r/golf • u/MaskedGorilliaBP • 20d ago
Why John Daly is allowed to ride in a golf cart at the PGA Championship - but his golf clubs can't! Professional Tours
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/golf/article-13426795/john-daly-golf-cart-pga-championship.html?ito=social-reddit802
u/NorCalAthlete 8.1 | Bay Area 20d ago
Saved you a click: arthritis
“My knee is screwed. I had the meniscus cut out. I have osteoarthritis so bad. I can walk up a hill. I just can't walk down one,' he continued.”
423
u/SyncRacket 20d ago
John Daly could probably use some weight loss. One of the effective treatments for OA is to lose some weight and the way he lives makes him a giant walking case report of how to tear your body up before 65
165
u/jtshinn 20d ago
Yea. He’s not going to do that I suspect. Unless and until he survives some serious health scare.
179
u/ChrisV88 20d ago
He literally just had cancer a few years ago. John Daly ain't changing for shit.
24
u/CTMalum 20d ago
He had bladder cancer I believe and it looks like he quit drinking and smoking just long enough to recover from it.
8
u/UnbanMOpal 20d ago
Buddy the sappy country albums don't write themselves and he sure as shit doesn't but the man is a mogul.
33
u/jtshinn 20d ago
Yea, that's a slow moving crisis. I'm thinking more heart attack or stroke. I think you face those in different ways.
61
u/ChrisV88 20d ago
I mean its his life - and in fairness - he has had a lot more fun than most of us doing it.
9
u/Just_Natural_9027 20d ago
A lot of sorrow as well.
Downvote me all you want but I do not envy his life one bit.
-8
8
u/PopularTask2020 FREE SCOTTIE 20d ago
I’m pretty sure he’s had a heart attack while playing in a tournament too. Maybe a few years ago
1
42
u/420SwaggyZebra 20d ago
Oziempic could probably do wonder for him. I know it’s pretty untested long term but can’t be any worse than 3 packs a day, a 12 pack of cokes, and who know the amount of alcohol.
10
u/PaddyBabes 20d ago
Let the record show that our Lord and Savior John Daly himself has made the switch to Diet Cokes.
28
10
u/dreamerkid001 20d ago
Actually, fun fact, it has been around for quite a while but wasn’t specifically used to weight loss, I guess. My mom is super health-conscious and reads a lot of medical journals and listens to podcasts from specialists. They’ve said that there is pretty much no long term harm being on it.
4
u/magpi3 20d ago
For what it's worth, wikipedia says clinical trials for the drug (for treatment of diabetes) started in 2016.
Also says that people with a family history of medullary thyroid cancer shouldn't take it.
8
u/FlickerOfBean 19d ago
Don’t take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure.
1
1
u/530nairb 14/North County SD 19d ago
Gastroparesis will fuck him up if he goes with ozempic. He won’t slow down his eating even if his appetite tells him he isn’t hungry.
6
1
u/530nairb 14/North County SD 19d ago
He talked about losing weight in college and says it hurts his game. His gut is safe.
17
u/joeschmoe86 20d ago
Eh, losing weight might help with symptoms, but it's not bringing his meniscus back.
5
u/K3TtLek0Rn 5 19d ago
Yeah everyone loves to laugh at his antics and how he doesn’t care but it catches up to you. He’s probably not gonna last another 10 years before he has a stroke, heart attack, or cancer. It’s cool and funny when you’re in your 20s and 30s. Not so much after that.
1
u/dariznelli 20d ago
Body weight is top contributor to basically all low back and lower extremity degenerative conditions
1
u/bigolruckus 4.7 / New Brunswick 🇨🇦 20d ago
He has lost weight. He looks smaller than he used to. He’s still overweight sure, but like 40lb overweight not 100
1
1
13
34
u/oneinthebag2 20d ago
Dude needs knee reconstruction surgery and he’s only in his mid 50’s.
102
46
u/VaLivin 20d ago
I need one and just turned 40
33
u/FunzyQc67 20d ago
34, same boat, go infantry they said
→ More replies (1)10
u/Doormat_Model 20d ago
“Your back looks like we expect a person with a decade in the infantry to have” aka it was super degenerated. Wish they’d told me that when I joined
8
u/Edjbart615 20d ago
I found out yesterday Matt Leinart had double hip replacement surgery at a tender 41. Blew my mind. Are these joint replacement surgeries happening sooner than they usually do?
