Should golfers worry about fan behaviour?
Golf is a very technical game which needs a great deal of concentration while playing. Just like tennis and squash, the crowd is absolutely silent while the game is going on, because a slight noise can create problems for the players.
There are sports such as, cricket, football and hockey, where fans go absolutely wild while the match is going on because those sports are played that way. It is not in their rules that the crowd should remain silent while the match is in session.
However, in golf it is a sort of a rule that the crowd must remain calm and quite while a player is performing a shot. Even while a player is not making a shot, the spectators should at least show some spirit of the game.
Recently, at the Ryder Cup, there were numerous issues being faced by the European players, as they were being taunted throughout the tournament.
These taunts can really disrupt concentration levels, and in high tension situations, a player is bound to make mistakes.
Taunts made by the fans can get stuck in the player’s head. This can be a source of great agony for the players, as they need to fully concentrate on the shot, not on what the fans have said.
It is against the spirit of the game when fans taunt and shout during the matches, especially when a shot is being played.
It is obviously natural that a player will get disturbed by the taunts that he or she will face during the course of a match.
At the Ryder Cup, recently, many questions were being raised by the European players, regarding the behaviour of the crowd.
"I didn't get abused, but you get comments like: 'Top it! Shank it! You're going to lose.' Stuff like that on every shot you play," Paul Lawrie said. "Every single shot you hit last week, that's what you get. So apparently that's how it is".
When such reactions come from the crowd, the players are bound to get irritated. The fans should realise that making comments like these are against the spirit of the game and they should refrain from making such statements.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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