Golfer Tapes His Mouth Shut to Stay Calm on the Course

Ryan McCormick might’ve gone a little overboard—but he had his reasons.

The 33-year-old pro golfer showed up to Friday’s round at the Club Car Championship in Savannah, Georgia, with tape over his mouth. No, it wasn’t a joke. He literally taped his mouth shut to stop himself from blowing up emotionally during play.

“Been having not-so-fun times this year on the golf course,” McCormick said in a video for the Korn Ferry Tour. “Pretty angry and mad. So I figured I’ve tried a lot of things, and I just figured I’d shut myself up. So I put tape over my mouth.”

It wasn’t some spur-of-the-moment stunt. McCormick said he’s tried everything—books, advice, different routines—but nothing seemed to help his temper. So he gave the tape idea a shot.

“I thought about it a couple of weeks ago,” he said. “It’s kind of ridiculous, but I’m just trying anything at this point. It forces you to breathe, I’ll say that. I felt like Bane from Batman—just muzzled myself.”

He admitted it wasn’t something he was proud of, but he didn’t want his anger to ruin the experience for his playing partners—or himself.

As for communication? McCormick kept things simple with his caddie, jotting down numbers and pointing when he needed help reading a shot

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Unfortunately, the silence didn’t translate into a turnaround. He shot 1-over par—slightly better than his Thursday round—but still missed the cut by four shots.

McCormick was a full-time PGA Tour player in 2024, but after finishing 161st in the FedEx Cup standings, he’s now back competing on the Korn Ferry Tour.