Bad Manners and Verbal Assaults on a Golf referee

[Phil McDade]

While I agree that a few tennis players cross the line with abuse, you can't evenly compare a tennis player's relationship with the "official" to any other sport...most certainly golf. Especially true in years past before the super slo mo replays.

The amount of control the linesman and chair umpire have over the match (key points)...and the difficulty in making line calls at the speeds the pros play...is totally unique in sports officiating. Nothing else that I can think of that comes close. And since the player often has a different point of view (literally) it just adds to the potential for testy confrontations...

Johnny Mac was easily my favorite tennis player to watch back then- mostly because of his style of play- but I admit to cringing many times when he would go on one of his tirades...

Not to defend Mac (also my favorite player to watch while growing up; few people today seem to appreciate the artistry he brought to the game), but he always argued that tennis (during the 1970s and 1980s when he was at his best) had the worst officiating, and the lamest standards for officiating, among major sports.

[Brent Hutto]

Nothing to do with tennis but what about the way Rugby officials talk to the player? It's so polite it sounds funny to someone like me unaccustomed to the game. I may have the exact wording wrong but the other night an official said to the two teams "I'm giving you the chance to move closer together. And I think that you should".

Now presumably he was actually telling them to move closer together and wasn't going to let them start until they did so. But I can't imagine an official in any USA sport couching an instruction as a request like that. Then again, if I were out on the field surrounded by that many huge and somewhat aggressive-looking guys I'd probably be polite, too!

[Chris Shaida]

Ah, I grow old, I grow old - I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. Do I dare to eat a peach? Will we ever see the likes of Arthur Ashe or Margaret Court again?

Peter
 

Uh...you do grow old, you do grow old--or perhaps you've just been etherized upon a table! because we have/are seeing the 'likes' again and his name is Roger Federer.  He even has the grace not to grunt!

[Philippe Binette]

When Tiger threw a club into the crowd in australia 2009...had i been the referee on-site, i would have called the 33-7 rule.

if that is not a severe breach of etiquette, what is it

[Bruce Katona]

....and when the "referree misinterprets a Rule the recourse is ? 

The discussion last year of what constitutes a bunker, when patrons are standing in it, comes quickly to mind.

The participants chose not to admonish officials over potential misques in a pu blic forum.

Can you just imagine Darren Clarke (I just selected him you put the name of a professional here) going off on a rules Official a la Billy Martin/Lou Pinella or Johnny Mac?  It would make for an ESPN Webjem certainly, at least the 1st time.

[Dale Jackson]

....and when the "referree misinterprets a Rule the recourse is ? 

The discussion last year of what constitutes a bunker, when patrons are standing in it, comes quickly to mind.

The participants chose not to admonish officials over potential misques in a pu blic forum.

Can you just imagine Darren Clarke (I just selected him you put the name of a professional here) going off on a rules Official a la Billy Martin/Lou Pinella or Johnny Mac?  It would make for an ESPN Webjem certainly, at least the 1st time.

Depending on the status and authority given to the official and circumstances of the error, the Committee would overturn the official's decision.  See Rule 34.

I am not sure if you are maintaining the ruling given to Dustin Johnson was an error, if so, that is simply not true, as anyone familiar with the event, the course and the Local Rules sheet given to the competitors will attest.

I have complete admiration for the way Dustin Johnson handled the incident, it can not be easy to demonstrate the class he did under those circumstances.

If any player - professional or amateur - behaves like Billy Martin, John McEnroe or any other professional sports celebrity on an unfortunately long list - they should be handled under Rule 33-7 (DQ for a serious breach of etiquette) or whatever code of conduct the tournament is using.  Golf is not like almost all other sports in what is expected of the players, and I hope no one would see that as a problem.

[Ulrich Mayring]

What's the penalty for rules officials abusing players?

Such as "local rule today: only two minutes searching for balls allowed"

Ulrich (yes, true story)

[Niall C]

Naill

Howard Clark would never abuse a marshall like that. Surely not!

Bob,

Sounds like Hobday. Legend.

Mike

I had to go back to my post to check I hadn't named names ! I think he was also lucky that the guy he abused wasn't a good bit younger otherwise the two of them would have been trading blows resulting in the two of them being carted away on a breach of the peace charge.

Niall

[Chris Cupit]

When Tiger threw a club into the crowd in australia 2009...had i been the referee on-site, i would have called the 33-7 rule.

if that is not a severe breach of etiquette, what is it

That authority to DQ a player is only granted to the Committee as a whole, not an individual referee (unless of course, he alone is "The Committee").