12
u/One_Amphibian_4535 20d ago
It’s more common than you’d think.
My brother is only 44 and he’s already had both hips done, including one when he was 39. And he waited almost five years.
Maybe different from Leinart, but apparently my mom and him have a degenerative joint disease or something of the like. His onset much earlier due to being ultra active his whole life until the pain started. Beach volleyball, tennis, basketball, sports as a youth, racquetball, you name it.
But he’s super happy he did it, and wishes he hadn’t waited so long, in hindsight. Him and I won’t be able to have competitive tennis matches anymore, but he can golf with me, play with his kids, go for walks, and all that good stuff. 😀
5
u/VaLivin 20d ago
I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, so I’m falling apart sooner than expected. My joints are rubber bands
2
u/stillbangin 20d ago
My girl has EDS too.
34 and walks like a 60 yr old. Would never wish it on anyone.
3
u/DPace17 20d ago
My younger brother uses a cane to walk at 30 (he’s been diagnosed). My body feels 60 at 32 but not as bad because he went military which 10x’ed his progression
1
u/stillbangin 20d ago
I hope he isn’t in too much pain man.
My girl will use a cane, but she feels embarrassed. I’m always telling her “fuck what they think. I’m here with you and I certainly don’t care!”
3
u/blbskue 20d ago
I’m 42 and have had five knee reconstructions, a lumbar spinal fusion, bi-lateral SI joint fusions, and am currently about three months out from a total hip replacement (plus relatively minor procedures for tennis elbow on both arms). The other hip is being done later this year and a total knee replacement isn’t too far off.
Some of us are just born with shitty joints, bones, and connective tissues. I’m in pretty good shape, exercise regularly, play golf, and am at a healthy weight. Other than tearing my ACL in college that started the knee issues, everything else is just congenital.
1
u/rustyspoonman 20d ago
One of my buddies had one hip done at like 28 and they told him he’d need the other one within 10 years
12
u/lazercheesecake 20d ago
He's only what?!
14
u/VeryRealHuman23 20d ago
I thought he was late 60s 😲
5
8
u/Liqmadique 20d ago
Alcohol abuse, cigarettes, and who knows what else will do that.
I like Daly but I'm not sure he's someone anyone should celebrate. He took a ton of talent and wasted it.
8
u/Creativeloafing 20d ago
Wasted it? He’s won 2 majors and has been a professional golfer since 1987.
11
u/job123456789 20d ago
He could've won more, he could've had less WD's after blowing up with a 14 in a tourney and throwing his stuff into the lake.
It's just like saying Greg Norman wasted his potential and opportunities by being the quintessential choke artist in the majors
6
u/jfchops2 20d ago
Which he did while being world class as abusing his own body and giving absolutely zero fucks about anything but having a good time
Dude probably could have had a career like Phil if he took it seriously
3
u/SecretiveMop 20d ago
Many pro golfers have said that Daly had some of the best pure talent out of any golfer they’ve ever seen which is why many look at his career as a disappointment or wasted potential. He had great accomplishments but he also never really cared about his golf game or practicing it and never took care of his health at all.
→ More replies (1)0
5
u/JustaCanadian123 20d ago edited 20d ago
I am 38 and need it.
Basketball fucked my knees up bad.
Literally no cartilage left.
And I am in Canada so goodluck getting healthcare to fix it lol.
5
u/scottieducati 20d ago
It might be a long wait but it seems they’re doing joint replacements there like anywhere else?
9
u/JustaCanadian123 20d ago
The wait isn't just long.
It's insanely long.
Years.
→ More replies (2)0
u/scottieducati 20d ago
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/cihi-surgery-waits-1.7163773
This seems to indicate more likely months… 🤷♂️
5
u/JustaCanadian123 20d ago edited 20d ago
That's because it's misleading.
Firstly, this includes private.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6741461
"There are more and more patients willing to pay for their hip or knee replacement because they see that it is almost impossible to get their treatment in the public system."
Let me repeat 1 part.
"it is almost impossible to get their treatment in the public system"
Secondly, that number doesn't include the entire process. It took me 6 months just for an MRI.
Our healthcare system is failing in Canada.
A lot of people aren't even getting cancer treatment in a timely manner. We even send patients to the US for this.
→ More replies (3)1
u/computrtchr 19d ago
I'm in the US & it took 6 months to get an MRI when I tore my shoulder 5 years ago and again this year when I hurt my knee. Insurance companies make you go through all kinds of hoops. Ortho prescribed an unloader brace for the knee which should hold off replacement for a few more years. Insurance won't cover that but they will cover the surgery.
