The thing about inventions is that they often have grave consequences. When those ancient Mesopotamians cobbled together the first wheel, for instance, they probably weren’t thinking that in future years civilisation would be subjected to Jeremy Clarkson as a result. It’s a cruel world.

Someone once informed me that the most dangerous part of a car is the nut at the wheel. Upon hearing this pearl of wisdom, your correspondent guddled about to unscrew said nut and was rather taken aback when the steering shaft collapsed on a leisurely tootle along and my journey came to an unceremonious end in a hedgerow just off the B934 near the Yetts O’ Muckhart.

Talk about veering off course. It’s been a bit like this for golf recently. The palaver at Muirfield last week, when the vote to allow female members failed to gain the required number of ‘ayes’, had the kind of devastating impact you’d get with a mega-meteor. It was disgraceful, it was shameful, it was embarrassing, it was Neanderthal behaviour. Or were these all words to describe the stooshie at the Scottish Cup final? Amid all the fist-shaking, outrage and moralising that’s been going on of late, I’ve kind of lost track to be honest.

Golf needed a lift and we got it at the weekend. Rory McIlroy winning the Irish Open, Russell Knox hounding him all the way, Sergio Garcia landing his first PGA Tour title since 2012, Ariya Jutanugarn claiming her second LPGA Tour crown in a row, Bernhard Langer ticking off his 100th professional victory and sixth Senior Tour major or Matthew Southgate securing his best ever European Tour finish just months after recovering from testicular cancer? There were plenty of feel good stories.

The image of golf that’s been zapped around the world recently is of that elderly gentleman at Muirfield with a tweed jacket, a bunnet and a pile of old clubs. He is probably a perfectly charming fellow but in a game that continues to battle against negative perceptions, those with little interest in golf would have heard the decision on women members, had one look at that picture and snorted that this Royal & Ancient pursuit is as fusty as a damp dictionary and so far out of touch it may as well be played on the rings of Saturn.

Of course, away from this elite end of golf – and let’s face it, when women are eventually ushered in as Muirfield members (it will happen) they are hardly going to be your run-of-the-mill Doreen or Bessie – the masses know a game that is open and inclusive, where plenty of people are doing plenty of fine work to try and grow the sport in challenging times and want to focus, not on male or female golfers, but simply golfers.

It remains a fine game of discipline, patience and honesty, the kind of virtues that are often missing in this fevered, selfish, crash, bang, wallop modern era. Those values should always be cherished and championed.

McIlroy and others are at the vanguard of a youthful, engaging, vibrant movement. As for Scotsman Knox? Well, the more you see of him the more impressed you are by this global campaigner. The Inverness exile revelled in the cut-and-thrust on that last day in Ireland as he underlined his competitive instincts and hassled McIlroy right to the end.

When he’s in the thick of it, Knox will certainly not shy away while he displays an approachable, affable nature that adds to his qualities. When he racked up a calamitous nine on the 17th at Sawgrass during The Players Championship recently, the light-hearted, way he dealt with it earned him widespread acclaim. Perhaps the Muirfield membership could hire him for tips on launching a charm offensive?

Darren Clarke, Europe’s Ryder Cup captain, will certainly have taken notice. Knox, who is now up to No 23 in the global rankings, is sitting in 17th place on the world points list for Ryder Cup qualification. There’s still plenty to do but with a whole host of big events coming up, starting with this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, the 30-year-old is knocking on the door. He’s also third in line for an Olympic place behind Danny Willett and Justin Rose.

At the end of a week in which golf stumbled backwards, it’s onwards and upwards for Knox, McIlroy and company.