FORE Magazine

Top Menu

  • About Me
  • Contact Us
  • Home

Main Menu

  • Current Issue
  • Profiles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel
  • 19th Hole
  • Classic Course
  • FORE Her
  • More
    • Know the Rules
    • Handicap Hints
    • SCGA Junior
    • Where Are They Now?
    • News
    • Public Affairs
  • scga.org
Sign in / Join

Login

Welcome! Login in to your account
Lost your password?

Lost Password

Back to login

logo

FORE Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Profiles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel
  • 19th Hole
  • Classic Course
  • FORE Her
  • More
    • Know the Rules
    • Handicap Hints
    • SCGA Junior
    • Where Are They Now?
    • News
    • Public Affairs
  • scga.org
Fall 2015Range Tokens
Home›Issues›Fall 2015›No thank you, Sir…I won’t have another: Why do Golfers take Mulligans?

No thank you, Sir…I won’t have another: Why do Golfers take Mulligans?

By Mark Willard
October 1, 2015
8555
0
Share:

Imagine: you’re watching football this weekend. A quarterback takes the snap, drops back to pass, releases it … right into the hands of the opposing safety. Interception! The safety is running the other direction, dodging tacklers attempting to score. All of a sudden, he stops. He walks over to the quarterback, hands him the ball and all the players on the field walk back to their original starting spots. The quarterback has decided to use his mulligan, so the interception didn’t count.

QBs would just love that! But they won’t hold their breath, because it’ll never happen.

It only happens in golf, where most of the amateur players I know think it’s a per-round birthright to get that extra shot. In fact, a lot of these warriors think you get one on each side of the course. They’re the same guys who also count every putt inside (10 feet) the leather as good.

Not trying to look down on anyone here, and I’m all about the fun on a golf course, so do whatever makes you smile. For me, I don’t like the feeling of posting an 84 when I know inside my deep, dark gut that I actually shot an 86. Or an 87. Or who knows what it would’ve been if I had actually played my ball.

Where did this come from? I googled it. There are a thousand theories. Most of them are centered on someone with the last name Mulligan, who begged for a re-do one day and it stuck. Flash forward years later and this guy’s last name is uttered, at least once, every round every day on every course.

As is usually the case, things evolve over time. And the mulligan has evolved in some advantageous ways for golfers. I don’t know which Mulligan story is true, but all of the possibilities had one thing in common: the mulligan had a reason behind it. In other words, a golfer would get a mulligan because he hadn’t warmed up or wasn’t properly prepared for a shot, usually his very first shot of the day. But evolution baby. Now, golfers are using mulligans whenever they choose, simply because they don’t like the landing spot of their real shot.

Ok, time for the gloves to come off. This is PATHETIC!

This is a tradition in exactly zero other sports. You’d be laughed off the field or court. Maybe Patrick Ewing should get another try at that layup. Maybe Russell Wilson would like to re-do that last pass in the Super Bowl. Maybe Jean Van de Velde would have won the Open Championship if his last name was Mulligan.

I know, I know. You want me to lighten up. Hey, I’m totally relaxed. I’m just wondering if you’re as good of a golfer as you say you are. If every score you’ve ever posted is 3 or 4 shots lower than what you actually shot, then your handicap is, well … ya know … wrong.

They say golf is a metaphor for life. And I agree, unless you use mulligans. Because in real life, if you get into a fender bender, you can’t back up and try again. If you forget your anniversary, your wife is not going to give you a do-over.

A quote from Eminem: “If you had one shot, or one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted, would you capture it, or just let it slip?”

Notice he didn’t add the option of trying to do better on your re-do.

Previous Article

Little Big Man: The Legend & Legacy ...

Next Article

The hidden charms of Riverside: The brunch ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Mark Willard

Mark Willard has been a radio & TV personality in Southern California for 15 years. He used to be a 9 handicap. Then he had kids. Now he’s a 14.But he says it’s totally worth it. He and his beautiful wife Jill have 3 children and live in Manhattan Beach.