The Decision book offers guidance to a committee on what is "a serious breach of etiquette":
33-7/8  A serious breach of etiquette is behavior by a player that shows a significant disregard for an aspect of the etiquette section, such as intentionally distracting another player or intentionally offending someone.

Although the committee may disqualify a player under Rule 33-7 for a single act it considers a serious breach of etiquette, in most cases it is recommended that such a penalty should be imposed only in the event of a further serious breach.

Ultimately, the application of a penalty for a serious breach of etiquette under Rule 33-7 is at the discretion of the Committee. 

[Jay Flemma]

Ah, I grow old, I grow old - I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. Do I dare to eat a peach? Will we ever see the likes of Arthur Ashe or Margaret Court again?

Peter
 

 !!!...not sure what to say

I applaud it - T.S. Eliot rocks...though I prefer Old Possum's:)

[Patrick_Mucci]

Serena is an unpleasant piece of work no doubt - as much for the passive aggressive way she does media interviews as anything else - difficult to watch. I do, however, think many would argue that she had right to feel aggrieved in this instance (not that it excuses the way she handled it).

It seemed like a pedantic response from the umpire to award the point to Stosar who was never ever going to get to that ball. Also, Williams may have previous where going off the handle at officials is concerned, but I haven't heard that she has a reputation for gamesmanship where her opponents are concerned. But then I could be wrong, I don't watch much ladies tennis...

Brian, There's a great sign over the door as you exit the men's locker room at Southern Hills.

It says, when the rules are broken at leisure, the game ceases to be golf.

This wasn't a matter of a bad call in terms of in or out, let or not, but, a clear rules infraction.
Once you initiate selective enforcement, chaos reigns.

The beauty of golf is that the competitors have the responsibility of calling infractions they commit, on themselves, infractions that no one else may see.

The essence of that conduct is that it's a game of honor.

Whereas, in the Dallas-Jet game, a defensive back was holding a receiver's jersey to the point that it looked like he might tear it off.
Yet, when the official threw the flag, the defensive back denied the infraction.

What bothered me more, was at the press conference, when a woman reporter asked Serena a question, Serena gave an inane response that had nothing to do with the question.

I understand the heat of battle, but, this wasn't a "junior" event, she's about 30 years old and a seasoned professional that's been playing tennis all of her adult life.

While I agree with Bob, I find that the glorification of Ray Lewis, by the NFL, the media and advertisers is a sad commentary on the times and our values.

[Garland Bayley]

In my opinion, golfers may take the cake when it comes to bad manners. The primary official in golf is the course. It adjudicates 99.99% of all plays. Golfers are famous for making verbal assaults at this adjudicator. They are also famous for making verbals assaults on the opponent of this adjudicator, and on the almighty creator.

In basketball, the primary adjudicator is the goal. Either it lets the ball in or out. You don't see basketball players making verbal assaults when the ball does not go in. Furthermore, the secondary adjudicator is much more active and makes most of his adjudications without incident (except of course from the cry babies that sit on the sidelines and act like morons while calling themselves coach).

So, in light of the typical behavior of golfers, it would seem to me that tennis is played with the utmost of decorum.

[JLahrman]

Just so Serena isn't the only one who gets criticized, here is a clip of the blatant cheating that took place in the mens' doubles final:

http://tennis.si.com/2011/09/11/controversy-in-petzschner-melzer-doubles-win/

And I'm sure there are lots of other examples to cite.  Serena's just took place on the biggest stage and she's the most prominent female player.  That's not to excuse her, but she's hardly alone.

[Terry Lavin]

Heck, it could be worse, a lot worse.  At a private club in Chicago just a month ago, an ill-tempered player, unhappy with a perfectly acceptable shot, threw his club behind him without thinking/knowing/caring that his caddie was right there.  The wedge hit the young man right between the eyes.  There's some significant club punishment in the offing.

[PCCraig]

Heck, it could be worse, a lot worse.  At a private club in Chicago just a month ago, an ill-tempered player, unhappy with a perfectly acceptable shot, threw his club behind him without thinking/knowing/caring that his caddie was right there.  The wedge hit the young man right between the eyes.  There's some significant club punishment in the offing.

Oh my God, is the caddy OK?

[SL_Solow]

Garland;  It is pretty clear that you never refereed basketball.  As one who held a license awhile ago, I can assure you that your perception is highly inaccurate.

