r/golf • u/Oldtimer_2 • 5h ago
News / Articles Charlie Woods playoff hole at 2026 U.S. Junior Championship at Saucon Valley C.C. A phone camera clicks in backswing, he miss hits the ball and misses cut
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u/bored_as_fuck_dad 5h ago
that is some gnarly rough
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u/v3rmin_supreme 5h ago
Yeah nobody talking about the lie here and how hard it would be to get out of that even without some idiot making noise mid swing.
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u/ICantSeeDeadPpl 5h ago
I think if I were a pro I’d play with earplugs and blinders.
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u/Reasonable_Manner817 5h ago
Just use ASL to communicate with your caddy
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u/Ok_Figure7671 4h ago
Looks like He’s saying you’re number one
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u/Dreamweaver_Wolfstar 4h ago
I couldn’t be on tour, I gotta have some sort of noise going on. That’s how I keep the bad swing thoughts out.
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u/NonchalantNarcissism 4h ago
I always wondered, are you not allowed to have headphones in on tour during play?
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u/eclectictaste1 4h ago
I believe that is a rule, no headphones or earplugs of any kind allowed.
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u/ICantSeeDeadPpl 4h ago
I like listening to music or I hear every little whisper from playing partners.
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u/B0yWonder 4h ago
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u/ICantSeeDeadPpl 4h ago
I guess being deaf is an unfair advantage then.
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u/user_1729 4h ago
Shane Van Boening is a pro pool player who is hearing impaired. He takes out his hearing aids during critical matches. It's kind of funny, it seems like that's against the spirit of the "no ear plugs" rule, but... it's kind of malicious compliance.
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u/doubleapowpow 2h ago
I think if I were a pro I'd practice with distractions enabled.
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u/ICantSeeDeadPpl 2h ago
I’d probably have to do just that. A 4-hr recording of heckling, throat-clearing, whispered conversations, etc.
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u/doubleapowpow 2h ago
I'm thinking car horns, farts on a megaphone, and that professional heckler from Happy Gilmote, set on a random timer on my phone.
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u/ghostofkozi Push Cart Mafia 4h ago
I think if I were a pro I'd be good enough that a click didnt ruin my shot
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u/ashdrewness 3 HDCP 2h ago
Jack has said that multiple times. He said he just sorta hot wired his brain to ignore that stuff over the years
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u/turdfurgeson67 2h ago
Tiger supposedly was trained that way too with his GB father trying to distract him during his back swing and putting and stuff. But he always seemed hyper-sensitive to any noise as a professional, occasionally even rising up to call "time out" during his back swing if he heard a noise.
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u/packrfan4 1h ago
Right? How is this artificial camera shutter sound any different than some bird squawking during your back swing? Or any of the myriad other nature sounds?
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u/XxILLcubsxX 3h ago
Yeah I don’t get it. There are loud crowds, music, bands, etc in every other sport. Golfers hear a bird flap its wings, and I’m supposed to believe that messed up their entire swing? Have some mental control, I hear constant noises when I go play golf, and I don’t melt down. Charlie’s swing just sucked here, move on.
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u/Vaniky 2h ago
It’s more the change in sound level. Like it’s zero noise then a loud noise, which is more distracting than constant amount of noise.
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u/veebs7 1h ago
If people are constantly yelling, music blaring, etc. it’s easy to tune out. When it’s dead quiet and someone suddenly makes a noise, that’s impossible to miss
It’s why you don’t see guys complain about the constant noise affecting their shot at the WM Open
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u/Fun_Equivalent_7507 3h ago
Or you could just learn how to be a professional and ignore those sounds like other professional sports players do.
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u/Explosive_Nut 5h ago
Right at his transition too
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u/LAXisFUN 5h ago
A lot of people saying this is just a cop out excuse for him. That is literally the worst time to have a random noise break the silence. A half second later probably would’ve been fine since you’re already committed to the downswing
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u/Dramatic-Industry-79 5h ago
Yeah its pretty easy to see it caused him to decel. Those people probably aren’t golfers
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u/AnimanicManiac 3h ago
You can tell by the lack of follow through and him doing his club after hitting the ball that it definitely screwed him up
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u/skywayz 3.8 5h ago
All those people are idiots. I’d be happy to play a round with them and make random noises right when they are about to start their downswing, let’s see how good they play.
