Is it me, or does anyone else feel that professional level golf needs to move in to the modern era and drop the whole silence bit when people are playing?
I took the family to the Web.com BMW Pro-Am today. I knew that I wouldn't be able to watch the golf action with two small children, and I was ok with that. I mostly wanted to go to just show the wife and kids what a nice course it was, and to let them play in the kids area and get them out for a new adventure they had never experienced. I also needed to say "Hi" to the sponsor that gives me the tickets every year. Everything went fine and the kids were very well behaved and stayed quiet when I told them to so we could watch one group tee off.
What really surprises me every year is how poorly the tour treats the spectators that come out to watch the events. The guys that stand on the tee boxes and around the greens can be overbearing in yelling "quiet" at every person that they can. Sometimes I feel as if they take joy in telling people to be quiet and most of them do so in the most demeaning and rude manner possible. I know enough to stay quiet and remain still while players are playing their shots, but it always gets me thinking about why golfers need dead silence to play the game and its effect on the spectators and sport. I cant think of another mainstream sporting event where the spectators are yelled at and told to be dead silent so the game can be played. Can you imagine a football, baseball, or basketball game that required everyone to be quiet? All the players in those sports can play with fan noise, cheers, boos, the wave, noisemakers, etc.....but pro golfers cant figure out how to hit a ball while people are talking or making noise? I know golfers can play with noise and movement; look at driving ranges, and the explosion of Top Golf as a business.
I personally dont mind if people are talking, cutting up, moving, etc when I am playing. I will say that I am a newer player, and that I am terrible, so it may not matter as much to me as someone who is trying to break par every round.
Do you think golf should stay the quiet noise free event it is, or should it evolve in to a noisy fan friendly environment?
I took the family to the Web.com BMW Pro-Am today. I knew that I wouldn't be able to watch the golf action with two small children, and I was ok with that. I mostly wanted to go to just show the wife and kids what a nice course it was, and to let them play in the kids area and get them out for a new adventure they had never experienced. I also needed to say "Hi" to the sponsor that gives me the tickets every year. Everything went fine and the kids were very well behaved and stayed quiet when I told them to so we could watch one group tee off.
What really surprises me every year is how poorly the tour treats the spectators that come out to watch the events. The guys that stand on the tee boxes and around the greens can be overbearing in yelling "quiet" at every person that they can. Sometimes I feel as if they take joy in telling people to be quiet and most of them do so in the most demeaning and rude manner possible. I know enough to stay quiet and remain still while players are playing their shots, but it always gets me thinking about why golfers need dead silence to play the game and its effect on the spectators and sport. I cant think of another mainstream sporting event where the spectators are yelled at and told to be dead silent so the game can be played. Can you imagine a football, baseball, or basketball game that required everyone to be quiet? All the players in those sports can play with fan noise, cheers, boos, the wave, noisemakers, etc.....but pro golfers cant figure out how to hit a ball while people are talking or making noise? I know golfers can play with noise and movement; look at driving ranges, and the explosion of Top Golf as a business.
I personally dont mind if people are talking, cutting up, moving, etc when I am playing. I will say that I am a newer player, and that I am terrible, so it may not matter as much to me as someone who is trying to break par every round.
Do you think golf should stay the quiet noise free event it is, or should it evolve in to a noisy fan friendly environment?