Time to start penalising Pro's for not shouting fore..

[duncan mackie]

We all know why they don't shout fore and they need to find a way to encourage more to shout fore

there's another myth........

 

[Deleted member 15344]

there's another myth........

Which part is the myth ?

 

[Big D 88]

I think this is an excellent example of the difference between perception and reality

For the crowd to act as you say they did they are aware that the ball is heading their way...........so just exactly what is it that Jim or Matt did or didn't do that would have made a difference?

It is likely that there was a shout from those in position behind the player but microphones are set up to avoid broadcasting that; also with tee shots carrying 300+ a single player's shout simply isn't going to carry that distance with any impact. On par 3 holes it's more relevant and more prevalent (although not all do it).

If someone's watching then the indication with the club of the direction the balls heading is much better than a shout of fore - and this applies to situations when you are playing through as club players as well. Where people aren't watching and there's a wild ball loose then a scream of fore will of course draw everyone's attention to the existence of a danger somewhere on the course; with an indication of the direction it's coming from if not the likely targets!

Real safety options are -
1. Provide a megaphone to a dedicated marshall on the tee who can then communicate over 300 yds
2. Keep the spectators away from the landing areas...
3. insist that all spectators wear hard hats

Sorry i cant find a clip of this, and my wording was wrong

The crowd were cowering as the ball ricocheted between them

I'm not saying they didnt know it was coming, i'm saying the effort of the player himself was pretty much a ' i dont give a hoot' attitude

As for the bit in bold - I think i stand more chance of hearing a 'FORE' from the tee, than i have of seeing a club waved in a direction from 300yards!! Especially as tree's line a lot of fairways etc

Just my opinion, of course

 

[North Mimms]

I understand that Pros could have a megaphone and the crowd 350 yards away might not hear them, but I think the governing bodies should be issuing guidelines suggesting that they call fore anyway.
We all know how much some club golfers copy what they see on TV, and it would be a good expample for pros to set.

Despite what I read on here, most club golfers do not hit the ball 350 yards- they tend to hit it within hearing distance!

 

[duncan mackie]

Which part is the myth ?

that there is a self interest reason they don't do it

 

[duncan mackie]

I understand that Pros could have a megaphone and the crowd 350 yards away might not hear them, but I think the governing bodies should be issuing guidelines suggesting that they call fore anyway.
We all know how much some club golfers copy what they see on TV, and it would be a good expample for pros to set.

Despite what I read on here, most club golfers do not hit the ball 350 yards- they tend to hit it within hearing distance!

best point made - well done

 

[garyinderry]

Its part of the fabric of the game dammit! them pros better buck up their ideas. if I can do it, when I know full well there isn't someone on the adjoining fairway then they can do it when there IS hundreds of people about.

I shout, just in case. You never know who has been lurking in the trees.

 

[duncan mackie]

Sorry i cant find a clip of this, and my wording was wrong

The crowd were cowering as the ball ricocheted between them

I'm not saying they didnt know it was coming, i'm saying the effort of the player himself was pretty much a ' i dont give a hoot' attitude

As for the bit in bold - I think i stand more chance of hearing a 'FORE' from the tee, than i have of seeing a club waved in a direction from 300yards!! Especially as tree's line a lot of fairways etc

Just my opinion, of course

OK - I was just replying on the basis of what was posted!

The line of sight aspect raises an interesting aside - should there be, in the context of some of the comments in this thread, loud shouts every time a ball is heading anywhere but the middle of the fairway or is this about situations where the ball is known to be heading towards people?

 

[Deleted member 15344]

that there is a self interest reason they don't do it

Ok will say to you now that it has been confirmed by a world class caddy that some players on the USPga tour don't shout fore because they hope that it will allow their ball to not go into the rough too much and be deflected of a spectator. The caddy confirmed this when asked at guest speaker night. So no it's not a myth

Now obviously this isn't every player and the others are lazy and have no regard to spectators safety but to ignore the chance they do it on the chance the bounce into a spectator will give them a favourable lie is quite naive

 

[Deleted member 15344]

OK - I was just replying on the basis of what was posted!

The line of sight aspect raises an interesting aside - should there be, in the context of some of the comments in this thread, loud shouts every time a ball is heading anywhere but the middle of the fairway or is this about situations where the ball is known to be heading towards people?

You shout a warning of you believe there is any chance that your ball could be going into an area where someone ( player or spectator ) could be standing or playing.

 

[garyinderry]

OK - I was just replying on the basis of what was posted!

The line of sight aspect raises an interesting aside - should there be, in the context of some of the comments in this thread, loud shouts every time a ball is heading anywhere but the middle of the fairway or is this about situations where the ball is known to be heading towards people?

When playing allerton muni for the first time, I approached the 2nd tee and much to my surprise, I was struck on the shoulder by a golf ball.

When the perpetrators appeared looking for his ball I asked why there was no fore shout, he replied, ''i lost sight of it as it went over the trees.''

You couldn't make it up. Its quite simple, if you lose sight of a ball and fear it may endanger someone, you shout. If a pro has missed his target the he can very quickly work out if it could endanger someone. It should be their responsibility.

