Press Release Summary = Pro golf tournaments need to make things more interesting for fans. Commentary at WorldGolf.com
Press Release Body = By Brandon Tucker, Staff Writer, Golf Publisher Syndications
A simple click of a camera sent John Daly to the disabled list a few weeks back at the PGA Tour\'s Honda Classic. Some troublemaker fan snuck a camera through the gates and snapped a photo mid-backswing. Daly halted awkwardly, pulling some muscles, and withdrew from the event.
PGA Tour golfers are heralded for their sterling concentration and ability to put mind over matter . yet they demand total stillness and silence.
That\'s hypocritical, and not much fun for golf fans.
In college basketball teenagers have to try to knock down late-game free throws while student fans use every body part they can legally wave to distract them. In Europe and South America soccer players remain intently focused on the field while minor civil wars break out in the stands.
Even bowling decided to allow crowd noise during competitors\' rolls at ESPN tournaments a few years back.
Yet golf still demands tea-party etiquette. It makes watching the sport - live or on TV - as exhilarating as ironing socks.
Any old Joe can rip a 290-yard drive down a tight fairway in total silence. During our backswings us amateurs on the course have to deal with car honks, our partner\'s vibrating Blackberry, grounds crews revving up leaf blowers and little Matthew\'s backyard bar mitzvah to the left of the 13th fairway.
Fan rules for golf events make restrictions at the Smithsonian seem laid-back. Cell phones have been banned outright from the British Open Championship. Trying to take a camera to a tour event is like sneaking a full tube of Colgate through airport security.
And if you want a decent seat on a back-nine green, you\'d better be ready to get there early and stay all day. Is it worth it just to spend six hours offering dainty claps?
For more details visit :- http://www.worldgolf.com/column/column-pga-tour-needs-to-lighten-up-5080.htm
March 19, 2007 Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management.
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