Am I the only one who shook my head in despair when the R&A announced its code of conduct for spectators at The Open?
Have we really now reached the point where we need to tell fans how they are expected to behave when attending the world’s oldest and best major?
On-course signs will tell fans to respect the players, respect the links, respect each other, be aware and enjoy responsibly. Really?
At last month’s US Open, held on New York's Long Island, galleries targeted eventual champion Wyndham Clark.
In 2023, the last time The Open was held in the north west of England, winner Brian Harman was jeered by home fans during his emphatic victory.
And a month after winning the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush last year, world number one Scottie Scheffler said: "I heard some fairly choice words when I was leading the tournament in Ireland."
(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)
I attended my first Open at St Andrews in 1970. That was the one where Doug Sanders missed a tiddler to win on the 18th green and then lost to Jack Nicklaus in an 18-hole playoff the following day.
I remember many things about that week but more than anything else was the impeccable behaviour of the galleries.
These were different times, of course - there were no ticket ballots, most of those who attended were genuine golf fans, almost all of whom played the game.
Over the years I have watched the deteriorating behaviour of galleries around the world, but most especially in America. And most of the worst excesses coincide with the emergence of Tiger Woods.
The first time I became aware of it at The Open was at Turnberry in 2009 when Stewart Cink beat a 59-year-old Tom Watson in a playoff and in the process became arguably the most unpopular Open champion of all time. I refuse to repeat some of the abuse I heard hurled in Cink’s direction. And it has continued unabated and unchallenged ever since.
"You the man!" "Get in the hole!" That was all bad enough but much worse was the personal abuse aimed at individuals such as Colin Montgomerie and their families.
It was appalling and it has only continued to get worse. Ryder Cups staged on American soil are now tests of survival.
What happened at Bethpage Black in New York in 2025 was disgraceful. It had been thought that the extortionate ticket prices would discourage the usual suspects from attending but that didn’t happen. Then we were effectively told: "This is New York and this is normal behaviour." It is not normal behaviour and it is utterly unacceptable.
I have witnessed increasingly boorish behaviour in recent years at all sporting events but it is the deteriorating standards at golf tournaments that concern me.
I live in hope that The Open at Royal Birkdale will be another classic, on and off the course. Why would anybody spend all that money on tickets and risk being thrown out because of a few ill-chosen words?
There will also be concerns about drunken behaviour but that is something that has yet to ruin an Open.
