Phones at The Open – yes or no?

Steve Carroll: I’d always fancied being a marshall at The Open. You get to watch a load of golf every day for free and they give you a nice red jacket and hat into the bargain.

All I thought you had to do was stare a bit into the crowd every now and then and raise up a little stick telling people to be quiet when a player was taking his shot.

But ever since the R&A tried to make the tournament all whizz bang and get us using their app on our phone out on the course, it seems something of a poisoned chalice.

I was at Hoylake ten years ago when the number of people taking pictures on camera phones was ridiculous. They were pretty rudimentary back then and Tiger was seeing stars so many flashes were popping off in his face.

Things have moved on since and it is perfectly possible to take a picture of the action without making a crashing sound during a player’s backswing.

The official policy is that phones are allowed, but must be on silent at all times. You can take pictures during practice days but not during the tournament.

In my view, this is completely unworkable. People want a record of their day at a big sporting event and, if cameras are allowed on the course, you’ve got to expect that spectators will take pictures of their favourites EVERY day.

The players should expect that too. The problem is that it’s a policy that’s applied inconsistently. I saw marshalls wide-eyed with fury running around ordering people to down their devices and I saw others who allowed cameras until a player went into their pre-shot routine.

I think that’s the best solution.

But what should it be? Should we just accept cameras at golf events, or should we be like the Masters and ban them from the property?

Dan Murphy: This is King Canute stuff, trying to repel the tide. It’s 2016, people. Everyone owns a smartphone, no-one can be without one and we are all obsessed with taking pictures of everything we do and sharing them with our friends.

It’s a bit like telling someone to take their voicebox out of their throat when they come to golf so they don’t talk during a player’s backswing.

You can only trust golf fans to stop their chatting and snapping when the marshalls raise their ‘quiet please’ signs. Apart from that, it’s fair game.

I would have thought there are already plenty of concerns about attendance at professional golf tournaments in this country without putting spectators off even more with daft rules.

Phone home…

James Broadhurst: I think it’s fine to have them as long there are signs warning people to put them on silent and to turn the flash off.

A warning that you could be asked to leave the event if your phone makes a noise would also make people more vigilant.

I was constantly checking my phone to make sure it was on silent but there were tons of spectators taking pictures and videos on championship days.

Craig Middleton: Definitely. As long as you don’t shove it right in a players face as he is preparing for a shot, what’s the big deal?

SC: I accept that no-one should be waving camera phones around during a player’s shot. Once they get to the ball and have had a brief look, it’s time to put them away. I’m not saying we should be asking for selfies.

But that picture of the 18th and the clubhouse is one of the most iconic in golf and who can resist taking a picture of it – whether it is allowed or not.

James Savage: I don’t see any signs at the football or the cricket telling me what I can and can’t do with my phone.

Banning phones would be like telling the crowd at the darts to be quiet when players are at the oche.

There were trains and aeroplanes going past Royal Troon during tournament play which players just had to deal with.

Tom Irwin: Not even a thing IMO. You are at the Open all day, when else are you uncontactable all day? Never. When has anyone ever been distracted by a silent flash less camera? Never.

It is lowest common denominator stuff – the issue is not the fault of the phone, it is of the phone handler. Don’t ban phones or pictures, ban idiots.

Joe Urquhart: There were plenty of instances at Troon when a player was either lining up a shot or even during their backswing as a train came piling past (not to mention the local airport) and they weren’t put off, you’re telling me a smartphone is going to cause more disruption?

Come on. As long as you aren’t wafting your iPhone in front of a players face I see no problem – the shutters on proper SLR cameras are louder!

The R&A’s policy is ridiculous, ‘bring your phone, use our wifi and app but NEVER take pictures.’

SC: That’s your accreditation revoked next year.

DM: And yours. And JB’s.

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