Nothing Like A New York Golf Crowd
By: Jeff Lesson
The first leg of the Fed Ex Playoffs on the PGA Tour was just played at Bethpage in Farmingdale, New York. It is within a half hour of NYC.
The crowd was more reminiscent of a Giants football game than a golf tournament, with more people screaming than I can ever remember.
For the most part the crowd was well behaved, but there were notable exceptions of people yelling and taking pictures during swings. Picture the 16th hole in Phoenix for 18 holes. The crowd was THAT boisterous.
Tiger Woods seemed to be affected by it the most (shocking) with an ugly 76 on Sunday, leading to a couple ugly stares towards the gallery.
We often wonder why it is fine to scream and yell while someone is trying to hit a 100 mph fastball but not while one is trying to hit a stationary golf ball. I mean, which is tougher to do?
Does anyone really think the latter requires more concentration than the former?
The reason, of course, is tradition. But let us not forget, this still somewhat elitist game once did not allow African Americans or women to play. Some places still have issues with that.
Thankfully though both of these awful traditions have gone away for the most part. Should the tradition of being quiet during this so called "gentlemen's game" be next?
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