No phones, no littering, no cheering bad shots – ‘patrons’ face strict rules at Augusta, but what a contrast to last year’s disgraceful Ryder Cup
I
t is easy to poke fun at the prissy traditions of the Masters. Golfers, never mind spectators, enter a state of panic over what horrible fate may befall them should they break the rules inside Augusta National. It is preposterous in so many ways; adults consumed by fear over missteps at a golf tournament. People do not typically feel this way inside the Sistine Chapel.
This year, there are reasons to be grateful for Augusta’s unapologetic approach. The Masters provides a welcome break from the ear-bashing noise of the modern world. The United States is an especially fractious place. This major also offers a timely escape from the racket within golf itself. Brief serenity should be appreciated.
The Ryder Cup last year was an unruly, disgusting disgrace when it came to spectator behaviour. There were ejections at the Players Championship last month after Rory McIlroy was heckled on separate occasions. Matt Fitzpatrick admirably shrugged off the abuse he received when seeking to win the same event but the scene was still a grim one. The Phoenix Open is bizarrely celebrated as an annual rabble. As if to prove this is not solely the culture in the United States, cries of “Get in the water” followed by the cheers that met precisely that result formed a dispiriting backdrop as the underdog Joakim Lagergren jousted with McIlroy at the Irish Open. A boorish, mob mentality is far more common at golf tournaments than is acknowledged.
