I think players who clearly don't SHOUT FORE!, when they see their ball going towards a crowd of spectators should be fined - and big time fined, we're talking $10K for not shouting FORE!

This is the only way they'll learn it. I watch a lot of golf, and only 1 in 4 times will the pro player shout FORE!, when a ball is hit directly into a crowd of spectators - this is very bad behavior in my book

Usually they will shout FORE!, when they miss their first drive at the start of the round, but from then on, the pro players keep quiet, even though they clearly can see their ball is going directly into the crowd.

I often wonder why a guy who has just been hit by a flying Nike ball from Tiger, Sergio or another pro golfer will still smile, when he comes up to his ball. Tiger would need all of his muscle mass and some of his body guards, if he had hit me with a ball without shouting FORE!, and I would gladly wait for him to come up to me and the second he came up to the ball, I would punch him right on the nose and shout "FORE!, how did you like that, you F_ckin_ Idi_T" at him really loud.

It should be noted, that I'm a huge Tiger and Sergio fan - but when ever I'm hit by a golfer, who does not shout FORE!, when he clearly sees his ball is going towards some people, I loose all my admiration for who ever hits the shot, and think only of "PAY BACK TIME PRONTO".

I would love to play all the time with a gallery standing on every hole. Errant shots would hit them drop and I am still in play. that is why they don't shout fore. Not to mention, if you are in the gallery, you are there at your own risk.

unlike our usual rounds all the people the pros hit into are generally watching the ball come at them. there is the occasional guy that gets k o 'd. but in a sea of spectators talking amongst eachother 320 yards down teh fairway most likely wont hear a FORE anyway. i would think the group of people around you dodging to get out of the way would be a "fore" enough. not too mention if you get hit at a pga event i think you would have to be a few too many beers in to enjoy the golf or remeber being hit anyway. but when ppl line up 30 deep for 100 yards 3 feet to the right of tiger when hes in the rough those ppl are just asking to take one to teh dome

They can't COUNT as high as 4 !!! (They have accountants for that sort of stuff.

Aren't there also usually volunteer staff on the tee box that wave which way the ball is going?

yes he is right about the volunteer staff. and as for the original poster the next time you go to a BIG BOYS tourney better known as the PGA TOUR read your ticket you IDIOT. there you will find that you are responsible for the balls on the course remember you are an intruder on the course. and as for the TOUR PLAYER shouting FORE, they do most of the time. do you think you would hear it from 280 to 300 yards away with the crowd noise. yea i didnt think so. also if you are in the landing area or between the teeing ground and around the landing area then you should be watching and besides the FORE CADDIE is responsible for keeping the gallery aware of the errant tee shot, because his counterpart on the tee is signaling him the direction the ball is headed. AND by the way GOOD LUCK GETTING close to TIGER or SERGIO to even breathe on them. i cant believe someone would ever post the origianl post the way it is worded. RANT IS OVER

I would LOVE to see you try to do something to Tiger or any PGA player for that matter, you sir are an idiot. Have you ever been to a PGA event? The ropes are 10 yards off the fairway sometimes, the misses aren't HUGE. When I'm 320 yards away and sometimes not even being able to see a player tee off then how are you going to hear that player? I think before you make a stupid thread about this you should actually attend an event because you'd read the ticket, and understand that a professional player hitting a bad shot puts his arm up in that direction where marshalls are responsible for warning the patrons watching.

Do you honestly think that any PGA player wants to hit someone on purpose? BTW you'd probably get pummeled and thrown in jail for attempting to "pay back" a PGA tour player.

Note- I just read the post above mine, exactly what I was thinking.

Great comment

I've attended 3 European Tour events - not as big as the big PGA Tour, but none the less still pretty big events - in Germany and Sweden.
It surprised me how seldom the pro players warn the crowd when they hit their ball into the spectators. They ought to shout FORE! without even thinking twice, but often they don't.

The way I see it is, if the pro players don't use the 4 letter word, FORE, when they clearly mishit their ball and sends it directly into the crowd, what kind of signal are they sending to the kids and juniors attending the game as spectators and watching the game on TV at home ?

This is exactly WHY I think the pro players don't shout FORE!. They know the ball will probably still be in play, if it hits a spectator - while if they shouted FORE! the crowd would move away and the ball would perhaps be in the deep stuff or OB.

tiger usually shouts it when he hits a bad tee shot. i thought it was pretty common, even if it isn't helpful.

Not as big a signal as "punching him right on the nose and shouting "FORE!, how did you like that, you F_ckin_ Idi_T" at him really loud."

First post and as a long time forum reader I must say that this looks an awful lot like someone trolling. Just my opinion.

Claus, I agree with you 100%.

Peter Alliss regularly discusses this point when he is commentating on UK-televised events, and quite rightly points out that the use of warning shouts is diminishing in the pro game.

I agree that players should be fined when they are negligent in shouting out warnings for errant shots that have the potential for injury. It's not much to ask is it?

To the poster who doubts that a shout can be heard 300+ yards away: Yes they can. If you make an effort.

I normally like when people disagree with me, because this can be the start of a great debate, but in this particular case I must thank you for sharing my point of view

When I was at the Scandinavian Masters last year, Henrik Stenson had a really wild drive. I stood next to him at the tee box, and nobody said anything or signaled anything with either club, hands or flag. My father stood in the crowd close to where the ball landed 300 yards away wayyyy to the left. A guy was centimeters from being hit in the head, and nobody reacted on it. The drive was really wild and long, kind of Tiger wild, when Tiger really gets wild with his driver. I was stunned that nobody said anything - and I saw the same thing happen with other players. They were quiet as if the drive was in the middle of the fairway......saw the same thing at the German Masters last year....

And this also happens on the PGA Tour far too often. I think the players should be fined for not shouting FORE!. No matter if a spectator knows he is attending a golf tournament and balls may fly over his head, the players should still warn us spectators, when ever they hit a bad one. It's part of common proper golf etiquette to shout FORE! when you hit a wild one, no matter if you're a pro player or a hack. The rules apply for all of us last time I looked

I've been at a few tournaments when players have hit errant drives (or tee shots on a par 3) and have expended more effort poncing about whacking the club into the turf or ostentatiously turning away in disgust only for the ball to land in or amongst the gallery. Thankfully, there is usually a member of the gallery or a marshal who retains an element of common sense.

Errant shots are part of the game -even for the best- but to not shout when a ball is capable of causing injury is downright stupid.

It's something that really needs to be addressed in my opinion.

On an unrelated topic, the art of letting the folowing group play through whilst waiting for a protracted ruling also seems to have been forgotten in the modern professional game.

I spent most of sunday watching Tiger and a few others at 14 the 305 par 4 . This is a good example of what happens with a blown tee shot . The player motions to the mishit . The first set of marshals yell fore then every person there yells it also . Angel almost killed me , then Adam Scott . I loved every second of it . Oh and try to attack Tiger . For this event he was considered a national treasure and had 3 secret service on loan from George Bush . Along with 3 cops and PGA security under cover .

Another Day another Million

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The undercover PGA security staff need some tuition in undercover work by the sounds of it...