Related articles More from author

  • Range Tokens

    “If I Ran a Charity Tournament…”

    January 1, 2015
    By Mark Willard
  • Fall 2015Profiles

    Little Big Man: The Legend & Legacy of Eddie Merrins

    October 1, 2015
    By Judd Spicer
  • Fall 2019Range Tokens

    Coe’s Corner: Drinks On Me

    October 23, 2019
    By Jonathan Coe
  • For the love of her club- Betty Bowler
    Fall 2015Profiles

    For the Love of her club: Historian Betty Bowler is right at home at Woodland Hills CC

    October 1, 2015
    By Jill Painter Lopez
  • Caddyshack
    Range TokensSpring 2016

    Top 5 Golf Movies

    April 1, 2016
    By Mark Willard
  • Historic Tournaments - 1st place
    Classic CourseFall 2015

    Historic Tournaments at Classic Courses

    July 1, 2015
    By Judd Spicer

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Recent Posts

  • FeaturedSCGA JuniorWinter 2023

    Making a Future in Golf a Reality: Skylar Graham and the Pathways Internship

  • FeaturedSustainabilityWinter 2023

    Sun Spot: Indian Wells Golf Resort Goes Solar

  • Classic CourseFeaturedWinter 2023

    A Return to SoCal: The U.S. Open at LACC is the Start of Something Big

  • FeaturedProfilesWinter 2023

    A Steady Hand at the Helm: A Fond Farewell to SCGA Stalwart Kevin Heaney

  • FeaturedFirst CutWinter 2023

    Talking It Out: What’s a Round Without a Recap?

FOLLOW US

Facebook 0Fans
Twitter 0Followers
Instagram 0Followers
Youtube 0Subscriber
  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Changing of the Guard: New Galleri Classic Set to Debut in the Desert

    By Judd Spicer
    February 7, 2023
  • New Year’s Daze: Looking Forward and Looking Back at your Handicap

    By Kevin O'Connor
    February 7, 2023
  • Grass by Design: Pure Research Yields New Strains of Drought-Tolerant Grass

    By Craig Kessler
    February 7, 2023
  • Best Ball Bar & Grill: Woodley Lakes GC Gets a Big Culinary Upgrade

    By David Weiss
    February 7, 2023
  • Making a Future in Golf a Reality: Skylar Graham and the Pathways Internship

    By Ken Van Vechten
    February 7, 2023
  • The Diva Golfer

    By Azucena Maldonado
    January 31, 2017
  • The USGA’s Major Proposed Changes to the Rules of Golf

    By admin
    December 14, 2017
  • Stand By Me: Temecula Native Joe Skovron On Life As Rickie Fowler’s Caddie

    By Jonathan Coe
    October 26, 2016
  • Watching the Tiger Watchers

    By Andy Brumer
    February 20, 2018
  • Remembering Jim Murray: Best of the Best

    By Bill Dwyre
    February 14, 2017
  • Julie
    on
    November 13, 2022

    The Single Life: The Simple Pleasures of Being “That Guy”

    Thanks for this. I ...
  • free proxy list
    on
    December 5, 2018

    Top 4 College Golf Names You Need To Know

    Hello,I log on to ...
  • Adela C. Garcia
    on
    November 17, 2018

    Revolutionizing the “Ladies Club”

    Azucena Maldonado is a ...
  • Rose Sauceda
    on
    November 15, 2018

    Revolutionizing the “Ladies Club”

    Congratulations my lovely Amiga ...
  • Judy Carls
    on
    November 15, 2018

    The Gilded One: Eldorado CC

    Excellent magazine..thank you Judy Carls LPGA ...

RECENT COMMENTS

  • Julie on The Single Life: The Simple Pleasures of Being “That Guy”
  • free proxy list on Top 4 College Golf Names You Need To Know
  • Adela C. Garcia on Revolutionizing the “Ladies Club”
  • Rose Sauceda on Revolutionizing the “Ladies Club”
  • Judy Carls on The Gilded One: Eldorado CC
© 2016 FORE Magazine About Us | Contact Us | Advertise