Here’s the most recent article on the bad golf rule that came out this Sunday in the Billings Gazette, one of the biggest dailies in Montana. http://billingsgazette.com/sports/high-school/golf/mhsa-in-crosshairs-over-rule-prohibiting-spectators-from-golf-events/article_cd1eafb7-160a-57a6-a93a-185455183bfd.html It’s a great article, but just so you know, the MHSA is talking out of both sides of their mouth. • In the article, Mark Beckman, the head of the MHSA, tries to shift the blame for the bad golf rule. He says they didn’t make the rule, they just enforce it. He says the schools voted three to one in favor of the rule. What he doesn’t say is that only 66 of 179 member schools participated in the survey ( 112 of those schools have golf programs). However, Beckman wouldn’t tell me which schools voted (if they were schools with a golf program) or how they voted. Beckman (and his assistant Brian Michelotti) also did nothing to educate the schools on the issue before they sent out the survey. And their survey question was badly skewed in favor of the no-spectator rule. • Last fall Michelloti blamed the bad golf rule on the course pros, telling me that they were the ones who didn’t want spectators and that the MHSA was just enforcing the wishes of the course pros since they manage the grounds where the matches are played. It turns out that was also disingenuous propaganda since 31 out of 34 course pros voted against the rule this winter. • In the article, Beckman also says it is the players themselves who don’t want spectators. This is more self-serving nonsense, based at best on a trace amount of anecdotal evidence. I say this because last fall, Brian Michelotti went on record in the first CBS segment—months before the MHSA asked anyone what the kids thought—saying that the majority of kids don’t want spectators. In other words, the MHSA made a purely unfounded comment using the kids themselves as their excuse for enforcing the bad golf rule. Now they’re backing that statement up by saying they asked the coaches to poll the kids and—guess what?—the results confirm their earlier comments. I don’t believe it. Again, let’s see the data. I’ll go “all in” that it’s purely anecdotal. In fact, for every kid they produce that doesn’t want spectators, I’ll bet I can show you three that do. Just look at this petition site. It’s full of comments from kids calling for the rule to be revoked. If you would like to leave a message for Mark Beckman or Brian Michelotti, you can reach them both at 406-442-6010.