Gotta See This Putt -- Making America Great Again

youtube ^ | 9/29 | youtube

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Thanks. I didn’t know that.

[ssaftler]

It was a practice day.

Okay, that explains it. Didn't make sense, and nothing I saw or read indicated it was practice day. My error.

[stylecouncilor]

Ping

[MD Expat in PA]

I didn’t know that golf had hecklers. I thought that golf fans were quiet and polite during the matches. I guess practice is different.

I volunteered as a course marshal at several LPGA tournaments and at one Senior PGA tournament over the years.

Yes, most real golf fans are quiet and polite. But there are always those who are not. I’ve heard some say that when golf became very popular during the Tiger years, and not that it was Tiger’s fault, but suddenly there were a lot of non-golfers coming to tournaments who didn’t understand the need for being quiet and still while players were teeing off, making a shot or a putt, etc. - long time golf fans called them “The Happy Gilmores”. These are among the idiots who yell “Get in your home” or “Get in the hole” with each and every putt sometimes even as the player was lining up or attempting their putt.

I was sometimes assigned to hold one of those “QUIET” signs at the tee or at the green and sometimes I was assigned at various places along the fairway to spot errant shots, help find balls, keep fans away once found, but when I marshalled I not only had to keep fans in check but also keep the press in check. The worst were the Asian photographers who would try pushing past the ropes or click their cameras during a player’s backswing or putting stroke.

Practice rounds do tend to be a bit more relaxed but are not supposed to be a free for all either. Some players and their caddies will interact or joke around more with fans during practice rounds than they would during tournament play but some are just as intense during practice rounds as they are during tournament play.

When I marshalled at an LPGA McDonald’s Championship including two days of practice rounds, Julie Inkster and Laura Davies were a lot of fun and would interact with and joke around with fans and us marshals but Annika Sörenstam and Karrie Webb, while not rude, were just as much in their “zone” and intense during a practice round as they were during tournament play. My impression of Michelle Wie FWIW was that of an ill-tempered prima donna.

One of my favorite LPGA players that year became Paula Creamer. I was marshaling at a green during the final round and as she came off the green, she handed me her golf ball, shook my hand and said “I want to thank you for volunteering, all of you volunteers do such a great job and we need you. Thanks!” Such a sweetie.