Jordan Spieth

[SWC75]

... is a great young golfer, handsome, talented and popular. He's playing a tournament in his home state with plenty of fans. His "special needs" sister is following him around, rooting for him. Great story.

He gets to the first playoff hole and hits the ball into a bunker. So does Johnson Wagner. JB Holmes, the third guy, hits the ball onto the green. Spieth has to get up and down in two to have any chance of continuing with the playoff.

At the top of his back swing, somebody tries to snap a picture. The click and/or the flash of the camera startles him and the ball barely makes it to the lower part of the green. He gets a long, long put close but not in. Holmes and Wagner par the hole. Spieth just picks his ball up and walks off.

I think it's time for the PGA to acknowledge that people are going to have these cameras all over the place, (we also have the "get in the hole" guys who are sometimes premature). and allow the player to try the shot again. Rake the sand trap, drop the ball and go again. We want to see the golfers golf.

 

[upperdeck]

they would be better suited to back the gallary up a bit and let everyone do what they want.. the players would adapt and play under the noise pretty quickly i think. they do it in phoenix with no problem.

 

[PoppyHart]

noise isn't a problem when you are expecting it. It the sudden outbursts that throw people off.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

they would be better suited to back the gallary up a bit and let everyone do what they want.. the players would adapt and play under the noise pretty quickly i think. they do it in phoenix with no problem.

I tend to agree but I do have mixed feelings. I love everything about golf: playing it, watching it on TV and watching it live so I've seen this happen on more than one occasion. Except usually Tiger is involved. 99.9% of the time there is no issue, however I think the players need to relax a little bit on this. Us amateurs deal with this all the time. Not the photo taking but the noise in and around the course. I'm talking about the crew cutting the grass and seemingly following you around from hole to hole at 7 am or the cart girl who is clueless on where to park her car and insists on driving up the cart part right towards you as you are in the middle of the back swing. Could you see that happening on the PGA.

 

[Cowtown]

... is a great young golfer, handsome, talented and popular. He's playing a tournament in his home state with plenty of fans. His "special needs" sister is following him around, rooting for him. Great story.

He gets to the first playoff hole and hits the ball into a bunker. So does Johnson Wagner. JB Holmes, the third guy, hits the ball onto the green. Spieth has to get up and down in two to have any chance of continuing with the playoff.

At the top of his back swing, somebody tries to snap a picture. The click and/or the flash of the camera startles him and the ball barely makes it to the lower part of the green. He gets a long, long put close but not in. Holmes and Wagner par the hole. Spieth just picks his ball up and walks off.

I think it's time for the PGA to acknowledge that people are going to have these cameras all over the place, (we also have the "get in the hole" guys who are sometimes premature). and allow the player to try the shot again. Rake the sand trap, drop the ball and go again. We want to see the golfers golf.

I felt badly for Spieth when that happened. Sports fans can be so completely classless.

When I went to the BC Open they "confiscated" cameras at the gate, gave you a receipt for it and you were able to retrieve it upon leaving. If you were caught out on the course after not turning yours in, you were removed from the venue. However that was prior to the cell phone boom. Today everybody and their dog has a cell phone/camera so the level of involvement to enforce a similar policy would increase by at least an order of magnitude, so I'm sure that's why it's not done like that any longer. Imagine having "phone Nazis roaming the courses. Every tournament would be like the Masters, lol! And who'd want that job? Especially given how some people will fight nigh unto their death for their phones.

 

[Cowtown]

I tend to agree but I do have mixed feelings. I love everything about golf: playing it, watching it on TV and watching it live so I've seen this happen on more than one occasion. Except usually Tiger is involved. 99.9% of the time there is no issue, however I think the players need to relax a little bit on this. Us amateurs deal with this all the time. Not the photo taking but the noise in and around the course. I'm talking about the crew cutting the grass and seemingly following you around from hole to hole at 7 am or the cart girl who is clueless on where to park her car and insists on driving up the cart part right towards you as you are in the middle of the back swing. Could you see that happening on the PGA.

