The death of etiquette and stone-faced-champions fill the airwaves

A huge win should sound like a concert, so why does it feel like silence when a champion barely reacts? I start with a moment that stuck in my head: the stone-faced celebration after a major victory, and the uneasy feeling it creates for fans who want to share the release. We dig into emotional expression in sports, why we connect so hard to fist pumps and tears, and how the modern athlete may be choosing composure as a shield in an online world that loves to weaponize everything.

Then I pivot from fairways to free-for-alls, because golf etiquette and basic public manners feel like they’re slipping at the same time. Speakerphone calls on planes, viral video volume, walking through putting lines, carts too close to greens, trash near bunkers, and “serious golfers” acting like nobody else exists. Golf used to be a gentleman’s game built on honor and self-regulation, and I’m not romanticizing the past so much as asking what we lose when courtesy becomes optional. The quieter we get, the more we see, and the more we remember that respect is a skill.

We also get personal about the grind of coming back after time off, when your swing feels like it vanished and doubt moves in. We talk golf practice, neuromuscular memory, swing thoughts, and why the mind can sabotage timing even when your body feels ready. Finally, a “Two Truths and a Lie” detour into politics and media literacy asks how so many shaky claims get presented as fact, and what it takes to stay clear-eyed.

If this hits home, subscribe, share it with a golf buddy, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What’s one etiquette rule or mental habit you wish we’d all bring back?

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Transcript

elcome To Tales From The First Tee

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Welcome back to Tales from the First Tee, where life and golf share the same fairway. Some days it's smooth, other days it's deep rough. I'm your host, Rich Easton, and today we're talking about how expression, etiquette, and expectation shape both our rounds and our lives. So grab a cup of coffee, pour a drink, gobble a gummy, spark up, or grab that practice wedge or putter you keep in the living room, and let's tee it up.

hy Quiet Wins Feel Empty

SPEAKER_00 0:41

Stone faced champions after putting in for the win. So what? Cameron Young won the players' championship earlier this month. He striped fairways, rolled putts, and handled the toughest back nine in golf, hit the longest drive on eighteen on Sunday, and when the final putt dropped, nothing. From him, no roar of excitement, no tears, no raised arms, just a slow exhale and a few handshakes. And you know what? I was disappointed. I didn't realize it until later when the replay came on, and I didn't feel much of anything. He won one of golf's biggest titles, and I couldn't quite get emotionally invested because he looked uninvested. Why do we crave, and when I say we it could just be me, why do we crave that release from our champions when Phil jumped like he weighed 80 pounds, or when Rory fell to his knees after finally winning the Masters, or when Rory nearly tackled his caddy after clinching the FedEx cup. We connected. Those moments told us that excellence isn't just execution, it is emotion. I think we want our heroes to live out the joy we secretly crave for ourselves. Their victory is our borrowed adrenaline rush. When Tiger dropped to his knees at Augusta in 2019, after undergoing all of those operations and injuries, we all dropped right there with him. When Cameron stands still, it's like someone turning down the volume on what should have been a concert. But maybe stone faced champions are the evolution of the modern athlete, protecting themselves, focusing on process, staying in control. Maybe they've seen emotion weaponized online and decided to stay safe behind composure. Scotty Scheffler hasn't been one for displays of unbridled emotion either when he makes the winning putt. Still, I miss the raw, messy humanity. In sports and in life, the moments that move us are most unscripted, the ones that remind us that winning of any kind is the result of all of that hard work. Losing blood, sweat, and tears that led you to the final winning outcome, and it still matters. You know, I happen to see this clip of Cameron Young talking to Frankie Barelli from Barstool Sports. And it was after he had won the players' championship, and here's Cameron just articulating how he was feeling, what the challenges were, and I like the guy. He just doesn't display emotion on the golf course, and maybe that's his way of staying in check. You know, at the end of the day, who am I to cast aspirations and criticize one of my favorite ball strikers? This guy can play with the best. He's demonstrated it time after time, played great in the Ryder Cup, and there he demonstrated emotion. Because it was more than just him winning. It was about trying to take the team and put it on his shoulders when things didn't go as well as planned. So really, who cares? Who cares whether they demonstrate the emotion that you think you would have if you just won that event? Well, apparently I do. Anyway, Cameron Young, great competitor. Like to see him jump up and down every once in a while because I'm an idiot.

he Erosion Of Etiquette Everywhere

SPEAKER_00 5:07

The erosion of etiquette everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Don't get with me. Give me the phone. Give me the phone! Here's your choice. You give me the phone and you might get it back in eight minutes, or I take it to the office and you never see it again. Why? Because you're not supposed to have your phone out!

