I worry for golf fans after frightening Jordan Spieth off-target strike – it could have been horrendous

Daily Record

5 days ago

Our man Craig Swan shared his fears over supporters getting too close to the action
Excited golf fans understandably want to get as close as they can to their heroes. It's part of the magic ingredient of being at an event.
There are few sports where the paying public can get as close to the absolute elite of the game as they can at a tournament. They can talk to them as they walk between tees or down holes. It's exhilarating.
But, at some point, there has to be an understanding and a stronger instant mechanism in place for the sake of those supporters and also the players themselves when things have the potential to go awry.
Jordan Spieth's off-target strike on the first hole of his final round of The Memorial Tournament was another frightening episode.
For those who didn't see it, the American had missed the fairway to the right with his opening tee-shot of his final round at Muirfield Village and had to trudge into rough for his approach shot to the green.
The Ryder Cup star and major champion didn't catch it properly, it went searing to the right out of the tricky lie and screamed towards punters with one in a yellow shirt diving to the ground to the deck in evading action.
Spieth's incident was worryingly similar to one at last month's PGA Championship involving English star Aaron Rai.
Also in rough, he looked to drill the ball underneath the branches of a tree while fans stood just to the right, but it went wrong and, instead of finding his intended target, his strike slammed straight into it and came inches away from hitting a fan in the knee.
It's happening more and more and these moments are sailing close to the wind and the situation needs to be addressed by self-policing fans or players themselves before something awful happens.
You can't manage everyone. Tournament chiefs can't be expected just to clear an entire crowd off a hole when someone hits it off line. That's just impossible and they do everything to let spectators know about the dangers when they enter a venue.
They can only do so much, but there has to be a personal recognition from outside of the ropes and maybe even a way of coordinating something stricter in the future for everyone's benefit. Just get them as far out of the way as possible. Or if that means a player standing there for 10 minutes and demanding people move, then so be it.
Everyone knows the damage a ball could do if striking someone from close range. It's why, when anyone plays the game, they are taught to stand behind their playing partner at a shot. It's basic common sense. Now that's for most of us hackers and the basic premise appears to be that, as professionals, these guys aren't going to miscue one.
Yet it always feels uncomfortable to see when, if a player hits one off line from the tee, they sometimes have to burrow into a crowd and a very narrow tunnel of escape is subsequently created by fans on either side ahead of the ball as they play their next shot. It's natural for folk wanting to get a close-up of their idols, to edge further and further out towards the intended line of the shot peering for a best glance.
But it's not fair on the players. How is he or she going to feel to if they crack a fan for catastrophic consequences?
Maybe some less clued-up fans just don't realise the peril of the situation and there needs to be ways to keep them as far away as possible in such situations, however difficult to organise in a few short minutes with congestion a potential issue.
Of course, not all situations are the same. For example, everyone who attends a tournament is fully aware that, if you stand at a landing zone or beside a green, you have a chance of a miscue dropping out of the sky on you.
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Most players are great at shouting 'fore' these days and that's perfectly acceptable part of the day when you pay to get into a tournament. That comes with the territory. As stated, tournament chiefs also give ample warnings for these things. They can only do so much.
Ben Griffin left a mark on a boy's back at The Memorial with a wayward drive, but the guy was 300 yards away, had time to react and the obligatory signed glove was handed over, handshakes exchanged and all smiles. That scenario unfolds virtually every single day of an event. But these close-range ones? That's different. There's no time to react. If Spieth's strike had gone a few yards lower, it could have been horrendous.
It's not Spieth's fault. It wasn't Rai's fault. Or any other player in that situation. They are all trying their best to hit the correct shot. But to be just 10 or 20 yards away in front of any player before an impending strike and just a few yards or feet to the side of their intended target line is a dangerous business.
Fans need to be aware. For their own good and that of the players.