Stupid Golf Problems: What’s the appropriate punishment for reselling pro shop merchandise?
David Cannon
Brooks Koepka’s imminent return to the PGA Tour is the story currently captivating the golf world. But I’m more interested in another, far more important saga playing out over on Golf Twitter, one starring Brandt “The Golden Doodle” Snedeker (not affiliated with the professional golfer in any way, shape, or form).
Snedeker, AKA @sneds_brandt, has recently made it their life mission to put an end to the reselling of pro shop merchandise on Facebook Marketplace, which, depressingly, appears to be far more common than we realize.
Here’s Snedeker’s first tweet on the matter from January 5, an announcement of the new “role” he’s taking on. Not all heroes wear capes, but some of them do operate anonymous social media accounts:
As you can see, Snedeker is shining light on a problem you probably didn’t know existed. There are real folks out there who buy gobs of items at iconic Top 100 golf courses they’ve been lucky enough to be invited to and then resell them at a markup. To steal a phrase from the legendary Joe Buck, that is a DISGUSTING act.
As for @sneds_brandt, his act is a valiant one—shaming and screwing with these people in an effort make them stop, or to at least realize the error of their ways. And if you think he’s being dramatic or taking it too far, there are people out there selling logo’d pencils and Augusta National scorecards. Straight to jail-type behavior:
The question is, other than public flogging, what is the appropriate punishment for this heinous crime? There is nothing actually illegal about it, and I’d imagine most of these people are not dumb enough to broadcast their real face or name when reselling this stuff, so it’s not like you can post their mug on the wall and ban them for life. Plus, I’d venture to guess that most of the people who do this know it will probably be their one and only time at these clubs. Without the fear of “I may not be invited back,” what else is going to stop them?
As Snedeker pointed out in a later tweet, some of this blame has to fall on the member who invited such a villainous being to their exclusive club. Your guests are unfortunately a reflection on you, and if you fail to set the proper boundaries before your guests arrive, then your club’s pro shop merchandise ends up going for double the price on Al Gore’s internet.
To me, though, the worst character in this play has to be the person/people who actually buy this stuff. Logo-flexing culture has become so toxic that dudes are willing to overpay for an item from a place they’ve never even been, nor has anyone in their orbit, in the hopes of ... impressing other dudes? What exactly do these people say when someone asks them “wow, how’d you get on Seminole?” Do they tell the embarrassing truth? Or do they lie? Considering they are living a lie by wearing whatever it is, I’m assuming it’s the latter.
So what can you, or I, do about it? Well, we can certainly follow the lead of @sneds_brandt – if you see something, say something. Call these people out. Make them feel shame. Broadcast it on social media. They may not be bad people, but they are doing a bad thing. This work is already proving to be fruitful:
The No. 1 thing we can all do is NOT buy any of this stuff from someone reselling it. I’m not a fan of the logo police who say what you can or cannot buy from a pro shop at a Top 100, or when and where you're allowed to wear it or display it. One rule I do believe in, though, is that you actually have to have been to the place if you're going to rock the logo, barring a specific circumstance like being gifted an item from someone who has been. It is very much part of the Top 100 experience to play 18, grab a beer or lunch and pop in the pro shop afterward to splurge on an item or two that serves as a memory of your special round. Meeting a stranger in a strip mall parking lot to pay $250 for a $100 shirt from a course you’ve never been to ain’t it.
Do you have a "stupid" golf problem? A question you're too ashamed to ask your close friends? A conundrum that needs to be talked out in a public forum? We're here to help. If you have etiquette-related inquiries or just want to know how to handle some of the unique on- or off-course situations we all find ourselves in, please let us know. You can email me (chris.powers@wbd.com) or send me a DM on Twitter/X (@Cpowers14) or on Instagram (@cpthreeve).