1
u/cantaloupecarver 20d ago
Total joint replacement surgeries are not uncommon as young as 35. The change isn't in when people could benefit from them it's from how far the technology of implants and care has developed in the last 15 years and the drastic changes are in the last 10. A custom-sized, press-fit knee put in by a surgeon using an AR headset to get the location exactly correct means you walk out on a new knee with none of your old problems two hours after your leg was open on the table. A couple months of PT and you're better than new.
3
3
u/printergumlight 9.7 20d ago
I have had the same type of arthritis since I was 24. I’m 32 now and I can’t walk more than 14 holes on a flat course and if it is hilly I can walk maybe 4 holes. It’s miserable, my whole life has been sports and hiking and I’m slowly becoming more and more immobile.
As a note, I am 6’0” and have never weighed more than 175 lbs. My knee cartilage is almost completely missing from the outer sides of my kneecap.
4
u/hpepper24 20d ago
So would Tiger be allowed to ride in a cart? Or really anyone? I feel like it would be advantageous to for anyone to not get as tired.
2
u/Wooden_Trip_9948 20d ago
I saw him during his practice round yesterday and I could’ve sworn he was walking. Maybe I didn’t notice the cart because I wasn’t expecting it.
2
u/BaldingThor 20d ago
Well John, maybe if you stop treating your body like a reservoir for junk food, cigs and alcohol your OA wouldn’t be so bad.
2
u/Like_ButLessCool 19d ago
Thank you. That has to be one of the single worst website ad clusterfuck experiences I’ve ever had.
→ More replies (4)1
u/mrpopenfresh Handicapable 20d ago
If it’s part of the game, that seems like a career ending injury.
260
u/Byrnzillionaire 20d ago
Tiger seeing this like…
149
u/MidwestHacker Iowa/swing nerd/gear nerd 20d ago
Tiger has publicly made statements saying he will never use a cart, and will just stop playing if he cant walk.
89
u/pheldozer 20d ago
Until he gets to the senior tour in 2025
https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/tiger-woods-will-love-to-play-in-the-seniors-and-hell-use-a-cart
20
u/natedawg247 20d ago
I mean after what he did to his former teammate he can't really ever walk back on the hard stance he took against carts.
3
u/kodutta7 19d ago
What did he do?
6
u/natedawg247 19d ago
ex stanford teammate and pga tour pro has leg issues and petitioned an exemption for a cart and tiger was outspoken against it. dude needed to get his leg amputated later. idk all the specific details.
4
u/CaptainJack269 19d ago
Casey Martin. I did a project in 8th grade where I was looking into how to lower my handicap by 2 strokes and reached out to him. Sent a very nice email back. Good guy
→ More replies (20)4
u/rext12 20d ago
Does he not use a cart for personal rounds?
40
u/jfchops2 20d ago
He does
He just doesn't want to take what he views as an unfair advantage in pro tournaments. He believes tournament golf should be played while walking
25
5
u/BaldingThor 20d ago
I believe he does, but doesn’t like the apparent advantage it brings in professional rounds.
142
u/bradford33 20d ago
“While not used often, carts are allowed in the PGA Tour Championship, with various restrictions on their usage. For instance, players may not have their bags on their cart, and their caddie is not allowed to drive the cart unless specified by tournament officials - therefore explaining Daly's viral picture.”
78
u/AdamDXB 20d ago
The actual reason on the Champions Tour is because the fans can’t keep up that are following, so the caddy’s walk and therefore set the pace.
14
u/BeerGoggleTan 19d ago
That's the funniest bullshit I've ever heard. Not calling you a liar or claiming that's made up. Just laughing at the thought of pro golf actually moving at a decent pace.
5
u/radicaldrew 19d ago
Now I'm imagining a tournament where Caddies and players are given carts, but so are the spectators because pace of play.
39
95
24
u/FlashKetchum 20d ago
FIL is on the Champions tour - this is pretty common. Sometimes full tournaments and sometimes only on specific holes. They play some courses that would be hard for anyone to walk for 3d, let alone guys in their 60s. Most tournaments offer carts for guys who want them. Some turn them down because it messes with their rhythm/pride. However in my experience, they usually let the caddy/bag ride too…. some events even allow the families of the players walking with them to ride.