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u/whubbard 1h ago
I mean, probably won't matter much for the people making the comments. They were going to chuck or blade it anyways.
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u/XxNitr0xX 4h ago
I'd play the exact same because it's not that big of a deal if you're expecting a noise and ready for it.
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u/iamtheonewhostops 4h ago
I’d play the same way because i mess up my transition half the time anyway.
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u/e39hamann +.4 5h ago
I heard about that from a friend who was there, people suck unfortunately.
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u/IndianaHoosierFan 3h ago
Did your friend happen to get a pretty sweet pic of Charlie though??
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u/ElGuaco 5h ago
Tournaments just need to ban phone use at all times on the course. There's simply no good reason to permit them at this point.
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u/teddytoosmooth 4h ago
make people put them in those locked bags that only unlock in specific phone zones. People can't be adults so we must treat them like children.
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u/ReturnT0Sender 4h ago
I remember when the PGA didn't allow phones. I went to Doral a couple times and thoroughly enjoyed myself the whole day not looking at my phone. They made you leave it in the car.
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u/Turdburp 4h ago
I went to TPC Boston years ago (pre-smartphone days and when you got charged a dime for each text) and we had to put our phones in a big bin. I can't even imagine having done that in hindsight.
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u/antenonjohs 4h ago
I don’t think this was ever a PGA wide policy.
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u/astarkey12 ∞ 4h ago
They'll never do that because of the social media amplification from people posting about the tournament.
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u/Dramatic-Industry-79 4h ago
Yeah the masters way is the exception to the norm. Phones are too powerful a marketing tool to take away, even if it means better atmosphere. Atmosphere is secondary to the bottom line
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u/astarkey12 ∞ 4h ago
A tracking tool too. They want your data to target you with advertising, and they're getting it through the phone you bring to the tournament and connect with any related apps/websites.
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u/Little___G 3h ago
But then how would my 13 followers know I was there?? How would I make my sick TikTok’s? How could I ever explain to someone that I was this close to tiger woods son? Come on, you expect me to just go there, watch with my own two eyes, and enjoy myself?
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u/Jabb2914 4h ago
I feel bad for him. No other kid had ppl taking photos or following them like Charlie. He’s going to have a difficult path to pro if he ever makes it. Having Tiger as your dad and playing golf will be hard.
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u/jumboshrimp09 5h ago
This is interesting because of the conversation about privacy and security in public. In Japan all camera actions must make noise, what happens if that ever makes its way to the US? Just ban phones from tournaments all together.
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u/Mcpops1618 4.3/AB/someonelearnedhowtoputt 4h ago
What do they do at Asian tour events?
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u/core916 3h ago
Japan is a very respecting culture. They wouldn’t ever do something like this.
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u/RedXabier 4.7 | UK 2h ago
That seems to conflict with the whole “creep up skirt pics” reasoning for having camera noises mandatory there in the first place
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u/ch1nacancer 1h ago
They’re a very respecting culture. They’re so respectful in fact, that the creeps have cameras that make noises when they take an upskirt so that the subject is politely made aware of the fact that a picture of their pubis has been taken.
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u/Scalpum 4h ago
Yes. No one leaves the Masters wishing they had had their phone.
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u/Suqmacoq 5h ago
Sucks on the other hand you gotta learn to play through that stuff if you want to be a pro.
Didn't Earl used to do all kinds of shit with Tiger like jingle keys and crap?
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u/Illustrious-Cover792 5h ago
He would drop his whole bag, rip the Velcro on his glove. He’d berate him if he hit a bad drive all the way to the ball to make sure nobody could ever say anything to get under his skin. Earl was the original article. Guy was involved in all kinds of secret military shit.
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u/Lezzles 7.9/Detroit 4h ago
Psycho parenting: Hello, HR?
Psycho parenting when it creates the best golfer of all time: Aw, you're so cute!
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u/Crafty-Bunch2975 Push Cart Mafia 4h ago
Luckily it turned out great and had no ill effects in this case.
