Golf is a sport that prides itself on certain values and traditions.
There is etiquette to be observed, unwritten rules to be upheld.
On the green, you do not stand on someone’s line.
If needed, you help your playing partner look for their ball. You maintain a good pace of play and keep up with the group in front.
If needed, you help your playing partner look for their ball. You maintain a good pace of play and keep up with the group in front.
You do not stand in someone’s line of vision and you certainly do not make any sudden sounds or movements during their backswing.
The colourful flowers in full bloom at Augusta National showcase golf at its beautiful best
Patrick Reed tees off as patrons always look on with respect and follow a strict code of conduct
Rory McIlroy practises on the 18th, one of many iconic tee boxes at The Masters
If you land in a bunker, you rake the sand after your shot. If the greens happen to be soft, you repair your pitchmark.
These are some of the basic values of the sport which are instilled in all of us from an early age. But, watching golf on TV these days, it often feels like these are lost.
Certainly, the disgraceful conduct witnessed at last year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black was a sorry stain on the sport as a whole.
So many events on the PGA Tour are now the domain of the dim-witted, where loud and boorish behaviour in the crowd is actively promoted.
This is what makes The Masters such a welcome escape. It is almost like stepping back in time. For a start, mobile phones are banned across the property.
The patrons – yes, patrons, never fans or spectators – conduct themselves with respect and decorum. Silences are observed immaculately, there are roars in moments of great excitement.
President Trump attended last year’s rowdy Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black
Poor shots and moments of misfortune are not actively cheered – and any shouts of ‘mashed potato’ will see you swiftly escorted off the premises.
The atmosphere is not diminished by any of this. Rather, The Masters is all the richer for preserving all of these traditions.
The Butler Cabin, the Azaleas, the Green Jacket, Magnolia Lane, Amen Corner, the par-three tournament, the caddies in their white boiler suits, history, tradition; all of it, just magnificent.