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Alright, let's shift gears from fairways to free-foralls because somewhere along the line, etiquette becomes optional. I sat on this plane a few weeks ago next to a guy hosting a full on conference call on speakerphone. While we're still taxing, another person behind him was watching viral videos at top volume. And when I gave them the dad stare, and my kids know exactly what that is, and if you're a dad, you've probably perfected this. I give them the stare, they smile, and one of them says, Oh, can you hear that? On the golf course, I've watched players walk right through putting lines, and yeah, I guess I've been accused of that too. I've seen them drive carts too close to the grains and toss beer cans near bunkers. These weren't beginners. These were self-described serious golfers. Apparently serious now just means in a hurry or I just don't give a shit. It's about me. Etiquette used to be the quiet glue of civilization. A subtle respect that said, hey, you matter too. Holding a door, listening without interrupting, replacing a divot, if that's what you do up north. These were habits. And it says basically, yeah, I notice you, and these are the rules that we all live by. For golfers, the adage is I want to leave a golf course better than when I arrived. Now it feels like we live in a world of invisible others. People wear earbuds when they're doing everything, ignoring everyone around them, scroll through their meals with earbuds on or without them so that everybody could hear their phones and shout private conversations in public. We live connected but behave detached. And I'll repeat that. We live connected but behave detached. And social media and our smartphones have made that even more relevant, it's more acceptable. And you know, there are so many people that are worried about Wiimo and other companies that are developing self-driving cars. I applaud it. Now people could just sit and scroll and let the car do the intelligent driving for them. No distractions. I'm a big fan, but I digress. For most of history, golf was celebrated as a gentleman's game, a sport built on honor, patience, and self-regulation. Players were expected to call penalties on themselves, that rarely happens. Repair divots, well, some of that happens, and show quiet respect for those around them, the calm tone of the course, the handshake on the final grain, and the unspoken etiquette that ones conduct, it mattered as much as the scorecard. Or if you play with some of the guys I play with, it matters almost as much as the scorecard. Lately, however, the old word decorum seems under siege. Scroll through social media and you'll find viral videos of golfers shouting, throwing clubs, even fist fighting near the tea box. Many blame alcohol-infused party golf environments, but I think it's more than that. I think whatever the cause, it's a jarring shift from the traditions that once made golf unique, a test of character as much as skill. Now it's a possible viral social media event that could get you paid some cash and certainly some notoriety with your friends' group. Golf used to be called a gentleman's game, but these days, if someone lets you play through, it feels like finding a handwritten thank you note in the age of emojis. You know, maybe the real challenge in golf isn't distance or putting. It's remembering that courtesy and focus are strokes gained in real life. The quieter we get, the more we see. Hey, I recognize the emotions that come from the disappointment of golf, the missed fairways, the bladed chip shots, putts left five feet short, causing a knee knocker for the final putt. The letting down of your partner, or your partner letting you down, the competitors that miraculously find their errand shots in the woods on more than one occasion, the discarded cigarette butts or half-smoked cigars left on the edge of the green, or the miscounting of strokes on a hole from that same competitor five times in a row. All those add up like a bad bumble dates excuses and make etiquette a distant thought. But like in life, with everyday setbacks, etiquette builds character and prioritizes courtesy over reaction. And perhaps I'm trying to convince myself to stop using that foot wedge because I used to be a better golfer and my ball didn't deserve to stop behind that tree. Hey, awareness is the first step in self-improvement.

ebuilding A Golf Swing After Time Off

SPEAKER_00 11:24

Yeah, and on the same note of used to be better. Let me just tee it up, let me get my shoulders turned, and spoiler, it doesn't. So if you're like me, you want to practice before you go out and play. So you step onto the range full of optimism and pre-shot rituals. The first swing feels okay. Then you hit three. I hate to say this word. It rhymes with Hank. You top the ball, you chunk the ball, suddenly you're questioning everything grip, posture, life choices. The ball's sitting there. It's not moving. This is not baseball. This is not lacrosse. It's sitting there same as before, but something inside of you has gone missing. You know, it's like your swing spent the off season binge watching Netflix, baking sourdough bread, perfecting pasta dishes, and refused to stretch. Your timing's off, your rhythm's gone. And that easy confidence that used to live somewhere just below your rib cage is now a squatter named Doubt. So what really happens during a layoff? Well, scientists would say your neuromuscular memory fades. Your fine motor skills lose calibration. But golfers know the truth. The muscle is in the mind. The longer you're away, the more clutter fills the spaces where clarity used to live. The more those two or three swing thoughts that help guide you away from your bad habits are lost in that cavernous space in your brain. Now that area is focused on the next recipe you're going to perfect. It doesn't matter that you're going to the gym every other day to keep your body ready. The part of your brain reserved for perfecting the instructions to build the perfect swing and putting stroke for you, they're just on hiatus. I mean, they're in there somewhere. We just have to find them. And yet there's something beautiful in rebuilding your golf swing. That first pure shot, it just sounds right. You know it the second you hear the soft click. Suddenly your spirit wakes up again. You're like, that's what I need to do. You remember why you love this stupid, maddening, beautiful game in the first place. So you put another ball back down. You think about what you were thinking about before you hit that last shot, and bam, you forgot one of those things. So now you have to go back to the drawing board and say, okay, I gotta remember to turn my shoulders, I gotta remember not to sway, I gotta remember to keep both feet on the ground and don't get up on a dancer's tippy toes. All of these things. So yeah, I'm back to rebuilding my golf game.