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u/AdamOnFirst 1h ago
I agree with your reaction to an extent, but it seems clear from learning about how trained trained when he was alone and hearing them both talk about their relationship that 1. Tiger was obsessed with giving himself the most absurdly challenging practice (and workout) conditions possible, did it to himself while alone all the time, and thrived under it (which presumably his father knew and understood, rather than trying to brake a kid who hated it) 2. The crazy behavior didn’t extend outside of golf practice time and they had a good, normal, healthy and supportive relationship when they weren’t on their journey of intense practice together.
In other words, they knew how to separate practice from life and also all that crazy training stuff was finding fertile soil in a personality in Tiger’s that was highly unique and thrived under it
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u/astarkey12 ∞ 4h ago
All Charlie needs is an emotionally abusive father to train him up right.
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u/TheDutchObama DutchLefty 4h ago
Well, it turns out if you leave your son at a gas station that kid will become a 4 times F1 World Champion. So you are on to something
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u/ClasslessHero DMV | 9.4 4h ago
Earl was also right on that line of abusive as a parent.
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u/Originstoryofabovine 4h ago
There are many recorded instances of Tiger being annoyed by noises from the gallery in his backswing... completely fair for Charlie to be thrown off.
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u/InsaneBrew JPX 921 - mmm so sweet 4h ago
Tiger should be dropping keys, coughing, jingling the change, dropping bags, etc.
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u/notinthenavylol +1.7 4h ago
He’s also in absolute jail here. Short-sided in ankle high rough. For any player, let alone an elite one, up and down from there would be miraculous
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u/JackOSevens 4h ago
Isn't 'let alone' used the opposite way? Let alone an amateur?
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u/wtfhiolol10000 5h ago
What phone cameras still make a clicking sound?
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u/Storm_4747 3h ago
A lot of them actually. This one seemed louder than normal but a lot of phones still have an audible sound when taking a picture.
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u/Cyclonepride 5h ago
That really sucks, people are stupid. I almost think the silence is worse, because every little sound is more distracting. I'm sure we're all used to playing with our buddies and hearing them talk, practice swing or fart in our backswings, but the pressure here is not even comparable
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u/HannTwistzz 4h ago
Again either be completely silent or just have consistent noise. It’s not the noise that is the problem, but it’s that the noise startled him
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u/Douglas_Fresh 5h ago edited 4h ago
Hot take - These guys should be able to deal with a camera click in their swing. Give me a break.
If a bird were to tweet or a wood pecker peck... should we blame them too? Bad shots happen... I should know, I played golf yesterday.
- Edit - It seems many think I am saying that it was fine for the patron to make that noise. I believe that people should be quite and respectful, full stop. That said, blaming a bad shot on a small camera noise is silly to me. Anyways, I need to turn off comment notifications and get back to work. PS. this is not just "Some kid" it is Charlie fucking Woods.
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u/gugly 5h ago
I’d agree but there’s a difference in playing through sound which I’m sure they can all do, and playing through quiet with a sudden sound.
The sudden sound is far more distracting especially when you are expecting complete silence.
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u/poopy_toaster 5h ago
Exactly, like yeah noise happens all the time - wind in the trees, birds chirping, mower going, etc. it’s the unexpected shouts/clicks/etc that messes folks up most
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u/SCwareagle 4h ago
This exact discussion comes up sometimes in tennis. You have people who grunt/yell/scream/whatever on every shot, so your opponent is accustom to it and it is not a hinderance. Then you'll have someone randomly make noise to mess with their opponent and the official will call it a hinderance, even if it was "quieter" than the player who does it every time. The unexpected nature is key, because it shifts your focus.
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u/Heathcliff_Slocumb 3h ago
Now that you say it, it sounds like a decent strategy to just sporadically grunt in tennis.
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u/sloppymcgee 3.20 4h ago
I always thought home crowds should be really quiet during a free throw from the opposing team. Then in the middle of the shot, everyone gets loud. Would be much more jarring.
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u/kimbosdurag 4h ago
Yeah he has a horrible lie here, that he got himself into. If his making the tour was hinging on him making this shot I feel like if he was able to hit this shot he wouldn't have had this crap lie probably and probably wouldn't have been one stroke out of the cut. Easy to blame it on this camera sound but come on, it's not like he was about to sink a three foot put or something. He made plenty of bad shots already to get him into this situation.
