[Robert]

I have a question that was asked of me earlier. This weekend is the US Open Golf Tournament. Now... over the recent years, golf has become increasingly popular, much of that can be attributed of course to Tiger Woods.

But, is it really necessary that you can hear a pin drop?

The same holds true for Tennis. What makes these athletes require any more concentration than someone who is getting heckled in the batter's box or on the pitcher's mound?

A few years back I was at the US Open Tennis Tournament in New York. It was a night match and the crowd were loud, very much into it, and it was a good time. In contast, you watch Wimbledon, for example, and you can hear the grass growing.

So, my question is simple... do you think Golf and Tennis events would be better served, and increase their current level of popularity, if crowds were actually allowed to get into it and allowed to participate vocally?

 

[Muzicfan]

what is so exciting about those sports that you need to be loud. It isnt as exciting as hokey or football, or basketball.. Those are loud venue sports....

 

[Michael]

Never thought about but that's an interesting observation. Maybe people who watch golf and tennis are too 'refined' for yelling and heckling.

 

[Muzicfan]

Quote:

Originally posted by Michael

Never thought about but that's an interesting observation. Maybe people who watch golf and tennis are too 'refined' for yelling and heckling.

How much beer is really consumed at these events, compared to the other sports I mentioned above. Could that be a factor?

 

[Robert]

Quote:

Originally posted by Muzicfan

what is so exciting about those sports that you need to be loud. It isnt as exciting as hokey or football, or basketball.. Those are loud venue sports....

I just think that other professional athletes are able to focus their concentration while allowing spectators be vocal.

If you look at all the major sports that play in large stadiums... every single one of them do not require absolute quiet. The tennis match I saw in NY was easily the most enjoyable atmosphere for any tennis match I've ever seen because of the fan excitement.

It makes me wonder that if they actually allowed fans to participate more, that they too might enjoy a higher level of popularity and even fill larger venues.

 

[Robert]

Quote:

Originally posted by Muzicfan

How much beer is really consumed at these events, compared to the other sports I mentioned above. Could that be a factor?

A lot of alcohol is consumed.. but there is generally a limit. If you are noticeably tipsy, you will not be served.

But, concession revenues contribute to the league and/or team's bottom line revenues. Therefore it is reasonable to assume that concession revenues could provide a larger revenue stream that is funnelled back into the league.

 

[Tame]

Ah, they just made those rules to keep drunkards like me away.

If I was a professional golfer, my caddie would have an air horn which would be blasted everytime my opponent tried to put.

'Course, I also think golf would be more interesting if you could use your clubs to prevent the other guy from making a shot, but that's just me.

 

[Michael]

Quote:

'Course, I also think golf would be more interesting if you could use your clubs to prevent the other guy from making a shot, but that's just me.

Hockey!

 

[Tame]

Quote:

Originally posted by Michael

Hockey!

Nah. No pads. I want to see some 60-year old white dudes "clubbin'" on the greens.

 

[Robert]

Hahaha, oh man.... I just had a vision of referees having to break up a golf fight (Happy Gilmour comes to mind... boxing with Bob Barker) lol

 

[Shamus]

Being a golfer myself, I can tell you that the professionals would not want any noise made when they are making their shots. Every shot requires a great deal of concentration, far more than any other sport. Even the pros teeter on the edge of making a mistake with each shot. The margin of error is that great. Any distraction at all would make it impossible to play. During a tournament I watched a year back, someone made a small noise as Tiger was making a chip onto the green. The distraction messed up his shot, and consequently Tiger was quite livid. I cant see rowdy crowds ever becoming a fixture at golf tournaments, as the players would refuse to take part. I cant speak for tennis though.

 

[Tame]

That's just because the golfers are sissies. QBs in the NFL have learned how to handle noise, so some dude in a bad shirt and grandpa pants oughta be able to get the hang of it too.

 

[Robert]

Shamus.... so you're saying that a pitcher at the mound, in a playoff series, who is battling a home run king, and has to put in a perfect pitch requires less focus and concentration than a golfer also under pressure?

How about a basketball player who stands at the free throw line with 1 second left in the game.... if he makes the basket... his team advances to the finals... if not... they are out for the season.

