Does the PGA have the right to enforce a ban on cell phones and crowd noise at golf matches?

Question

Tiger Woods once complained to the PGA (like a crybaby) about cell phones and pagers going off while he was lining up to take a shot.

What about basketball players who have to stand at the free throw line and sink a basket with 15,000 fans screaming, booing and waving at them?

What about football quarterbacks who have to call a play with 70,000 fans screaming at the top of their lungs?

What about baseball pitchers who have to pound a small strike zone 60 feet away with crowd noise so loud that the pitcher's mound is shaking?

Shouldn't golf players like Woods grow up and stop being such babies?

Don't try to tell me there is any difference between a sport like basketball and a sport like golf. Because there isn't.

No matter what sport you're in, a "true athlete" knows how to turn in his A-game no matter how many hostile fans are booing in his face.

Answer 1

The PGA has the right to ban such devices and should.  Read your rule book of Golf.  The very first subject is etiquette.  It is customary to yell at basketball players trying to make a free throw or a baseball batter trying to get a hit - it is part of those games.  It is not part of golf.

Answer 2

I don't believe comparing basketball and golf is a realistic comparison.  There is a different set of rules of etiqutte followed in golf than in the other sports you mention.  The point is, silence is expected in the sport.  (also in pro tennis).

So, does Tiger have a right to complain?

You bet.

And yes, the PGA does have a right to ban the devices if they deem them distractionary.

Answer 3

Brainiac (a British 'science' TV show akin to Myth Busters) did some test on this. They took a amateur golfer and a amateur tennis player and had each hit (Drive and Serve) 12 balls under total crowd silence.  Then do so again with rowdy crowd noise.  Both did BETTER with the crowd noise than with the silence.  So keeping quiet for the athletes is a bunch or rubbish.  

However there is one difference, that is that in Pro golf the average fan is allowed to get allot closer to the player (on the tee) than in other Pro sports.

Answer 4

It's obvious you don't play golf. The concentration necesary to hit a narrow fairway hundreds of yards away with equipment that is ill designed for that purpose is so great ANY unexpected noise can mean the difference between a home run and a strike out.

I've played all the sports you named and when the play was going on I never heard anything.

Baseball pitchers aren't trying to throw a ball through a knothole from 60 feet.

Football players aren't trying to beat 70 other people all by themselves.

And Basketball players get to move everything around to suit them.

Ted Williams, probably the greatest baseball hitter of all time was asked what he thought about golf. Ted said it was harder than baseball. Yes he could hit the baseball over the fence, but he could do it anywhere on the fence not in just one particular spot. He had a 90 degree arc not less than one degree.

Shouldn't you go ask questions about those other sports?

If you want to ask a real question about PGA rules. Ask why digital cameras are not allowed? They don't make noise. Ask why all cameras aren't required to be digital?

Answer 5

Your question makes it obvious that you know very little about a gentleman's game.  There is a huge difference between golf and basketball (or any other team sport - I'll stick to basketball because that was your primary comparison).

In basketball, there are 12 guys all trying to win the game.  They are there to work together to accomplish a common goal, and at the end of the day, win or lose they get paid.

Golfers only get paid if they win or finish high on the tournament scale.  Consider the CA at Doral this weekend.  First place took home 1.4 million, while a 2nd place finish was worth $550,000.  The guy who finished 6th made $198,000 for the week.  I know that seems like a ton of cash, but consider also that most of these guys are out there as a LLC, working to support themselves and their families.  Most of them don't have sponsorships to fly them from venue to venue, and it is rare that they get appearance fees for PGA events.  

That being said, it is up to the PGA to create an environment that will allow them to perform to the best of their ability.  I'm a weekend warrior, mainly because I don't have time during the work week to get on the course.  I don't play for cash the way that these guys do - simply a recreational thing.  It hacks me off to no end when someone brings a phone onto the course and does not silence it to avoid the distraction factor.  That is part of the etiquette of the game - just like you don't step in someone's putting line.  It is a game of etiquette - if you plan to play the game or be a spectator, abide by the rules set forth.

Answer 6

Let me give you a couple examples...

Golf is a game that has (as pointed out before) certain rules of behavior that have been part of the game for HUNDREDS OF YEARS.  Not to drill this too low-brow, but sport has for thousands of years been associated with class, respect for the rules and a level of civility between competitors and fans alike.  

Fast forward to today, and you think that this all should be ignored so that drunkards can yell, throw (emty?) beer cans at players and try to dissrupt them like the new sports of basketball, baseball and football?

Second example - a player not expecting a distraction attempts to stop a metal club traveling at ~120 MPH during a down swing.  The ATTEMPT to stop this amout of inertia rips several muscles, tendons and bones out of allignment - thus ending a season for the player.  (REAL STORY - not made up.)

You simply don't get it.  

1 - This is a game, not a sport - it has rules of ediquete that are there for both the enjoyment of the game and the safety of everyone.

2 - Just because these guys make piles of dough does it make it OK to ridicule them - Just try to make PAR on a course set up like it is for these guys.

3 - If we taught our kids the rules of golf and raised them to abide by them in their daily lives the world would be a much safer and pleasant place to live.

4 - Do you really think that some dope smoking, gangster minded NBA player is going to call his own foul?  How about a football player in the middle of steroid rage?

Answer 7

The Tour does indeed have the right to do so. It says so right on the ticket. If you buy one, you have legally signed a contract to abide by the conditions set there.

I've never understood why people think that buying a ticket to an event (golf or otherwise) gives them the right to act like a moron. Thank heavens golf fans for the most part still understand the principles of decorum. When fans scream and act like imbeciles, it has nothing to do with cheering a team. It's a selfish act, designed to draw attention to oneself. The guy screaming "Get in the hole" knows that has no effect on the game; but it DOES have the effect of getting people to look at him. Fans screaming and painting their naked bodies have no effect on the players (I've been on the field at major college events -- its all just white noise). But doing so DOES increase their chances of getting on television.

I'm really tired of the current trend toward complete self-absorption.

Answer 8

In a way, I think you're right, because it gives the impression that these rich guys always have to be pampered so they can concentrate on EVERY shot they make.  Tennis players are also annoying...looking menacingly up in the stands for any movement which they can blame for a missed shot.

I really like the atmosphere at the Scottsdale Open in Phoenix.  (I attended it one time.)  I think that those fans have and do it right!  Just try shushing those fans.  You'll get a beer can thrown at the side of your head!  Golf, tennis and sports, in general, should be classified as entertainment, and should not be taken THAT seriously.  

I think that golf would draw more fans if the 'powers that be' would loosen up just a little bit and let fans have a little bit of fun!  Like you said, these profis should be able to concentrate through a little noise.

I would enforce babbling on the cell phone during play, however.  An outright ban would be wrong, but I would make  designated areas where people could talk away.