COMMUNITY

Just about every round I play I hear shouts around the course. Someone makes a putt, and there's celebration. It's part of the game. I've also never understood this thing about golf where there has to be total silence for you to hit a golf ball properly.

Earl Woods used to always tell how when he was teaching Tiger, he'd throw tees at him in the middle of his backswing, or yell at him, or do all sorts of other crazy stuff. Then one day he explained to Tiger how there would be no one mentally tougher than him. And now, at the sound of a camera shutter, he goes ballistic and his moron caddy confiscates cameras.

Sure...Blame on the guy hollering.....Lighten up Francis......Lets not forget to have fun out there......Your right it was probably a good put.....If they were hollering the whole round or something like that I would understand.....But really? If you wasn't playing a competitive round just replay the shot and move on......You probably thought about it on #16; #17 and #18 pissed and didn't play well. Then on the way home thought about it the whole way and ruined your nice day on the course....Not worth it...Have fun out there!!!!

Actually; sorry...I just looked at your round and it was a tourney......But you par'ed #15? Now I'm confused??????

Good read Mr. H. Yes, it has happened to me and if I have a good round going and it messes me up I will usually give them a glare or something. I try not to let things bother me on the course. But occasionally they do. Probably wouldn't say anything unless it happened again. Try to remind them that they aren't the only players on the course. And the most important un-written rule when learning to play golf is proper etiquette.

yes,it has happen to me,sometimes on my back swing,i will stop.and join in their hollering!
i have had a couple of EAGLES,that drop in the cup.and gave it a HELL YEAH HOLLER!
NOW if I, ever get a hole in one,you will hear MY HOLLER,all the way to N.Y.I think sometimes we get so caught up in the Moment,the Thrill of the ball going in for Birdie,eagle,and sometimes Par.that we just express ourselves.not knowing that our holler,will cause a re-action.sorry to hear that you got angry,Mr. H. and that it cause you a bad swing.and i agree with you, it's bad ettiquette.i, like what Walter Hagen,once said.Stop and smell the Rose's.so don't let a Holler, Ruined your day.GOLF is like life,it's short and fun.

Yeah, you're gonna hear a holler every now and again. And yes, it can rattle your focus, especially mid-swing. But that's part of golf...you have to learn to work around it. You might see how well you can stop your swing (like Tiger did at the Masters a few years ago), in case something random happens in the middle of your swing...and ESPECIALLY if the noise happens during your backswing, you have no reason NOT to be able to stop your swing.

I was playing a few days ago, and the course is near a police gun training range. I had a 10-foot putt for an eagle, and just as I took the putter back, the firing started. In mid-backstroke I stood up and backed off from the ball. Waited for the firing to stop...then walked back up and putted. I still missed the putt, but the point is you can learn to back off the shot if sudden noises happen in your swing.

Other than that, you have to accept that golf is a sport enjoyed by many, not just yourself. Celebrations do occur from time to time, and sometimes they might distract you from what you're doing. Now, there ARE instances where it is painfully obvious that a group is being loud, obnoxious and rude. I remember one time being followed by a group of players who talked to each other (more like yelling) so loud that I could hear them from out in the fairway while they were standing on the tee. Every hole. On a par-3 they were yelling at each other again, while I was trying to putt...and since it was a short hole and they could see me, I turned around and shot them a look, and they quit for the rest of the round.

However, I don't think the guys celebrating were in the wrong. You never know, it could have been someone's first birdie or something like that. You would KNOW if they were being outright rude, and then you would have some grounds for calling them out.

on t.v. you see fans cheering on adjacent holes all the time, i know it isn't quite the same and the course your on isn't lined with fans but when people cheer for Tiger when watching a tournament and he makes a 40 footer, they don't check to see if Stricker is teeing off on the next box. i've been guilty of this before, whether i hit a great shot or am asking my partner if he's found my ball and then i realize someone else is about to hit in the other fairway, it happens, like Goynes said, if something starts to distract you then step away if you can. jdubs gave me a bunch of crap because he could hear me and another guy talking 75 yards away and he swung and topped his shot, then blamed us for it. i told him we didn't think he could hear us and he should have told us to shut up or wait for us to stop talking. i just think it gave him an excuse for his horribly bad shot. i always make sure it's quiet when someone is about to tee off, i even practice this on the range to a certain degree, but every once in awhile you are gonna have to deal with "crowd noise" and it will make you a better player down the road. harness the good, block out the bad, it's circular, now feel the flow.

Settle down and enjoy your time on the course and let others do the same. If they were yelling and being obnoxious all day you may have a case but to get all pissed off and yell at them to keep quiet after they sink a good put? Come on man. If you sliced your tee shot blame the player that swung the club, dont transfer the blame. If someone drains a long one in the groups I play we cheer, that is what happens, people get excited to see a great shot. If you are being paid to play then you can demand silence, not if you are a weekend warrior hacking it around on a muni.

Loosen up.

Fun on a golf course? That's not why we play this game. Toss em out!!! (Kidding.)

Guilty! And I can say that I can't help it. Doesn't happen very often, and I cut it off as soon as I realize how loud I was. It's usually a put that's long enough for me to stand up and watch for a second or two. It can be a par save, a birdie, or whatever reallly, it doesn't matter, but it was significant for some reason.

Anyway, my crime is "BAAAMMM!!!" Like you'd expect to hear from Emeril Lagasse. But that's where the similarities end. You see, I was a Drill Sergeant before I was a 1st Sergeant. Depending on the conditions, quite often my "Baammm" will carry to every corner of the golf course. I'm thankful that my outburst is just a simple single syllable.

What REALLY embarasses me is when I'm totally emersed in my round, usually when i'm playing alone. I'll hit a real butt hook shot, in the lake, OB, something like that, usually following a superb drive. I will drop the "F bomb" like I just flew over Hiroshima. Once or twice a year I would guess. I have been very fortunate that, to this point, it hasn't really bitten me in the arse.

Lots of interesting responses fellas. I enjoyed reading each and every one!!!