I just don't buy into the fact that golfers require more concentration than other players of different sports. If anything, I think its a sign of mental toughness in the face of adversity. To me, sports is more than physical abilities and skills... it's also about being able to maintain a high level of mental toughness when it matters most, despite the noise around you.

 

[Tame]

For me the best part of basketball was when I was the line taking foul shots trying to ice a game. The crowd would be yelling, the pressure is on...and there is nothing better than the look on the faces in the crowd when you net both shots and sending them home crying.

When I still play pick-up games, I love it when someone yells "short" or "off" when I launch a jumper. That's money time...and the smack is oh, so much sweeter after they have run their mouths like that...

 

[Robert]

Exactly. Mental toughness. I LOVE shutting up the smack talkers

 

[Shamus]

Quote:

That's just because the golfers are sissies.

Wow, thanks for the constructive observation.

Quote:

Shamus.... so you're saying that a pitcher at the mound, in a playoff series, who is battling a home run king, and has to put in a perfect pitch requires less focus and concentration than a golfer also under pressure?

How about a basketball player who stands at the free throw line with 1 second left in the game.... if he makes the basket... his team advances to the finals... if not... they are out for the season.

I just don't buy into the fact that golfers require more concentration than other players of different sports. If anything, I think its a sign of mental toughness in the face of adversity. To me, sports is more than physical abilities and skills... it's also about being able to maintain a high level of mental toughness when it matters most, despite the noise around you.

On a general everyday situation (not just final pitch/shot moments), yes I would say that golfing requires more concentration. If your swing is off by even a quarter of an inch, your shot will be screwed. Im going to hazard a guess that you have never played tournament golf. Its incredibly mentally intense. Ive played just about every major sport out there, and competed in tournaments for several of them. I have found that none of them compare to golf with regards to intense concentration.

 

[Robert]

I play tennis quite a bit (tennis and hockey are my two biggest sports, pus a little pickup football on weekends now and then). I play golf, but I am pretty bad at it. I only started last summer. Having said that.. I realize that if the swing is not perfect, the shot goes awry. But I find that to be the same with tennis... often times you could be ina situation against a really good player where if your shot selection or execution of the shot are not perfect.. you place yourself ina immediate disadvatange or lose the point altogether.

Penalty shots in hockey are similar. Perfect execution is required to accomplish the goal.

A golfer would really impress me if s/he could execute that shot while people are talking, or making noise around him/her. It would demonstrate to me that their level of mental toughness is high enough to overcome any distractions. And this is something I think other athletes in different sports have succeeded with over those who play golf (mental toughness to overcome distraction).

My point of all this is by allowing more spectator excitement, I think it would lend itself to more popularity and revenues for the game. But I just am not so convinced that a lot of golfers have the level of mental toughness that would be required.

 

[Shamus]

Perhaps if players learned to play in noisy venues, they might not have trouble with noise later on in their career. I think it's all general with regards to the conditions that you learn to play in. A general amount of sound wouldnt be so much of a problem, but a loud noise right before you hit the ball would really mess you up.

 

[Robert]

Yep... you are right. The bigger venue sports all have a level of noise as you come up through the system, through high school, college, etc. Therefore, the athletes of those sports would indeed already have developed a level of mental toughness that allows them to tune out the crowds.

Hmmm, this could be the reason that that loud noises do not seem to startle me as it might others. I'm just used to the heckling and such.

 

[Max Power]

Quote:

Originally posted by Robert

A few years back I was at the US Open Tennis Tournament in New York.

Do you remember last year's GOLF US Open at Beth Paige Black??? Sergio Rodriquez had people yelling at him the whole time!!! It was HALARIOUS!!! Except the racial slurs, of course.

I'm a fan of quiet on the golf course and the tennis court. A big difference with these two sports is that when Clemens is about to bean another slugger in the head, and a drunken Bronx-ian behind the dugout wants to yell at Clemens for being a *****, he's just a lost voice in the crowd.

However, tennis and golf settings are more intimate. Especially Golf (didn't you see Happy Gilmour?) So yelling will more directly affect the play, and a championship should be decided on the merits of the athletes, not the vocal chords of their fans.

The big exception to the intimacy settings in tennis is the US Open, of course. But only the matches in Ashe Stadium or stadiums 1-3. All the other courts are very small.