If only it was limited to the incidentals you described. I like very much the etiquette and decorum attendant to the game, so I get a little bugged when guys won't stop talking or walking around, clunking their clubs around in their bags etc., for 10-15 seconds during your swing. Seriously, we're out there for 4-4 1/2 hours, can you not contain yourself for the ten seconds or so I need? And I'm a fast player. Are you so numb you don't realize I don't do that crap while you're playing? Others will walk or drive their carts right up behind you during your swing, etc. and then when you turn and give them a stink eye, they give you their stupid, glazed over "What?" look. About a quarter to a third of the golfing public is too stupid for golf.

 

[upperdeck]

My dad years ago was at the BC open.. went into the porta potty, came out walked away and right in the middle of a players swing the spring slammed the door shut.. the whole crowd turned around and there was nothing he could do but acknowledge to the crowd it was him with a weak wave.. we reminded him of it every tourney we went to after that..

 

[Bayside44]

You have to check your phone at the Open and Masters. It made the US Open such a better experience for fans, looking forward to the same this weekend.

At the Tiger Tourney at Congo last year I saw so many people on Facebook showing their pictures off at the tee box, it seems incredibly distracting and a bit rude considering the etiquette of the game.

 

[MCC]

Frankly I'm nonplussed. Almost every sport has a massive number of spectators and a boatload of noise: focus through it, or use it. Perhaps the fault lies in sport-specific etiquette; either eliminate distractions altogether or open the floodgates. Same goes for tennis (which I love, and played avidly) on the serve - come on, just let the crowd go ballistic and thus no surprises. IMO it's senseless to collect thousands of onlookers and expect all of them to a man (woman) to align.

 

[SWC75]

Frankly I'm nonplussed. Almost every sport has a massive number of spectators and a boatload of noise: focus through it, or use it. Perhaps the fault lies in sport-specific etiquette; either eliminate distractions altogether or open the floodgates. Same goes for tennis (which I love, and played avidly) on the serve - come on, just let the crowd go ballistic and thus no surprises. IMO it's senseless to collect thousands of onlookers and expect all of them to a man (woman) to align.

Part of it is what you're used to and part of it is that what they are used to is silence and when it's interrupted it's more distracting that baseball crowd going...

 

[CuseTG2003]

Bump. Spieth is absolutely killing it at the Masters right now. He's at 12 under 10 holes through his second round. Wouldn't be surprised if he gets to 15 under by the end of this round w/ 13 and 15 (reachable par 5s) still to play. He's hitting every shot exactly how we wants and could blow away the field like Tiger and Rory have done at majors. He's a lot of fun to watch and a class act all the way. Impressive.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Spieth was "one and done" at Texas. What was he thinking?

He should have stayed 4 years and received a degree.

 

[SWC75]

Bump. Spieth is absolutely killing it at the Masters right now. He's at 12 under 10 holes through his second round. Wouldn't be surprised if he gets to 15 under by the end of this round w/ 13 and 15 (reachable par 5s) still to play. He's hitting every shot exactly how we wants and could blow away the field like Tiger and Rory have done at majors. He's a lot of fun to watch and a class act all the way. Impressive.

But Charley Hoffman is staying in range. It ain't over till it's over.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Spieth was "one and done" at Texas. What was he thinking?

He should have stayed 4 years and received a degree.

People only get outraged when poor black kids leave college to make a living.

 

[CanadianSU]

The only thing I got on him is that I wasn't losing hair at 20

 

[CuseTG2003]

But Charley Hoffman is staying in range. It ain't over till it's over.

True, but Spieth's experience from last year gives him a big advantage over Hoffman. I think DJ is most likely to challenge Jordan if he doesn't pull away.

 

[skurey]

The Masters is ridiculous and we should all boycott it until they change their broadcasting ways. Completely stupid that you can't watch 70% of the entire tournament.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[skurey]

Prides itself on being ed

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[Toga]

The Masters is ridiculous and we should all boycott it until they change their broadcasting ways. Completely stupid that you can't watch 70% of the entire tournament.

The Masters - dragged kicking and screaming into the 19th century. To be honest - it is a magnificent looking course, but the powers that be at Augusta are supremely full of themselves.