There's no denying that golf can be a frustrating game at times, with even the professionals struggling to stay in control of their emotions.
Over the years, players have used many different ways to keep calm in tournament-play and, at the Korn Ferry Tour's Club Car Championship, Ryan McCormick opted for a method that we, or anyone, have never seen before.
Carding a one-over-par first round of 73 on Thursday, the American would need to go low on Friday to make the cut and, appearing at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club for his second round, McCormick arrived with tape over his mouth.
Throughout 2025, McCormick has struggled to control his anger on the course and, after trying several different methods and attempts to keep it in check, he opted to use tape to stop the outbursts.
Speaking to PGATour.com on Friday, following his level-par round of 72, the Korn Ferry Tour veteran stated: “Having a not-so-fun time this year on the golf course, pretty angry and mad, so I figured… I’ve tried a lot of things, and I just figured I’d just shut myself up."
McCormick went on to add: “I put tape over my mouth. At this point, I’ve tried about everything. I’ve read a lot of books, I’ve talked to people… just too angry on the golf course, so I have run out of ideas, and I thought about the tape thing a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately came down to that today.”
You may wonder, what is it like to play golf with tape over your mouth? Well, according to McCormick, "it certainly makes you breathe," adding "I felt like Bane, like Batman, muzzle myself.
"I mean, I’m not like proud, I don’t want to create an experience for my playing partners that’s not fair. And, you know, it’s not fair to me either or other people. Having a tough time, and that was my solution today.”
After losing his PGA Tour card in 2024, McCormick dropped down to the Korn Ferry Tour. Currently, he has made just three cuts in six starts, with his best result being a tie for 45th at the Bahamas Golf Classic.
Entering the week 126th in the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, he’ll drop down the standings after missing the cut in Savannah, Georgia.
In fairness to McCormick, he's not the only player to resort to extreme measures to help their anger on the course. Solheim Cup star, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, has been known to bite lemon wedges to help manage her anger, using the sour taste as a distraction.