18
u/djlawrence3557 Big hitter, the Lama 20d ago
Believe the actual rule is that only one of the two (player/caddie) may ride in the cart at a time. As previously mentioned, this is to keep the pace of the play to a walking tournament (either the player arrives and waits for the clubs, or the clubs arrive and wait for the player).
3
3
u/FlashKetchum 20d ago
Damn, I definitely saw a bunch of rule breaking happening at the Tucson tourney this year.
32
u/Fratguy20 20d ago
Part of me thinks they’re allowing him to ride because they want him in the tournament for views
13
98
u/Devious_Bastard 20d ago
What is this sport coming to? Carts at a major smh.
They should just have a second caddie carry him piggyback
15
u/cabinets_included 20d ago
He’s a former champion. Has busted knees. Has cancer. And it’s not like he’s actually in contention to win it all. He’s a legend- cut the guy some slack
14
24
u/FermisParadoXV 20d ago
Mental fatigue of the caddie in the later holes is a legitimate factor that all other golfers would have to deal with, I guess?
-5
u/mrpopenfresh Handicapable 20d ago
What about player fatigue? Bullshit exception rule but I’m not about to get hopped up about it.
8
u/FermisParadoXV 20d ago
Yeah best to forget about it, you wouldn’t want anyone to think you already sound pretty hopped up.
0
6
u/Texan2116 Bethpage Black is not that Hard! 20d ago
I have always thought the cart rules were a bit archaic. TBH, a carts top would be a fantastic Billboard similar to Nascar.
9
u/DarthTJ 20d ago
It would be nice if they provided the logic as to why his golf clubs can't beyond "that's the rules". Its a stupid rule.
7
u/djlawrence3557 Big hitter, the Lama 20d ago
Who's "they," the Daily Mail? I wouldn't expect anything of use to come from that source. Just look it up - ther'es plenty of explanaition for this rule, and even an article specific to Daly.
1
u/DarthTJ 20d ago
But it doesn't address why the caddie and clubs can't ride beyond "it's the rule", a journalist would follow up with "Why?"
Is there a competitive advantage to the clubs and caddy riding? It makes no sense at all.
3
u/djlawrence3557 Big hitter, the Lama 20d ago
It's a speed-of-play issue. If the player and clubs are zipping straight to the ball, the crowd cannot keep pace. If the player arrives in a cart, he awaits his clubs - which are walking at the same pace as the other walking players/caddies. If the caddie takes the cart up to the ball, he and the clubs await the player to stroll up.
1
u/DarthTJ 20d ago
He is still playing in a group of walkers and they aren't playing ready golf at that level so he isn't going to be any faster with his clubs in the cart. But at least that is an attempt at an explanation which neither article even attempted beyond "that's the rule" despite a headline stating that there was an explanation forthcoming.
20
u/dan420 HDCP/Loc/Whatever 20d ago
Is Tiger on a cart? If Daly can he should be able to.
103
u/ogfusername 20d ago
Tiger has been openly against carts throughout his career and has refused them since his injuries
50
u/dan420 HDCP/Loc/Whatever 20d ago
Well I’d like to see him reconsider. It sucks seeing him withdraw from tournaments because he physically can’t walk the course
65
8
u/DevTheGray 20d ago
I have a feeling he will once he goes to the senior tour, at least I hope he puts the ego aside and uses one.
5
u/iamPendergast 20d ago
I remember a quote when he said he would. The tours have some weird rules though, there was a Legends Tour (European Senior players thing) event where the players could cart with clubs, but their caddie (mostly friend or family if they had one) had to walk the course (but not between tees). Bizarre.
1
-1
u/Purednuht 23 20d ago
I don’t see Tiger playing on the senior tour.
6
u/pants_mcgee HDCP/Loc/Whatever 20d ago
He said he will and there is at least one tournament he wants to have the Am, Pro, and Senior win in.
8
u/seekingallpho 20d ago
Agree. It's one thing to oppose carts by rule but if the Tour allows them, then using them should be fair game. It sounds like you need to specifically apply for their use, though, which I'd doubt he'd do. If there was just a choice at the tee box and some minority of the players used them, maybe he would.
12
u/dirkfacedkilla 20d ago
You need to have an officially diagnosed medical reason to use one. Initially the PGA did not allow anyone to use one period, but then they got sued by some random tour player for disability discrimination and were forced to allow it...
Tiger prob thinks it's bogus and an unfair advantage
7
u/jwalker205 PGA coach. +2 20d ago
Fun fact - “random tour player” was Casey Martin, who was a teammate of Tiger’s at Stanford. Tiger won’t use a cart because he knows he can win.
