To Fix Our Broken Culture, We Need Fathers Like Scottie Scheffler

When U.S. professional golfer Scottie Scheffler admitted to reporters last week that he did not find hitting a tiny ball into a hole for a living to be a “fulfilling life,” he left many scratching their heads. Cue the corporate media waxing poetic or joking about how odd that is for a decorated athlete who is well on his way to completing the coveted Grand Slam to say.

After all, what man wouldn’t love to have his weekend hobby as a money-making career? Yet, Scheffler shamelessly acknowledged that life, even after the biggest, once-in-a-lifetime wins such as clenching the 2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson, simply “goes on.”

“I love the challenge. I love being able to play this game for a living. It’s one of the greatest joys of my life. But does it fill the deepest, you know, wants and desires of my heart? Absolutely not,” Scheffler explained.

If winning doesn’t drive the best golfer in the world, what does? Longtime fans of Scheffler already know his Christian faith “defines” him. A close second, however, is his role as a husband and father.

In the same interview that Scheffler repeated the Psalm 39 recognition that life is “fleeting,” he declared that “if my golf ever started affecting my home life, or it ever affected the relationship I have with my wife or with my son, that’s gonna be the last day that I play out here for a living.”

“This is not the be-all end-all. This is not the most important thing in my life,” Scheffler continued. “And that’s why I wrestle with why is this so important to me because I would much rather be a great father than I would be a great golfer. You know, at the end of the day, that’s what’s more important to me.”

After comments like that, it should come as no surprise that the first people Scheffler looked for in the crowd after winning the The Open Championship were his better half, Meredith, and his son Bennett.

The audience on the green and the Americans watching at home ate it up. And rightfully so.

As sad as it is, it’s not every day we see men taking their roles as husbands and fathers seriously, especially in professional sports. Yet, it should be because families led by men like Scheffler change our culture and world for the better.

Because of Scheffler’s commitment to his household above all, his son will reap the emotional, educational, and financial benefits of growing up with his married biological father. As studies show, there is no greater, more impactful gift a dad can give his children. The result of successful, indispensable nuclear families like the Schefflers, in turn, leads to a strong and flourishing society.

Tax breaks and merely telling men that they need to step up can only do so much to help our nation’s family and fertility crisis. What young people need are real-life examples that money, career, and fame pale in comparison to raising little ones with your significant other.

When men in the spotlight lead well, the world follows by example.

Scheffler clearly takes being a husband and father seriously. So much so that he’s willing to sacrifice his time on the green. Not only that, but he publicly promotes those roles and the responsibilities that come with them to the world as a positive on a regular basis.

Scheffler is no sandbagger. He’s humble — his goal during the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he won gold, was to “have fun.” But he’s not making the world a better place because of his putting game or even his philosophical press conferences. The most significant mark Scheffler will leave on the world started at home with his decision to be a loving husband and present father.

Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.