Skip Bayless Telling Scottie Scheffler To Prioritize Golf Over Being A Good Father Is Beyond Insane
Skip really should have sat this one out.
There isn't anything in existence that Skip Bayless won't share his opinion on. It's that ability that has led him to have such a long career in media, but oftentimes, his expression of opinion is him saying words just for the sake of saying words, resulting in a hot take on a subject he knows virtually nothing about.
Someone paid to speak for a living is bound to say some dumb and just plain strange things. Bayless certainly has in his time in front of a microphone, but his wildest opinion yet may have come in his 73rd year on Earth while discussing Scottie Scheffler, God, and winning golf tournaments.
PORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 20: Scottie Scheffler of the United States lifts the Claret Jug on the 18th green following victory on Day Four of The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 20, 2025 in Portrush, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Alex Pantling/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
Like most, Bayless was intrigued by Scheffler's comments just before the start of The Open. The No. 1 golfer in the world spoke about the internal battle he faces of trying to figure out what exactly the point is in putting in so much time and effort to win golf tournaments the world forgets about just minutes later.
During the viral moment, Scheffler spoke about how winning golf tournaments is not what defines him as a person and how his belief in God and being the best husband and father he can possibly be far outweighs anything he does on a golf course. Long story short, he finds more fulfillment in being a believer, father, and husband than he does being the best golfer on the planet.
Nobody on planet Earth listened to or read Scheffler's vulnerable comments and thought ‘no, he’s wrong, hitting a ball into a cup is more important than faith and family,' except for Bayless.
During a recent monologue on his podcast, Bayless explained that he believes in God and the Bible and attends a Methodist church, which means faith is an important part of his life, but thinks that Scheffler's priorities aren't in proper order.
Bayless believes winning as many golf tournaments as he can, especially before turning 30, should trump family and faith.
"I was jolted and jarred by what Scottie Scheffler said on the eve of the British Open," Bayless said. "No, Scottie, no. God gave you spectacular ability to play the world’s hardest game, gave you the strongest competitive drive since Tiger, gave you what Jack Nicklaus had, what Ben Hogan had. You can’t just shrug it off at age 29 and focus on being a better father than a golfer. You can’t do that, Scottie, no. God wants you to maximize the platform from which you can honor him, and encourage fans to open their hearts to him, to God.
"That’s what God has led or called you to do, Scottie. Not to focus on your wife and infant son before you are 30. Golf is just too hard; the line is just too fine between dominating and missing cuts."
If it wasn't painfully obvious after reading these comments, Bayless does not have any children, and he chose not to have any kids so he could give his all to sports media.
"I believe Scottie Scheffler is a true believer, that he is a legit God guy, that he does have God in his heart, but here's where Scottie Scheffler and I differ," Bayless said.
"I felt called by God to be the very best truth-telling commentator and writer I could be, the very best," he continued. "However, I could maximize my talent that God gave me, I'm going to do it. To do so, I sacrificed having children because I saw that properly and correctly raising children would be a huge time-draining distraction from maximizing my talents."
Bayless finding fulfillment in his work and being of the opinion that having a child would hinder that process is fine - millions of women and families choose not to have kids - but beside the fact that him saying he was ‘called by God’ to be a hot take artist in sports being one of the funniest things ever, him trying to lecture Scheffler on how to live his life and express his faith is legitimately insane.
Not everyone or everything said needs outside opinion, but it does in the world Bayless has essentially created and lived in for decades. He was never going to sit this one out, but that doesn't mean we can't be critical of him speaking about another man's faith, family, and how he weighs them against his job.