stranger to making controversial remarks, and he dropped a whopper Wednesday, calling Tiger Woods the “most underachieving golfer in the history of the game.” “
The Quiet Nature Of Golf
Golf, at its core, is a quiet game where action speaks louder than words. This does not make it a good fit for the commerciality of modern day professional sports. Charisma and opinions, plenty of hot air, are what the commodification of sport feeds upon. Social media wants conflict and angry words shared to light up its world. Quiet guys like Scottie Scheffler do not make for appealing click bait. American golf and the rambling man do their best to serve up some tasty morsels for interest’s sake. Trump, of course, has his own Truth Social to talk shit on 24/7. Social media is an American invention. Selling stuff via every single aspect of human life is the American way. Commodification imbues sex, digital communication, housing, health, eating, and golfing. Making a buck out of absolutely everything is the American way.
The Masters & Trump
Watching the sentimental rituals involved at The Masters, where former great champions are lauded and revered, I wonder how the golfing world marries that with the behaviour of Donald Trump. Transactional Trump wants to screw what he can out of former allies and friends like Canada. I wonder how Corey Conners and the other Canadian golfers actually feel about Trump and his appalling behaviour towards Canada? Many of us around the world have lost trust with America in the wake of Trump’s actions economically and toward Ukraine. Donald Trump sees himself as a bigtime golf figure in the LIV Golf and PGA deal. Trump is a well known golf cheat, I mean, a veteran sport’s journalist wrote a whole book about Trump’s cheating exploits in golf. What kind of guy cheats at golf? Still, a whole bunch of Americans voted for him and I am sure many of them were from the golf sector. The hypocrisy is enormous! It is hard to respect American golf with Donald Trump as President.
“Canadian leaders are showing the way, as Canada stands up to Trump. In Europe, Keir Starmer is likewise leading the way for the UK in holding the line for Ukraine. The disgusting pro Putin behaviour of the Trump regime in America has crossed a line internationally. World condemnation is strong and getting louder. Donald Trump bullying Zelenskyy and Ukraine is the behaviour of a thug. Trump takes the easy option of applying pressure to the victim rather than the perpetrator. “
Talking Shit Is An American Specialty
American golf and the rambling man tells us a bit about the susceptibility of the national character for windy salesmen. Brandel Chamblee goes on and on about stuff until the cows come home but he does it in overdrive. These long dissertations about details and data derived from his study of prior form are akin to those in the horse racing game. The quiet game of golf where a player’s clubs actually do the talking is translated by Chamblee into TV land whizz and bang. Trump is a far more dangerous rambling man surrounded by extremists and nutjobs. Telling the truth is beyond him and compulsive lying is his MO. Golf is like a bubble, currently unaffected by the Trump chaos and uncertainty but I doubt that will remain the case for long.
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump.
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