[Garland Bayley]

Garland;  It is pretty clear that you never refereed basketball.  As one who held a license awhile ago, I can assure you that your perception is highly inaccurate.

You would be wrong on never. Do not well over 50% of calls a ref makes go unquestioned? The player dribbles the ball off his foot, it goes out. The ref awards three point on shots outside the line. No problem. Calling fouls probably has the most questions. But is the ref questioned > 50%?

[Terry Lavin]

Heck, it could be worse, a lot worse.  At a private club in Chicago just a month ago, an ill-tempered player, unhappy with a perfectly acceptable shot, threw his club behind him without thinking/knowing/caring that his caddie was right there.  The wedge hit the young man right between the eyes.  There's some significant club punishment in the offing.

Oh my God, is the caddy OK?

Neurologically intact, with two scars, maybe 20 stitches.

[SL_Solow]

Garland,  Were you ever licensed?  Moreover, it is not the percentage of calls that are questioned because that may rlete to the number of calls made.  As in most endeavors, there are a great number of gentleman involved in the game.  However, part of the culture is to try to makr the referee feel uncomfortable in making a close call against a player/team and that effort is usually commenced from the start of a game.  When you are trained properly, you are warned against those tactics and given tools (including technical fouls) to combat them but until you have called a game on a tough home court with aggressive team and coach you can't really understand it.

Having worked as an official in regional and college golf tourneys, the behaviour is much better toward officialsif not toward the venue.  I have witnessed some pretty bad incidents but they have invariably occurred at local events with players who were "over their heads" looking for excuses.  On balance, officials are treated pretty well in golf.

Having participated many years ago as a tourney tennis player and sometime official, tennis players are far worse.  At the junior level, many can't be trusted to call their own lines and as they get older , they become convinced that linesmen/referees are all incompetent.  Many find it apprpriate to demonstrate that belief in obnoxious ways.

Finally, baseball used to glorify the occasional dust up between players/ managers and umpires.  If you want to discuss the multiplicity of calls, balls and stikes are the best example.  Baseball eliminated (almost) those arguments by making those disputes the subject of automatic ejection.  More recently umpires have been giving players less leeway to argue and resorting to quicker hooks which I believe has hurt the game.

On balance each game has its share of problem behaviour but I suggest that golf is on the better end of the spectrum.

[Lou_Duran]

I'm not sure that we live in a more crass, uncivilized society today, but I recently reacted very poorly toward a confused woman who berated me at the stop light for speeding in a school zone (she was apparently distracted and missed the "end of" sign).  Rather than letting her vent, I called her a whacko and told her to pay attention to her driving.  When she said that I shouldn't be talking to a lady that way, it must have been the devil who whispered in my ear that I should inquire as to where she (the "lady") might be located.  I did, she had a cow, and I've regretted the whole exchange ever since.  I suspect that Serena might feel similarly.

I've officiated basketball and umpired baseball for a number of years.  Gamesmanship is part of sports.  I eventually got out of it not due to the personal abuse, but because the level and consitency of officiating varied so much that, in my opinion, it had an impact in the outcome of games.  It seemed as hard for some officials not to take things personally as it was to remain a neutral, facilitating factor in their sports, without drawing attention to themselves.  Just this past week, I watched a major league home plate umpire with a high, outside strike zone loudly ring-up several players, jerking his right shoulder back so violently that it hurt just watching.  There were some stare downs, but no one got tossed out.  Thank God it wasn't me at the plate.

Are golfers any better?  Perhaps, but I've seen plenty of cheating going on, some intentional.  I've also observed tourament players "bend" the rules.  The mark, identify (or clean on the green), and replace procedure is one that is at times liberally practiced.  It is amazing how well the ball sits up once the ball is replaced (or how those knee-knockers become tap-ins).  Maybe we are better people.  Who knows?      

[JLahrman]

I'm not sure that we live in a more crass, uncivilized society today, but I recently reacted very poorly toward a confused woman who berated me at the stop light for speeding in a school zone (she was apparently distracted and missed the "end of" sign).  Rather than letting her vent, I called her a whacko and told her to pay attention to her driving.  When she said that I shouldn't be talking to a lady that way, it must have been the devil who whispered in my ear that I should inquire as to where she (the "lady") might be located.  I did, she had a cow, and I've regretted the whole exchange ever since.  I suspect that Serena might feel similarly.     

Men have two moods - regular, and road rage.  Just ask my wife.