"Ernie Els last night called on golf chiefs to ban cameras and mobile phones at all major tournaments, reports The Daily Record. The world's No.3 golfer snapped after being tormented by the sound of ring tones and clicking cameras throughout his second round of the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai. Officials at this year's US Masters introduced airport-style metal detectors and bag scanners at the main entrance to Augusta and confiscated all mobile phones and cameras. Els said: I am in favour of a system that would see phones and cameras taken off spectators."
How about just banning the people. If somebody coughs does this guy throw a fit too? Maybe a good set of earplugs would help him out. Banning fever can strike anyplace and anytime. :roll:
It's a shame when people start to blame things on others. You look at all other athletes and sports, the fans and the noise they make is a part of the game.
You can't tell me that a golfer (and I do try to golf, I say try :wink: ) putting deserves less fan noise than a basketball player trying to make free-throw. Els is way better than that. At least I thought he was.
But these guys are used to it being quiet. It's supposed to be quiet, it's not a team sport, it's an individual sport more mental than it is physical. Standing over a 30 foot putt for eagle and lining it up takes a lot more concentration than making a free throw. And golf etiquette has dicated quiet while others are making a shot for 100s of years, this is nothing new. What's new is the large numbers of people who show up at these tournaments who have no clue about how one should behave at a golf course.
Even Tiger complains about the noise, it's a constant issue.
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Valid point seaflipper(Being accustomed to quiet), but if they want the crowds and the large purse, they have to accept a certain amount of change. also tennis is comparable where quiet is demanded but in this case it is both mental and physical. The only reason the players are upset is because it's tradition and it's expected. Things change.
I disagree about lining up a 30 footer requiring more concentration than making a free throw. You look at some of these college games with the student body going nuts and you need to make the free throw in the final few seconds to win or tie a game...that's tough as well, maybe not equall tough, but tough. Here however, we're used to the crowd going nuts trying to distract the shooter. I don't think a BB player shooting a free throw is concentrating anyless than a golfer making a putt.
Valid point seaflipper(Being accustomed to quiet), but if they want the crowds and the large purse, they have to accept a certain amount of change. also tennis is comparable where quiet is demanded but in this case it is both mental and physical. The only reason the players are upset is because it's tradition and it's expected. Things change.
I disagree about lining up a 30 footer requiring more concentration than making a free throw. You look at some of these college games with the student body going nuts and you need to make the free throw in the final few seconds to win or tie a game...that's tough as well, maybe not equall tough, but tough. Here however, we're used to the crowd going nuts trying to distract the shooter. I don't think a BB player shooting a free throw is concentrating anyless than a golfer making a putt.
I agree, I don't have quite that much sympathy for a guy who plays 4 days of golf and wins $990,000! I remember when the purses used to be $270,000 and that was less than 10 years ago.
On the other hand, I think a 30 foot putt, or really any putt for that matter, is very different than a free throw. In a free throw the variables NEVER change. The basket is in the same place in relation to where you stand, no matter how loud the crowd it. With a putt, each and every green is different, the slope the speed - everything is different every single time. In tournaments they move the pins around on the greens every single day so no putt is ever the same. In a basketball free throw, with practice, it's not a stretch to think that you can literally make them with your eyes shut, in golf that is never the case.
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I love my Treo650, but I would gladly jump at a chance to have a truly one handed Windows Mobile 5.0 device with a Qwerty Keyboard! [UPDATE: I have a Q]
On the other hand, I think a 30 foot putt, or really any putt for that matter, is very different than a free throw. In a free throw the variables NEVER change. The basket is in the same place in relation to where you stand, no matter how loud the crowd it. With a putt, each and every green is different, the slope the speed - everything is different every single time. In tournaments they move the pins around on the greens every single day so no putt is ever the same. In a basketball free throw, with practice, it's not a stretch to think that you can literally make them with your eyes shut, in golf that is never the case.
The issue is not loud noise, per se, it is the SUDDEN loud noise that can and does cause someone to flinch (during a putt, shooting a free throw). Since most golf tournaments are normally quiet, the SUDDEN loud noise of a ringtone or lens shutter can cause problems at a tournament. (Given the steadiness of my putting hand, a bomb could go off next to me and you couldn't tell the difference in the putt - the professionals are somewhat steadier and more consistent than me.)
Valid point seaflipper(Being accustomed to quiet), but if they want the crowds and the large purse, they have to accept a certain amount of change. also tennis is comparable where quiet is demanded but in this case it is both mental and physical. The only reason the players are upset is because it's tradition and it's expected. Things change.
I disagree about lining up a 30 footer requiring more concentration than making a free throw. You look at some of these college games with the student body going nuts and you need to make the free throw in the final few seconds to win or tie a game...that's tough as well, maybe not equall tough, but tough. Here however, we're used to the crowd going nuts trying to distract the shooter. I don't think a BB player shooting a free throw is concentrating anyless than a golfer making a putt.
I agree, I don't have quite that much sympathy for a guy who plays 4 days of golf and wins $990,000! I remember when the purses used to be $270,000 and that was less than 10 years ago.
On the other hand, I think a 30 foot putt, or really any putt for that matter, is very different than a free throw. In a free throw the variables NEVER change. The basket is in the same place in relation to where you stand, no matter how loud the crowd it. With a putt, each and every green is different, the slope the speed - everything is different every single time. In tournaments they move the pins around on the greens every single day so no putt is ever the same. In a basketball free throw, with practice, it's not a stretch to think that you can literally make them with your eyes shut, in golf that is never the case.
Now, look: don't turn this into some kind of "class war" with the haves and have-nots! You don't like the fact that these athletes make that much money, fine, it's your right. I'm not even a sports fan, and if they went away today, I wouldn't care one bit.
That said, consider this: one, it's easy for you (and everyone else here, for that matter) to say that, but they make their living doing this, and far be it for us to say they don't have that right.
And until you can consistently enter into these tournaments with hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line and shoot in the mid-60s, I don't think anyone is in a [credible] position to determine what does or does not bother them.
Call for Cameraphone Ban at Golf Tournaments
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