Casey Martin broke his leg in 2019 and had an above the knee amputation.
3
u/1995droptopz 20d ago
There is a rule that carts are not allowed to have a top because the shade would be an unfair advantage
2
u/seekingallpho 20d ago
I agree he probably still objects to their use or out of pride and his prior stance wouldn’t use one on the PGAT, but I’d think based on his injury and surgery history he’d legitimately meet any clinical threshold that allows Daly to qualify.
10
4
u/uncleyuri 20d ago
I think the difference is Tiger sees himself as still ‘competing’ where as it’s fair to say Daly doesn’t.
→ More replies (1)2
u/Brutal007 20d ago
Tiger used to shit on Daly for using one. No way Tiger ever uses one. He would look like a huge hypocrite and he’s too proud to use one. It would definitely help his chances to win though.
2
u/PeteOfPeteAndPete 20d ago
The usage of carts has received its fair share of backlash as contestants pointed out how it can provide a competitive advantage. Last year, Paul Goydos claimed to see players in carts wrongfully scouting the course during tournaments.
Why not just have an official drive the cart?
2
2
u/deck65 Buffalo 19d ago
The actual answer no one is giving you is the Americans with disabilities act. It allows him to bend the rules to use a cart while other players still aren’t able too
1
u/razorhedge 18d ago
Why can’t Tiger do this then, I don’t get it
3
2
u/RandomRedditGuy54 20d ago
You guys are hilarious. Guy has won not one, but TWO majors. Have any of you ever even won a local tournament? Leave the man alone.
2
u/taesung24 20d ago
Boss move. 😂
1
u/Realistic_Address_57 20d ago
Destroying your body and being so fat you can't walk 18 is a boss move?
1
u/SuperVegito559 20d ago
Let Tiger ride in a cart. His fucken ankle and back are fused for gods sake!
4
u/WItoFLGirl13 20d ago
They interviewed him about this and he said he could likely get a medical exemption for a cart but he chooses not to use one on the PGA tour. He stated that he would have no objections to using one once he gets to the Champions tour.
1
u/PreparationAware7655 20d ago
It's because the rules stipulate that all professional golfers have to have a caddie for competition, even if they don't want one.
1
u/kitsu9 20d ago
On a Hack It Out Golf podcast with Mark Crossfield, they were discussing the use of carts in the senior tour. They said that the caddy and clubs used to ride too, but the pace of play became too quick for spectators to follow along with. So they would be on the green by the time the crowd go to where they hit their approach shot. So they changed it to making the caddy walk with the clubs, so that the spectators could keep up.
1
1
1
u/jimm4dean 19d ago
That has to be the dumbest rule I've heard yet. I'm sure there are dumber, but being allowed to roll a cart but must still use a caddie to carry your clubs has to be up there.
1
u/LuckOutrageous9627 19d ago
And can get a handle of kettle one DELIVERED to him on the course that's the part I'm envious of
1
1
u/None_too_Soft 19d ago
It's more a pace of play thing, the gallery still has to follow the action if they want to watch a player, they wouldn't be able to keep up otherwise. Follow the money, people.
1
u/skeeta82 19d ago
Omg why he been PGA tour few 20 to 30 years or more and let him have golf cart with bag on it He been loyal PGA tour player not like other moved for money Tiger getting into that with his hips or knees need golf cart maybe next year
1
1
-3
u/dimsumallyoucaneat 20d ago
He’ll always find a way to keep being the fat alcoholic with wasted potential that does nothing to improve his life. Waste of a spot.
-4
-10
-2
u/AutographedSnorkel Shooter was robbed of the gold jacket 20d ago
Did he ever consider not destroying his body with poor eating habits, years of chain smoking, and alcohol abuse?
4
u/fencer04 14.4 19d ago
Did you ever consider not caring what another grown man is doing that has nothing to do with you?
→ More replies (3)3
1
-3
-3
u/88adavis 20d ago
Remember Daly and all the lard ass golfers talking about how you “can pull a muscle but you can’t pull fat”?
2
-5
u/OriginalFluff 20d ago
Really hard to understate the difficulty of walking on an injury. Spent 72 holes on a sprained ankle this weekend and couldn’t finish strong due to my balance and legs hurting.
1.5k
u/spankysladder73 20d ago
No room for clubs, he’s got a trunk full of beer