We all remember Hal Sutton - a player with true grit and a great career to back it up; a Ryder Cup Captain who tried to stop the European domination with a few unorthodox pairings but failed; a wanna-be course architect, and, most recently, a self-appointed guardian of the game. When Sutton comes out of hiding and grabs a microphone, it's bombs away on the game of golf. Usually ol' Hal just sort of rants and raves about everything and anything concerning game, but occasionally he strikes an open nerve. Focus on a few comments from a telephone interview with The Golf Channel's Rich Lerner:

"We're consumed by the almighty dollar," he said. "We've forgotten that we all play the game because we love it."

"We got too many people in leadership capacities that don't understand the game at its core," he said.

Yes, these comments are pulled out of context, but, if you read the entire conversation, you'll see that they don't loose their meaning. Now, if you consider these two quotes and cross reference them with the latest Golf Digest report on what people involved with the game get paid, you'll realize that Hal has hammered a 300-yard drive.

If you want to get a true picture of where the game is headed and what motivates those at the top of the leading golf organizations, study the Golf Digest list. Then you'll understand why your next set of irons is going to cost more than the first car your Daddy bought you. Or why when you attended a recent PGA Tour event you couldn't get anywhere near the last couple of greens because of the corporate tent city that had been erected.

Ol' Hal is on to something here.

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