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u/Desperate_Pineapple 5h ago
Easy to say from the couch. He’s a kid in a kids tournament. No other kid is subjected to that garbage.
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u/LuxePhantom 5h ago
I’m gonna guess that you have never played stroke play tournament golf. “These guys” especially at an event like this (amateur event) are barely playing around spectators. It’s relatively small groups. Everyone is very respectful and quiet while another player is over the ball. So when out of the blue there is a disruption like this it’s going to be a surprise and have an effect more times than not.
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u/Mcpops1618 4.3/AB/someonelearnedhowtoputt 4h ago
US JUNIOR am. He’s not a pro and every player out there isn’t dealing with this. Charlie likely gets the most followers on course, causing a higher likelihood of something stupid like this happening.
Equating what is likely a boomer who can’t turn off sound on their phone to something happening in nature is also quite the stretch.
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u/TantalizingTequila 4h ago
Yes! He knows he will always be playing in front of a crowd of some sort now. If your focus is so weak that the little shudder sound messed up your shot, you need to work on that. If it was an air horn or something startling then it is different, but to try and pin any part of him missing the cut on the shudder sound would be ridiculous.
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u/themisterfixit 5h ago
Tigers dad used to deliberately cough, or jingle his keys or make noise while Tiger was swinging. He has said he uses the same techniques when teaching Charlie.
He’ll get there.
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u/laptopmango 4h ago
You should be banned from making noises during someone’s backswing and also using technology to make noises during the back swing that wasn’t a photography camera click that was literally the iPhone camera click and what the fuck do you need a picture of someone mid back swing for it it’s one of the most fast short movements so they should just take a video and screenshot it
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u/FormerThisandThat 2h ago
A lot of people who have never competed at anything in this comment section.
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u/BearHeartsPanda 4h ago
Tigers father famously rattled keys while his son putted during rounds. Tiger could still get surly as do many players with the ill timed and rude behavior during backswing but it’s part of it
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u/Baskreiger 4h ago
In the 90's, darts player used to cry about the crowd being noisy, they where small disciplined crowd. Now in 2026, they play in front of thousand of people, often the crowd will shout just before they hit a double, they learned to play with it and stop complaining because the fans are the reason the sport got sponsors and give athletes money. If there where no crowd in golf, they would not have these crazy winning prices. Deal with it young one, it wont change cuz youre mad (there are big similitudes between golf and darts, ive played darts to a high caliber, golf im still a newbe)
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u/Furyio 3h ago
Love the comments here from people who likely play gimmes and breakfast balls 😂😂
There is etiquette in golf for a reason. He’s hitting a tough chip from thick rough , wedge flared open and then you get a big CLICK on your downswing. Hes also trying to make the cut.
You build up tolerance (some don’t) as you play more in this environment and have fans or spectators. But it takes time and some people never do
Fans and spectators should be abiding by the expectations and etiquette in golf.
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u/homelocked2 5h ago
Cmon man. He chunked it. It happens. They know that sounds are going to happen. Ball is buried and he had a bad swipe at it.
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u/Hurricrash 5h ago
“Tiger was 11 when Earl started to swear at him during training. “Fuck off Tiger,” he would say during his backswing, “motherfucker” he’d utter, “you little piece of shit”. Tiger said later he “didn’t mind and even encouraged” his father’s swearing, that “eventually, I started laughing at it”.”
Tiger needs to get tough with Charlie. Worked for him.
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u/kakapoopoopeepeeshir 4h ago
I legit feel like we are less than two years away from the PGA taking the Masters approach and banning cell phones at tournaments. They will start with the majors and then trickle down
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u/ruggerid 7.5/MD 3h ago
That’s why you should take pics from video screenshots. You never miss a shot. Like this one…
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u/paul6057 3h ago
I feel sorry for that lad. Expectations on him are so high as Tiger's kid, the only thing he can do is fail to meet them.
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u/Glittering_Youth_976 2h ago
I can’t wrap my head around the fact that you take the time to go to an event, whether it be sporting, concert, a show, etc and spend that time on your phone.