SPEAKER_01 14:44

Woo-hoo!

SPEAKER_00 14:58

Okay,

wo Truths And A Lie Turns Political

SPEAKER_00 14:59

kids, let's play this game, Two Truths and a Lie.

SPEAKER_01 15:05

Let's play Two Truths and a Lie. I love that game. Okay, wait, no, I'll go first. I'll go first. Okay, okay. Um, I have a crush on Brett. I love the color pink. And I went to the moon once.

SPEAKER_00 15:27

Okay, here are mine. One, tariffs are just attacks on foreign countries. Two, the Epstein file redactions were purely to protect victims, not to shield anyone powerful. Or three, the Iran conflict is a short-term excursion, not a war. Alright, take a second. Pick the one that sounds like it was cooked up in a press release kitchen at three in the morning. The truth? Well, I think you've guessed it. All three actually happened. Each was presented as a political wisdom, each built on logic that barely holds together, and yet they were all treated as fact. Tariffs sound patriotic until to remember who actually pays them. Look, I'm not an economist. However, true economic burden depends on market dynamics and elasticities of supply and demand. In practice, most importers passed most of the expense to the domestic consumers through higher prices. And if you don't believe me, compare your overall expenses over the past six months to last year, same time. No surprise, they're up. Now we hear that the strategy of raising tariffs was more about bringing manufacturing back to the United States to reduce unemployment and improve gross domestic products. And what's happened is just the opposite. Unemployment is up, and GDP models projected declines of two to six percent long term. So you have to ask why were tariffs enforced despite the lack of congressional debate? And I suspect it has something to do with drawing a line in the sand as it pertains to campaign promises to bring back jobs in the United States and the unwillingness to see the effects on the other 98% of the electorate, what it's gonna cost them. And when I say them, I mean us. So in our game, tariffs are attacks on foreign countries? Well, that might be the lie. Okay, let's look at number two. The Epstein file redactions were purely to protect victims, not to shield anyone powerful. Now I question the truthfulness of that statement as well. Republican Representative Thomas Massey and Democratic Representative Rokana found evidence of over-redactions with at least six names, nonvictims, described as powerful men, including a U.S. citizen, a foreigner, and a high-ranking foreign government official. Representative Jamie Raskin highlighted lots of examples of redacted names that were non-victims, just wealthy, influential individuals. I mean, come on, man. Has anyone in the DOJ ever watched movies depicting government cover-ups like Three Days of the Condor, All the President's Men, The Post, JFK, or Hard to Kill? Okay, I hate to include Stephen Segal movies because it's Stephen Segal. He's just hard to take serious. So it's hard to believe that the continued redactions, in spite of the 2025 Epstein File Transparency Act signed by our president, were solely restricted to victim victims' personal information, child sexual abuse material, or national security matters. Look, I don't know if we'll ever get to the bottom of what's missing and what's been redacted. But I know we have some congressional bulldogs that are just not giving up, so I'm curious. So in the last truth or lie, the Iran conflict is a short-term excursion, not a war. I would say that any and every short-term excursion since 1945 has had a habit of turning into something much longer and costlier than advertised. Nobody wants to know how long this is going to go on for. I get it. But that doesn't make the recent aggressions an excursion. It's the farthest thing from an excursion. So this game transitioned from two truths and a lie to three truths and a what the fuck? What the fuck is going on? And has the balance of power shifted away from the United States, causing our president to stick his finger in the eye of every country that doesn't agree with his take on the world. After all the conjecture, we don't own Canada, Greenland, or Cuba, and Mexico never paid for the unbuilt wall. Maybe some of this unresolved anger and curiosity comes from weeks avenging the West Wing, where President Bartlett stewed over moral and ethical actions and responded to world conflicts with compassion and resolve. For once I'd like to see life imitate art. And if so, I'd pick the West Wing over House of Cards because nobody wants to see a US administration run by the likes of Frank Underwood. Fitting initials. F U.

inal Takeaways And A Challenge

SPEAKER_00 23:30

Hey, thanks for listening to the end. I'm Rich Easton, telling tales from the Shenandoah Valley, leaving you with this. Play aware, play kind, and remember, this too shall pass. But don't sit quietly by and just let it pass. Say something. Talk to you soon.