It just feels like maybe it’s the right time to talk about everyone toning it down a little bit. With the 2025 Ryder Cup in the books, the topic du jour is how U.S. fans were down right embarrassing at Bethpage Black, as they peppered Shane Lowry with bad jokes about his weight and Rory McIlroy with even worse jokes about his marriage. Someone even threw a beer at McIlroy’s wife, and I’m sure there are plenty more terrible moments caught on video across social media, but who wants to deal with this behavior anymore?

This is sort of like the rotten cherry on top of several years of content creators glorifying debaucherous “anything for attention” behavior on the links, and I know that I probably sound like a living Grandpa Simpson meme, but it’s just enough already. A lot of us use golf as an escape and a way to unwind mentally, so we don’t need to be dealing with the type of people who end up on the wrong side of a former hockey player’s knuckle sandwich because they think they’re the main characters of your local courses. Fortunately, Southworth is already at the forefront of setting an example in making the game more enjoyable for everyone.

While not necessarily a household name, Southworth is behind some really cool developments in private golf clubs this year. Most notably, the developer recently introduced new amenities that somehow made The Abaco Club an even better golf vacation experience, as it boasts the most sought-after tee time in the Bahamas, if not the Caribbean, and now Wake Field (a Fenway Park-like setting for family and group games, named for Tim Wakefield) and El Diablo, an 18-hole putting course that kids will certainly love.

In fact, family is a key theme throughout Southworth’s communities, which have always been a far cry from what we traditionally think of private golf clubs. The he Golf Fore Beginnings program, for example, was designed to help women learn how to play and enjoy the game, eliminating the intimidation and discouragement that so many of us have felt when trying to play later in life. But the element that parents will truly enjoy is the Mini Members Council, through which children are able to help cultivate community activities with special touches just for them, like kickball games and movie nights at the aforementioned Wake Field or mermaid swim lessons set against the waterfalls at the Renaissance swimming pools.

Speaking of this Haverhill, Massachusetts, community, more experienced players will love the recently unveiled tee options and course improvements at Brian Silva’s 18-hole concept that embraces Scottish tradition with plenty of favorable elements that will keep beginners and advanced players equally enthralled. At the same time, two hours south in Cape Cod, members enjoying the trio of 9-hole courses at Willowbend — Bay, Bend, and Bog — will also reap the benefits of ExLocator, which offers next-level, real-time representation of pin distance and placement. These little perks go a long way in turning a golfer’s frown upside down.

Of course, anyone on the outside looking in will likely wonder how they can experience all of this at any of Southworth’s courses without a membership. Maybe start by being nice on the course, I guess. Great things tend to happen that way.