Should We Really Be Proud of Zach Nash?

If you mill around the Internets, you probably have seen the story of Zach Nash, the 14-year-old from Wisconsin that disqualified himself after winning a junior tournament and eventually noticing he had 15 clubs in his bag.

Here are a couple of quotes around the Internet about Nash's decision to disqualify himself because he broke the 14-club rule:

From AP: "But rules are rules, and the 14-year-old from southern Wisconsin made a decision that might surprise some people: He disqualified himself and surrendered his medal."

From Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel: "It's hard not to root for Nash once you know about his recent act of sportsmanship, one that goes to the very heart of golf and speaks to the game's inherent values."

Okay, before I dive into my point here, I just wanted to say that yes, of course we should be happy the kid decided to turn himself in for breaking one of the most basic rules of golf. My point is, why do we always have to praise people for doing this? Golf is one of the few sports where you have to turn yourself in if you do something wrong, so if he didn't do this, he'd be a cheater.

Sure, he's only 14, but this is the point where the kids need to learn the rules, and the consequences if they don't. If young Zach had decided he was fine without admitting his fault, it would have been the first step in a long line of "Nothing to see here" experiences in his competitive life.

I just don't get why these types of stories always makes it to the front of the golf page. Sure, it's a feel good story because it makes us all realize that not all kids are shitheads that would cheat to get everything they wanted, but it is basically just a story about a kid doing exactly what he should have done in a situation. No, it isn't easy to call something on yourself, but it is what you have to do, and he did it.

Wake me up when a 14-year-old saves a grandmother from an alligator chasing her down the fairway. Oh, and get off my lawn!!