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u/valkyrie9005 2h ago
Am I the only one that thinks if your game is so fragile that you get thrown off by a camera shutter sound, you probably shouldn't be playing? Like I would get it if you had an air horn or a car door slam, or other loud noise come through, but a camera shutter?
Of course, the artificial shutter sound is awful, and no one should have it on their phone unless legally required. .
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u/ImWhy 1h ago
Just waiting for all the comments about how "pros should be able to block out the noises". Cause there no difference between constant noise compared to dead silence and then a sudden noise during peak concentration. There's countless studies showing how fucking impactful this shit is during high effort motor tasks like the golf swing, and yet idiots still insist "just block it out". It'd be absolutely 0 issue if it was constant noise.
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u/Acceptable-Print-254 1h ago
Polymarket sabotage. Ban all phones at events. If you talk during swing you get escorted out.
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u/Intrepid-Metal4621 5h ago
I get the annoyance. It shouldn't happen, but it seems he just gave up when he heard it. Either needed to try to stop his swing (easier said than done) or just continued to swing fully. He seems to gave up some.
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u/ZachWilsonsMother 4h ago
That’s what happens when you flinch because of a noise mid-swing
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u/Intrepid-Metal4621 4h ago
Is it? He's a kid still and learning a lot about this part of the game, but you can't complete a swing when you flinch?
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u/juvy5000 5h ago
dick move but cmon….. fuckin focus bud
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u/BuyOwn1603 5h ago
Kid is like 15 years old. Chill. I bet you still regularly top the ball off the first tee.
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u/Chrisdkn619 4h ago
Why do we baby golf and tennis players like this?! We don't do it in any other sport.
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u/CptKJAI 3h ago edited 2h ago
I don't understand this argument at all that's the social contract that is expected okay?
whether or not you think it's silly the expectations are silence, so to have quiet expectations when you have a few idiots that can't keep quiet in someone's back swing that's a problem.
If people were expected to make noise and be loud and all that consistently, then yes you'd have a point, but the expectation is silence so it should be silent that's just what it is.
This would be like having a professional football team that their fans would be allowed to make noise while the other team's fans would not be allowed to make noise.
Sure they can still win and perform but you not understand how that would be a massive disadvantage?
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u/Werearmadillo 4h ago
Just look at basketball players shooting free throws and the amount of distractions aimed at them
How does a shutter sound possibly make you not be able to swing the club?
I feel like it's just the expectation, like when soccer players fall down at the slightest touch when clearly it was unnecessary
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u/ballonbases 5h ago
the guy shouldn't have done the camera shot during the swing but I really think it's such nonsense to blame a bad shot on it haha
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u/Long-Show-8506 5h ago edited 4h ago
Its not that easy to say, he isnt blaming HIM. Its a focused game and say he is feeling pressure to make the cut and thats the last staw. Play the game at a competitive level, because only then you will decice how affected you are by a random sound.
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u/GenericNameSimulated 5h ago
“I’m stupid” woulda saved a lot of time and accomplished the same thing as your comment
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u/Sliders51 4h ago
Weak mental if that checks you. Why have spectators at a sporting event if you expect them to be quiet the whole time, tennis too. It’s only holding the sport back
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u/redditserz 4h ago
By your logic just about every pro has a "weak mental" since they absolutely all hate it when it happens.
It's ok we actually want to shrink the game and keep people like you out of it.
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u/ghostofkozi Push Cart Mafia 4h ago
Sorry not sorry, a phone camera clicking?
Kid is in the upper echelon of golfers, has no doubt played hundreds if not thousands of times where there's noises from wildlife, traffic, competitors and crowds but a camera click makes him fuck up the shot?
Bitch please
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u/SpaceCampDropOut 4h ago
It does make me always laugh that golfers and tennis players need absolute dead silence or they can’t do their job and lose their mind, yet baseball players have to hit a baseball, basketball player has to shoot a free throw, and kickers has to make a field goal in absolute chaos noise with no issues or complaints.
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u/first-alt-account 3h ago
Steady expected noise is different from sudden unexpected noise.
Pretty easy to think about and see why.
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u/CaptianBlackLung 5h ago
Who still has the camera sound turned on in 2026 lmao. Sorry Charlie