Dana Garmany, the Chairman and CEO of Troon Golf who was attending the conference, would almost certainly have excluded Manassero from his observation to the media that golfers needed to hone their social skills.
Garmany did not follow Smith in mentioning the mind men and the way they were encouraging the players to go about their business. His view was that the golfers needed to take a long, hard look at themselves.
"There are very few charismatic characters around now," he said. "Too many are too zombie-like and do not engage. For the most part, they are a bunch of clones.
"Bubba Watson is a bit different and Ian Poulter tries to be different, but even he is not exactly an Arnold Palmer."
Garmany recalled how, years ago, he had been introduced to Palmer for the first time and spoken with him for no more than a couple of minutes. Yet when they met for a second time some 12 months later, Palmer had greeted him with a, “Good to see you again, Dana”.
"I’d love it if that kind of approach were to make a comeback," said Garmany. "The trouble with today’s players is that they don’t feel the need to interact with spectators. Unlike Palmer, they don’t appreciate just how much they owe to the fans."
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