Golf, But Louder?

I saw the other day that LIV Golf, the upstart professional golf league, might be calling it quits. “Golf, but louder” was LIV’s much-repeated tagline. I remember thinking when I first heard it: Isn’t professional golf loud enough already?

Consider the Waste Management Phoenix Open, played at TPC Scottsdale, which is operated by the PGA Tour. The best-attended golf tournament in the world, with half a million spectators annually, the WM Phoenix Open is notorious for its par-3, 16th-hole “Coliseum,” which accommodates 20,000 fans. This setup encourages, shall we say, a “party-like” atmosphere during the competition. In recent years, signs had to be posted warning about throwing beer bottles onto the course.

Or consider the Ryder Cup as it was most recently played between American and European pros at Bethpage Black on Long Island. The behavior of the galleries was an international embarrassment. Rory McIlroy and his wife were particular targets of what one observer called “lewd, obnoxious and insulting taunts.” Throughout the competition, you could hear in the background the silliest of chants when applied to a game of golf: “USA! USA! USA!” This sort of thing, and more, was common during all four days of the competition, yet only a few “patrons” were ejected and no one was detained.

What’s behind this? Undoubtedly, alcohol encourages loutish behavior, and it looks like the corporate-sponsored booze flows pretty freely at modern golfing events. And that fact inevitably flows down, so to speak, to everyday golf outings.

My youngest son and I occasionally play at a local “semi-private” course where young women scoot around the course in carts selling refreshments to players. By the look of the can-filled wastebaskets at each tee, their business in beer is brisk. This surprises me. I wonder why some hackers feel the need to hit the jug mid-round.

Anyone who plays the game knows that golf is preeminently about control, both physical and emotional. I can’t believe getting half-hammered mid-round does much for the scorecard, unless you are John Daly, of course.

Similarly, why would someone pay almost a thousand dollars to see the world’s greatest golfers compete in the Ryder Cup and then squander that privilege by overindulging and maybe acting up? Why not just stay home in your man-cave, get bombed, and yell at the TV?

Of course, what is going on in golf is paralleled in other professional sports. Simply put, people increasingly do not know how to behave themselves in public. The beer companies are only too happy to magnify that ignorance.

What a shame this is happening to golf, though.

My father taught me the game, including the basic rules of etiquette. He took me to the 1965 PGA Championship at Laurel Valley, where we watched, behind the ropes, Nicklaus, Palmer and, at his final PGA Championship, Ben Hogan. And as these giants teed off, no one shouted “In the Hole” or “Mashed Potatoes.” Nor did anyone greet the icy Mr. Hogan with “You the Man!” And so far as I know, not a single spectator fell drunkenly into a bunker or cooled their heels in one of Laurel Valley’s water hazards.

I think people who brush away modern fan and player misbehavior, or are even amused by it, simply do not take the game of golf seriously. And here is the larger, and perhaps paradoxical, point:

Games, to be fun, must be taken seriously. Otherwise, they are a waste of time.

☕ Pull Up a Chair

The conversation doesn't end here.

Join us by sharing your thoughts in the comments below. We'd love to have you at the table.

Enjoying the conversation? Subscribe below to be notified when new posts are published.