These guys don’t want you to be a drunk asshole. So don’t.

The 2018 Golf Season hasn’t started for your faithful scribe because of multiple issues that I’m choosing to keep private for now (you can DM me on Twitter if you really want to know).  This Winter That Will Not End is part of it.  Having said that, for the pro tours it’s been full speed ahead.  The list of winners on the PGA and LPGA Tours has been flat out impressive.  Ratings are up, the game is in pretty good stead as we had for the first majors of 2018 (this week in Rancho Mirage, and next week at Augusta).

Unfortunately, we have to talk about a problem.  Golfweek was the first to bring it up on a major platform a couple weeks ago, and again in this past weekend’s WGC Dell Matchplay we had an incident with a fan yelling in James Hahn’s backswing, and his reaction was what you might expect.

The problem is the golf fan who is equal parts over-served and over-entitled.

It’s bad enough when this so-called fan shows up at the Ryder Cup with a witches’ brew of faux-patriotism, intoxication and entitlement while consumed with the idea that screaming random crap in someone’s backswing is somehow acceptable (it’s not).  For this to become a weekly occurrence (almost every week this is happening) is beyond inexcusable.

It didn’t start with recent Ryder Cups.  We have John Daly’s fans to thank; it started out with them yelling “YOUUUDAMANNNN” as he’d unleash some gargantuan drive.  And if that was the end of it, we wouldn’t be here.  Unsatisfied with that simple bit of boorishness, it morphed into Howard Stern show time, with people yelling “BABABOOEY” (the nickname for show producer Gary Dell’abate).  Then people just started yelling random crap (Mashed Potatoes being particularly popular), and it’s devolved to where we are now; a game of going one step further than the previous batch of idiots.

It’s one thing when it happens at the Waste Management Open (that event is a bit different and I’ve taken a “it is what it is” approach; players feel the same way), but it’s become a regular occurrence that lost its humor or novelty a long time ago.

When our drunk golf bro got on Justin Thomas at the Honda Classic, the answer should have been having the tournament host (that being Jack Nicklaus) give the guy the heave-ho.  Or have Jack say something along the lines of “don’t act like a jerk at my event” if you will.  Tiger doing the same at his event at Riviera would go a long way.

The price of a ticket entitles you to watch the best players in the world do what they do.  It does not entitle you to disrupt other fans and yell in their backswing, or heckle them.  This is golf, and it’s different.

What’s funny is that you don’t see this idiot at LPGA events, which for that reason alone makes them more watchable.  The crowds are more knowledgeable and there to see great golf (I’ll admit I haven’t watched that much of the Champions Tour so I can’t comment).

So the PGA Tour has to start policing fans.  It’s sad that we’re at this point, but we are.  The thing about golf is that players police themselves, and for years fans could be counted on to do the same.  This isn’t the case anymore.  The Tour is going to have to start tossing people.  Use CCTV footage.  Marshals should be able to identify the guilty and send the guilty packing.  Tickets should have verbiage that explains this policy and that they should expect to see it enforced.

Rory McIlroy suggested limiting alcohol sales would be a good idea (don’t disagree), but there’s nothing stopping Golf Bro from getting his (and it always his) load on in the parking lot.  Having said that, the overall idea of monitoring the obviously over-served would do everyone a favor (start with ensuring they have a sober ride home).

Still disagree?  You don’t see any of this at the Masters, and you hear the roars for great shots.  See the difference?  A roar when someone hits a great shot isn’t a bad thing.  Talking trash to a player or distracting them in their backswing is pure garbage.  Nobody is going to watch the Masters next weekend and think that some golf bro yelling ‘MASHED POTATOES’ in someone’s backswing is something they need.

SONG OF THE DAY

11 days until the start of the playoffs.  This number from The Arkells…oh hell yes.

Psst…USGA- you’d rather be here in July. Just admit it.

So it’s day 2 of the Senior PGA Championship at Trump National Washington DC Sterling, Virginia and, rather than talk about the course or who might win, the talk is about the name on the course.  Several players are (not shocking) huge fans of Trump, and one (Fred Funk) got his delicate feelings hurt over a columnist who dared to ask him questions (he wears a Trump logo).

John Daly went full Team Trump mode and also took a few shots at the Clintons.  Daly is popular but I’m sure he’ll implode on himself sooner than later (it’s always good for recovering alcoholics to drink “only beer”).  And then he’ll start WDing from events (his track record of WDing from events he gets a sponsors exemption into is flat embarrassing), get into arguments, quit mid-round (another thing that he’s gotten a free pass on way too often) with anyone and everyone, and of course never accept responsibility (so spare me the personal responsibility lecture).

Exactly what you didn’t want to happen is happening.  You don’t grow the game by turning off a large portion of the population especially during a marquee event.  This is PR 101 stuff.  And not for anything, but this is exactly what i said was going to happen.

It might be a good time to point out that the pipeline for the Senior…I mean Champions Tour isn’t exactly all that great if/when Daly goes on his next bender.   Tiger isn’t going to play, and none of the younger players are going to play it (they are all breaking down physically).  I’m not sure Mickelson is going to play (he strikes me as being someone with loftier aspirations).  That will leave someone like Jim Furyk and Matt Kuchar….zzzzzzzz and maybe some of the European Tour players chasing money.  To borrow a slogan, Jack Nicklaus ain’t walking through that door again.

Which brings me back to the upcoming US Women’s Open at Trump National in New Jersey and my larger point about why exactly is it that the Women’s Open keeps getting contested at lesser courses (if you think a course that opened in 2004 is somehow better than Merion, Bethpage Black or Merion…go get your head examined).  If the USGA is serious about elevating the US Women’s Open, I’d like to see them take the event to the bigger/high profile courses (which means that Opens should come with the “if you want the men’s open, you’re taking a women’s Open” rule).

In lieu of going to Trump’s course, why not (staying in the same general geographical area) go to Merion?  With the concern about the course not being long enough for the men, it would be perfect for the women and allow them to play one of the truly classic courses in the country.  Or hell, why not a Winged Foot or a Oak Hill?  If you want public in the tri-state area, go to Bethpage Black!

Why isn’t Pebble Beach on the USGA rota for the women (it should be)?  If Pebble wants to host the Open, they should want to host the Women’s Open as well.  Again- why isn’t Bethpage Black a venue for the women?  Or Shinnecock?  Oakmont hosted the US Women’s open back in 2010.  Throw Winged Foot, Olympic Club, Congressional, Medinah, and Torrey Pines into the mix and that’s a hell of a rota.

Or, you could take the tack of “we’re only going to public courses from now on” which makes some sense and a position I’m happy to defend.  If you want to stay public, then Pinehurst #2 has to be on that list as well.  And if you want to stay public AND go different, two words- Bandon Dunes (it’s on any golfer’s bucket list and has already hosted a US Amateur).  If you look at the history of what courses have hosted the championship it doesn’t really compare to the men’s courses.

My point is this- the USGA should let the women play the same quality courses that the men play and don’t need to put them in a position where they’re going to be upstaged by a controversial figure (remember how the 1990 Mens PGA Championship went at Shoal Creek?).  Even if you toss out the private clubs, you could have an unofficial rota made up entirely of public courses: Bandon Dunes (or Pacific Dunes), Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines, TPC Harding Park, Bethpage Black, Pinehurst #2,  Kiawah Island, Cog Hill #4, and Whistling Straits.  Yes- it’s West Coast heavy which means you don’t have the constant threat of thunderstorms, and you can have a prime time east coast finish.

Any of these courses would be a far better shop window for the LPGA than what’s coming in July, and deep down, they know it.