Based on an unscientific poll on my column's blog, 35 percent of readers believe that it is wrong for golfers - in this case, superstar Phil Mickelson - to use pre-1990 golf clubs, which may not be available to other golfers, to take advantage of a loophole in the new rules banning certain clubs which may give players an edge over those not using the clubs. However, 65 percent believe that all is fair so long as the letter of the rule isn't violated.
"I see both sides of the argument," writes Thomas Ward of Green Bay, Wisc., "but side with the golfers that knew the rules and gave themselves the greatest advantage possible ... To vilify players taking advantage of pre-1990 clubs, which is completely within the rules, you have to be full of your own virtue."
"With all the brouhaha over the antics of Tiger Woods," observes Charlie Seng of Lancaster, S.C., "I am surprised that this much brouhaha is being made over a golf club."
Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today's Business (Smith Kerr, 2006), is an associate professor at Emerson College in Boston, where he teaches writing and ethics. He is also the administrator of http://www.jeffreyseglin.com, a Web log focused on ethical issues.
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c.2010 The New York Times Syndicate (Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate)
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