Tiger Woods fans are dumb and Mickelson's no better

Fans of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson don’t know how to watch a golf tournament. This is the opinion of the U.S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvy according to Michael Buteau of Bloomberg.

Ogilvy, a 29-year old Australian, talking about golf fans is quoted as saying, “Most of us, if we’ve got fans, they’re generally golf fans and they know how to watch a golf tournament.” But when referring to the fans of Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson is quoted as saying, “There’s people who follow Tiger and Phil who generally don’t know how to watch a golf tournament.”

Meeeeoooooowwww!

I wonder if Ogilvy is completely wrong?

What if the fans of Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson have it right and the other fans don’t know how to watch a tournament? Is there a school or diploma that teaches fans how to watch a golf tournament by the way?

Obviously I’m being a little silly but I think there is a more serious underlying point to this post.

Golf is changing and it’s causing some people to long for the days gone by. Golf is game dripping with tradition and decorum. The traditionalists appear to want to maintain the civility of the game but they are facing opposing views.

In February 2005, when asked if unruly fans are good for the game of golf, Brian Wacker, assistant editor for GolfDigest.com is quoted as saying, “It’s not only good for the game, it’s great for the game.”

Jason Sobel, golf editor, ESPN.com says, “Do fans quiet down before Tom Brady takes a snap from center, then politely clap when he fires a touchdown pass? Of course not, and the gallery at the 16th hole will treat this week’s competition as a sporting event, rather than just a golf event. That means cheering for good shots, booing for bad shots and plenty of fun for four straight days. How can that possibly be a bad thing?”

And finally, Ron Sirak, executive editor of Golf World Magazine says, “As long as they quiet down when it comes time for a guy to hit, what’s the problem? The game needs a little energy around it. And the only crowd control problem I’ve seen in recent years at a tournament was at the 1999 Ryder Cup – and it was created by people inside the ropes.”

As always, one of the fundamental planks of this debate probably comes down to money. The “rowdy fans” of golf means extra money for the game but at the same time, it also means the face of the golf gallery is changing.

How do you ask the new fans of golf, who are pumping lots of money into the game, to be quiet?

Answer: You can’t. You just have to ask them to be polite.

–The Divorced Golfer