The 16th @ Scottsdale, rowdiest hole of the year?

[Stacey_E]

Don't forget to watch the coverage today of Scottsdale, especially the 16th. I almost forgot! We are always watching it before the Super Bowl on Sunday, but Saturday always seems to be the rowdiest since the spectator turnout out is better without the Super Bowl distraction.

I have a friend that took up golf after seeing the 16th on Saturday, just on TV. I think it's very entertaining.

[jcard71]

I think it's great! They should get booed if they cant hit the green from 126 yds...

[Stacey_E]

I think it's great! They should get booed if they cant hit the green from 126 yds...

If the crowd is in the right mood, I've seen them boo shots ON the green if they weren't close enough to their liking. I was reading an article that said, due to frost delays the players often get to the 16th a little later. By then the crowd is good and tanked. The same article said there would be new seats this year that were not available to corporate sponsors and such. The idea was to make some more seats available for regular Joes who would be more entertaining.

[Dub]

Looks like one big, happy party.....just don't 3 putt in front of them.

[jcrob902]

I liiked it and I did'nt lke it.
I liked it because of the pressure that it put on the players to perform, there's your true test! I did'nt like it because there was to much noise and cheering and booing going on before a player even tee'd off, I think personally that you should at least let the ball get into the air before you start yelling and acting like a fool! don't get me wrong I think it's great to have something like that in golf, it's just American, but hollering at golfers before thay even tee off is kind of irritating like when that jack a%# yells get in the hole on a tee shot, on a par five that is 605 yds long, COME ON MAN!

[microcrayfish]

I love it how those prissy little tour pros that throw a tantrum every time someone is whispering or moving slightly when they tee off (and I know it's not everyone) just have to suck it up and hit their shot with all the noise. The rest of us have to deal with a bit noise when we play (hell, my home course is next to a race track) so it's good to see the pros having to deal with it too.

[David in FL]

I enjoy watching the 16th in Scottsdale almost as much as the 17th at Sawgrass.

I wouldn't want to see that type of thing at every event, but it adds a unique flavor to what might otherwise be just another golf tournament.

[uttexas]

One hole a year is fun and enjoyable. If this leaks to other holes and other tournaments, it needs to be snuffed out immediately. No cellphones on a course. All it takes is one JA to ruin the fun for everyone. On the 16th, it's only a matter of time until people start releasing birds for birdies or throwing out dead snakes on 3 putts. When this happens, it needs to be dealt with swift authority. That and if your cell phone goes off, it and you immediately get thrown into the nearest body of water.

[Fourputt]

I have to say that I've never cared much for circuses, and that's all the 16th at Scotsdale is. The only things missing are the elephants and the little car with the 15 clowns coming out of it. I'd rather see a golf tournament... not just just a crowd of rowdy drunks on one hole screaming for the cameras for more than half of the broadcast. I'm more likely to go and play golf myself when possible rather than risk watching that made for TV spectacle.

I feel the same way about the Players... I want to see golf, not the endless shots of nobodies hitting into the water on the 17th.

[iPutt]

I don't understand how major league baseball players can hit the ball (proven to be the hardest single action in sports) with the crowd yelling and screaming, yet golfers get all upset when 1 hole out of the whole year is a bit loud. I think that a hole like that is great for the publicity of the sport. The reason most people don't watch golf is because they find it too boring or uneventful. Well I think that if you threw in more holes like this on tour, more non golfers would watch golf which in turn would lead to more people playing. Which is what a lot of people want right? I think that a lot of people are to uptight about the noise level in golf.

[bogeyhitter25]

20,000 people (maximum) watching you hit one shot. Screaming, booing, anything. It doesn't matter if you're 15 over heading to the 16th. As long as you make a good shot, you'll be a hero.... for a couple seconds.

[flanagan]

One thing is certain, no player who ever intends to play there will say he doesn't like it.

It has finally fallen to the "bigger is better" theory --- increased capacity, more corporate boxes, more $$$$$, etc.

Really, it is becoming more of a caricature of itself. I have the feeling there is a lot more going on that is entertaining that just isn't captured on TV, i.e., some of the chants and clever stuff the gallery is up to, so hard to criticize when the experience of those who are there may be great.

On the other hand, what comes off on TV is lots of noise, even during shots, a lot of the clever stuff lost, lots of booing, and shots of people who are pretty well blitzed in the crowd or on the way there. Not real happy with the image, and the bigger it gets, the more everyone there wants to act the image and just plain act up in general. One unfortunate thing, is some of the behavior is getting carried over to some in the crowds on the other holes.

[flanagan]

I don't understand how major league baseball players can hit the ball (proven to be the hardest single action in sports) with the crowd yelling and screaming, yet golfers get all upset when 1 hole out of the whole year is a bit loud. I think that a hole like that is great for the publicity of the sport. The reason most people don't watch golf is because they find it too boring or uneventful. Well I think that if you threw in more holes like this on tour, more non golfers would watch golf which in turn would lead to more people playing. Which is what a lot of people want right? I think that a lot of people are to uptight about the noise level in golf.

Golf is not baseball, football, soccer or any other stadium-driven team sport.

If watching that hole gets someone who never watches golf to watch, something has been accomplished. If that person, however, thinks that is what golf is about, then nothing was accomplished that is worthwhile. I think the pros put up with it once a year because they really have no choice, or just skip the event altogether. I don't dispute it can be entertaining, but to suggest that the tour should throw in more holes like 16, is to not understand the essence of the sport.

[HansMoleman]

I was on the 16th yesterday. Very fun experience!

[PEZGolf]

Don't forget to watch the coverage today of Scottsdale, especially the 16th. I almost forgot! We are always watching it before the Super Bowl on Sunday, but Saturday always seems to be the rowdiest since the spectator turnout out is better without the Super Bowl distraction.

You are right--the 16th hole is fun to watch. It is like a football crowd, cheering good shots!

[flanagan]

I was on the 16th yesterday. Very fun experience!

Could you elaborate? Just curious to hear from an actual spectator.

[TheLauncher]

Definitely agree with Fourputt and Flanagan .

One thing I didn't like about the hole was the sense of enclosure, the "stadium-like" effect as one of the commentators described it today. One of the things that separates golf from other major sports is that the spectators do not literally surround the players, something that, as in the case of the 16th, seems to lend itself to a boorish, us versus them attitude. The combination of alcohol, mob mentality, and a long sunny day concentrated into a single arena made for a unsavory environment for viewing-- I can only imagine what it might have been like playing.

[traviswise]

I was looking for a thread about this. It was the worst example of a golf crowd I have seen so far. I don't mind hooting and hollaring but the booing when they didn't hit the green was too much for me. And on top of that, no shirts? This is a gentlemen's game, show some respect.