Call for Cameraphone Ban at Golf Tournaments

[Jerry Raia]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.textually.org/picturephoning/archives/008128.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.textually.org/picturephoning/archives/008128.htm</a><br /><br /></div><i>"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."</i><br /><br />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:

[Bacco]

Here, Here Jerry!!

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.

[seaflipper]

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.

[Bacco]

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.

[surur]

Ironically the loud noise camera phones make are added on purpose for privacy reasons. Another example of unintended consequences.

Surur

[Bacco]

But most, if not all phones, allow to turn the "fake" shutter sound off.

[seaflipper]

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.

[Bacco]

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.

Fair enough...I can't argue with that logic 8)

[fredstraza]

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.)

[PDADoc]

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.

[conflagrare4]

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...

[zoltix]

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.

[Ned]

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.

[Pony99CA]

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.

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?

Steve

[Ned]

Hi Pony99CA,

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.

[Pony99CA]

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.

Steve

[David McNamee]

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!

[Pony99CA]

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.

Steve

[karen]

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.