Golf can be a family day out. People wander around not particularly paying attention all the time. It will take a small child getting hit before anything meaningful is done!

 

[Imurg]

When playing Alperton muni for the first time, I approached the 2nd tee and much to my surprise, I was struck on the shoulder by a golf ball.

When the perpetrators appeared looking for his ball I asked why there was no fore shout, he replied, ''i lost sight of it as it went over the trees.''

You couldn't make it up. Its quote simple, if you lose sight of a ball and fear it may endanger someone, you shout. If a pro has missed his target the he can very quickly work out if it could endanger someone. It should be their responsibility.

Golf can be a family day out. People wander around not particularly paying attention all the time. It will take a small child getting hit before anything meaningful is done!

Whilst agreeing with you - don't the Spectators have a portion of responsibility to look after themselves when small, hard projectiles are flying around at over 100 mph...?
Wandering around and not paying attention when in an area near the normal playing arena isn't clever.

The times I've been to Pro events - many, many times - if I'm walking adjacent to a fairway or green I make sure I know if a player is about to hit a shot. That way I can either see or at worst guage from everyone else's reaction, where it's going and act accordingly. I've seen shots on TV that go racing past people who have no idea that they have almost been hit.

Again, whilst agreeing that there should be a shout, with all the talking, noise from food establishments and the like, it's very hard to hear and distinguish a call of " Fore" from someone 300 yards away.
Let's say a typical drive is airborne for 7 seconds.
it will take 2 seconds for the player to have finished the shot, picked up the flight of the ball and worked out that it's going towards the crowd.
The shout is going to take another second to come out of his mouth and another second to reach the crowd in the area.
That's 4 seconds gone and the spectator is only just hearing the shout.
He then has to determine that it is in fact a shout of Fore and then react - unless he's paying attention that is.....
By the time he is begining to move, the ball is on it's way down - assuming he hasn't taken an extra second or so to realise what's going on.
Bottom line is that you have to pay attention when in and around the playing areas.

There should be a call - in amateur golf it's a necessity, in Pro golf I'm not convinced it would actually make much difference.

 

[Fyldewhite]

The players themselves should be shouting fore whatever the situation with marshals etc. It is both proper etiquette and a good example to everyone. That said, in reality, in a crowd situation I think it will make very little difference. Generally, it doesn't stop you being hit....as you don't know where the ball actually is. It does allow some protection to the head/face but spectators will always get hit at some point shouts or not.

 

[garyinderry]

The person who is likely to be hit doesn't necessarily have to hear the shout from the player. You know pretty much instantly when you hit the ball if its going wrong. A strong fore shot from the player can spread like wildfire through the spectators up the side of the fairway. Ample time, if the proper shout begins, for word to move to the danger area.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

The person who is likely to be hit doesn't necessarily have to hear the shout from the player. You know pretty much instantly when you hit the ball if its going wrong. A strong fore shot from the player can spread like wildfire through the spectators up the side of the fairway. Ample time, if the proper shout begins, for word to move to the danger area.

It a takes a second to shout fore - there is and never will be any excuse not to shout fore if you believe the ball could go towards people and cause harm

 

[bozza]

As Duncan explained, the crowd were DUCKING, they knew it was coming their way. Which part don't you get?

I was talking about in general not this incident, far too many times you see a pro on tv carve one into a crowd of people then half arsed point a club in the genral direction.

Talk about jumping down somebody's throat!

Get out the wrong side of bed today?

 

[Fromtherough]

Shouting "Fore" should be a habit we all use if there is a chance our ball could hit someone, whether in sight or not, professional or amateur. However, in the amateur game there usually aren't spectators or American (in the main) fools shouting "It's in the hole" or "Mashed Potato" or some other annoying phrase when someone tees off. If you were a spectator and not paying attention it may be difficult to distinguish a warning shout from the numpties hollering their unfunny rants especially from 300+ yards away.

 

[JezzE]

Some extraordinary replies on this thread that I'm struggling to comprehend!

You despatch a potentially lethal missile towards someone, what do you do? - stay quiet in the hope of saving yourself a shot or two at someone's potential hospitalisation or shout a warning that at least allows them to take some sort of action.

Answer: Any decent individual would shout something loud enough to be heard 300 yards away...

 

[JustOne]

Answer: Any decent individual would shout something loud enough to be heard 300 yards away...

Like they do in this sport where people are only 50yds away?

[video=youtube;D2-yA-G5Wjo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2-yA-G5Wjo[/video]

When a spectator in cricket gets hit they always blame the spectator (or they blame themself with "I should have been watching")

When you're playing your monthly medal and there's 4 guys halfway down the fairway or some bloke walking his dog then of course you should shout if you hit a ball in their direction, but when there's 500 people lining the fairway?? Not for me, pointing is enough, there are marshals spotting the ball and people on the tee waving boards in the direction of flight.

 

[BTatHome]

I would imagine many of the pros keep quiet as they don't want to be on the receiving end of missing a putt when somebody on the adjacent tee screams fore !