I think golf is a sport that requires much more concentration than basketball. It's like archery, and other sports, where everything is in the aim. Hey, I even remember tons of cartoon scenes on Saturday morning about some character missing the ball cuz some loonie behind him coughed or something.
I think basketball is totally different and doesn't require that burst of concentration the golf does. The mind set is totally different...
A more relevant comparison is probably snooker, another individual sport requiring high concentration. The world championship finished yesterday and during the final, the referee turned to a spectator and told him to be quiet in a real headmaster voice. He also asked a security guard to move, as his white shirt was interferring with a player's vision. However, after a shot is played, the crowd will respond as wildly as any football crowd. If you used a camera, you would probably be ejected, particularly if a flash pinpointed where you were.
I think Fredstraza nailed the problem of cell phones to golfers on this one. It's the sudden noise. After it's been very quiet and just as the player is about to hit the shot, or stroke the putt, out comes the theme from the Matrix blasting the quiet.
I’ve played a lot of competitive amateur golf over the years there's nothing worse for the players than that sudden break in the quiet. Spectators at a golf tournament know that part of their responsibility is to be quiet while a player is just about ready and taking a shot, especially a putt.
In the world today, courtesy has disappeared. I give presentations on finance and technology during the year as well as leading various training sessions. When the cell phones go off it’s really distracting and totally unnecessary. I ask all attendees to put their cell phones on silent or if they’re so old they have no silent mode to turn off their cell phones. If a phone goes off I invite the person to leave. I will tell you that everyone else attending backs that up.
Then there’s the cell phones going off in theater, the movies, restaurants. Or how about the guy at the next table in the restaurant constantly talking on the cell phone, often so loud that he doesn’t need the cell phone to talk to the person across the country, with whom he’s speaking.
Banning and confiscating cell phones preemptively at a golf tournament is going too far, however. I would think that if a spectator’s cell phone goes off that the spectator could then thrown out, and his ticket for the remaining part of the tournament, and cell phone confiscated. When people understand that would be the consequence of not turning the phone’s mode to silent I think the constant interruptions and distractions from ringing cell phones would quickly cease.
Then there’s the cell phones going off in theater, the movies, restaurants. Or how about the guy at the next table in the restaurant constantly talking on the cell phone, often so loud that he doesn’t need the cell phone to talk to the person across the country, with whom he’s speaking.
The theater or movies are one thing, but I don't have a problem with somebody using a phone in a restaurant. Why not? People have always talked in restaurants to their dining companions, so there's not much difference talking on the phone. In the theater or movies, people have always been discouraged from talking.
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Originally Posted by Ned
Banning and confiscating cell phones preemptively at a golf tournament is going too far, however. I would think that if a spectator’s cell phone goes off that the spectator could then thrown out, and his ticket for the remaining part of the tournament, and cell phone confiscated.
I also agree that a preemptive strike is going too far, and that people whose phones go off should be ejected. I'm at a loss, though, to understand why you'd confiscate their phone. You're kicking them off the course, so why take the phone?
While it's true that people have always talked in restaurants, and in fact that's part of the dining experience, people fumbling for their phones while their "custom ring tone" blasts away is another thing. Also, did you ever notice how people seem to raise their volume close to a yell when they're on their cell phone. I was in a bar/restaurant yesterday for lunch. The guy five tables away was talking at his table when his phone went off. It was the theme from Peter Gun and the whole place heard it. When he answered the phone his voice went LOUD. It happens all the time.
As to why I would confiscate the phone at the golf tournament, it's because it sends a message to the wallet. Sooner or later cell phone bores need to understand they have to respect others. Nothing makes people take notice more than a loss of cash. Signs would have to be posted, of course, warning people, or it wouldn't be fair.
As to why I would confiscate the phone at the golf tournament, it's because it sends a message to the wallet. Sooner or later cell phone bores need to understand they have to respect others. Nothing makes people take notice more than a loss of cash. Signs would have to be posted, of course, warning people, or it wouldn't be fair.
I think that would be highly illegal (AKA stealing). If I had any interest in golf (I don't) and accidentally left my phone on and it went off while watching a match, there's no way they would get that phone from me. If they tried, they'd likely be on the bad end of an assault and battery complaint. Posting a sign doesn't make theft OK.
Pro golfers are cry-babies - even more so than the pansies in the NFL. Yes, I know it is damned hard to get a tiny ball into a tiny hole by nudging it with a bent stick. Somehow, though, I can't imagine any golfer being able to hit Randy Johnson's 90MPH+ fastball - even if it were quiet in Yankee Stadium! A batter has to deal with organ music, people screaming, flashing scoreboard lights, planes overhead, cow bells... let's see the PGA tour include those elements!
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David McNamee
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A batter has to deal with organ music, people screaming, flashing scoreboard lights, planes overhead, cow bells... let's see the PGA tour include those elements!
Did they make golf courses no-fly zones while I wasn't watching? :-D Yes, golfers probably have far fewer distractions than most sports (except maybe professional bowling), but I think planes are still there.
The difference with this 'ban' and some of the other cellphone restrictions is that cameras have always been a no-no during tournaments, except for registered members of the press.
So were radios, air horns, fireworks, and other loud devices.
Banning a cell phone and cell phone cameras is just next logical extension of these rules.
Another rule is that golfers don't sign autographs during the tournament.
The trade off is that members of the public are allowed to bring in cameras during practice days of the tournament...and ask for autographs.
I like the fact that this rule is applied equally, whether or not the item is digital or analog.
I've attended tournaments with some geemo idiot standing there, clicking away while the golfer is trying to drive. The sound is much louder than you might think.
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