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Luke Donald daggers Anthony Joshua over his iron covers, may or may not live to tell the tale

September 21, 2020

Our regular readers will know that for everything 10 things we love about the game of golf, there are about 15 we hate. From white belts to plumb bobs to tour bags to overgramming, we’ve waxed ad nauseum on all the things golf needs to leave in the past, but chief among them is the scourge of iron covers.

While their aim is true—to protect your expensive, hard-won new sticks from everyday wear and tear until you one day snap one over your knee in a fit of rage—they have become the universal symbol of golf prudism, even outpacing madras pants. For newcomers to the game, however, it’s tough to account for every piece of local knowledge, a fact two-time unified heavyweight champion of the world Anthony Joshua learned the hard way this weekend.

That’s Joshua breaking in the new twigs at the range, a sesh which, according to him, maybe didn’t go so well. Reaching out to Twitter-land for advice (first mistake, last mistake, as they say), Joshua quickly attracted the attention of former World No. 1 Luke Donald. But instead of dishing out swing advice or reminding Joshua to keep his head down, Donald zeroed in on a completely different offense: The dreaded iron covers. WARNING: What comes next might hurt your fragile baby feelings.

Tough love is still love, folks.

While Donald might be on the right side of this one from a golf perspective, we do question whether calling a 6’ 7” heavyweight that hits like a Peterbilt is the correct decision from a personal wellness standpoint. That said, no great battle was won without sacrifice, and Donald just struck a crucial blow in the war against iron covers. If you don't return fromt the frontline, Luke, we promise to tell your children stories of your bravery.