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He won't talk? Blame biology
Timothy Gower

October 13, 2003

Last summer, my golf game deteriorated from sloppy to just plain inept. One afternoon, after making yet another dreadful shot, I grabbed my eight iron by both ends and bent it in frustration. Snap! It took weeks for me to mention the incident to my wife. Not only did I feel like a jerk for destroying the golf club, but the extreme act brought up old, depressing doubts I've always had about my athletic ability. And I didn't feel like talking about it.

But isn't today's sensitive man supposed to express his feelings? And wasn't breaking a golf club a sign that I need my head examined? Or could it be that there's something unique about the male brain that made me act this way?

Yes to that last question, says family therapist Michael Gurian, who believes it was perfectly natural for me to keep my thoughts to myself. What's more, he says, busting my golf club because I was angry wasn't evidence that I had lost my marbles. Rather, Gurian says, it was a "very healthy response."..