Golf is a sport different to all others. It has certain rules and basic golf etiquette to which all players and spectators are expected to adhere and a style of play that requires such behaviour. Spectators and, indeed, players go to major tournaments with the expectation that some world class golf is going to be played, but if there is constant disregard for golf rules and etiquette then concentration is likely to diminish and the quality of play will subsequently take a nosedive.
Spectators obviously have to pay for access to such major events and they’re not exactly cheap, so it makes you wonder why some do insist on disrupting play. The majority of spectators are, of course, eager to see great golf, so they are respectful to the situation and to the players to have the best chance at seeing just that. Hollering and whooping does not go down well with the event organisers, the players and other golf-mad spectators, so it simply tarnishes the collective experience.
The very nature of golf is that the sport that people have paid to watch hinges on one single shot at any one time, which means that complete concentration and, therefore, complete silence are required. Shouting and screaming during celebration is allowed, of course, when a great shot has been witnessed, but anything but complete silence from the crowd until the club strikes the ball is unacceptable.
This is exactly what makes the sport of golf so unique. If you compare it to football, for instance, you see a stark contrast in the appropriateness of crowd noise such as chanting, booing, cheering and jeering. It is openly encouraged in sports like football to enhance the atmosphere of a game; in fact, it is completely acceptable to try to put a player off while the game is in progress. In golf, however, such behaviour is frowned upon, which means that everybody is competing on the same level and under the same conditions. This essentially means that concentration and the quality of golf are, we all hope, at a maximum at all times. The fact that excessive crowd noise at golf tournaments is forbidden means that we all give ourselves the best chance at getting a sizeable chunk of good golf for the money we paid for the tickets.
