golf``A lot of people had mobile phones and were taking pictures, you just had to deal with it,'' the No. 1-ranked golfer said Nov. 12 at the HSBC Champions Tournament in Shanghai, where he repeatedly pulled away from playing shots because of noise. ``There were a lot of distractions out there.''
Golf has boomed in China in the past five years, ushering in a generation of fans unfamiliar with the etiquette of a sport steeped in rules and tradition. Twenty-one years after China got its first course, the European Tour had five events there in 2005, while the Asian Tour has expanded to seven tournaments in China from one in 2001.
The inaugural HSBC Champions Tournament had the biggest prize fund in Asian golf of $5 million -- and the sport's biggest draw. Organizers said about 10,000 people turned up for the final day, when David Howell outplayed Woods to win by three strokes.
``It was a bit more chaotic than I thought it would be,'' Englishman Howell said afterwards. ``There were more phones and lots of cameras. It was fairly bad and took me by surprise.''
Signs at the entrances to the Sheshan International Golf Club were optimistic: ``Strictly no mobile phones and cameras.'' Spectators, many walking past the signs with phone planted to ear, even got written instructions on how to behave from organizers.
Take a Chance
Jenny Kim, a 32-year-old from Shanghai who works in supply chain management, was among hundreds who clicked away on her camera as Woods putted during the final round.
``I saw lots of people doing it so thought it was ok,'' she said. ``As long as you don't distract players it's fine, you just take a chance,'' added Fung Ying, a 35-year-old engineer with a camera full of Tiger snaps.
The ``Guide to Viewing Golf'' -- a card given to fans in both Chinese and English -- included instructions such as ``do not applaud or cheer a mistake,'' and ``remain quiet when the players are about to hit the ball.'' At least spectators didn't cheer errors.
``The only way you can stop the phones and cameras is to make everyone who walks through the front door leave them at the desk,'' said Terry Pilkadaris, an Australian golfer ranked fourth on the Asian Tour after finishing tied for 42nd.
Another item on the handout for fans, ``never attempt to pick up any ball on the course,'' was ignored by a woman standing at the edge of the fairway on the fourth hole after Simon Wakefield, an English golfer, teed off.
`Sorry'
``The guy with her shouted at her and told her to throw it down,'' Wakefield said in an interview. ``It was blatantly obvious the ball was still in play. I gave her a telling off and she said sorry.''
It's not just the spectators. At the Volkswagen Masters in Beijing in September, Michael Campbell went to find his ball only for a cameraman to hand it to the U.S. Open champion. Reporters and photographers at the HSBC event also received a list of do's and don'ts.
``Chinese journalists have been working a maximum five years in golf so it's a short time,'' said Sarah Xu, editor of Top Eagle Golf Magazine. ``Some are unfamiliar with the rules and golf course stewards aren't carrying out their duties.''
China isn't the only country to experience the ring of the phone and click of the camera as golfers prepare shots.
Louis Martin, chief executive of the Asian Tour, said stewards have even had to remove children making sandcastles in bunkers or running down fairways at some events. Asia may have to follow the U.S. practice of ejecting fans using phones, he said.
Bunker Tots
``It's something we have to control,'' Martin said in an interview. ``It's worse in China because it's not as golf-educated so people just don't realize.''
The spectators' behavior won't stop Woods returning to China, according to Guy Kinnings, managing director of golf at International Management Group, a company that manages the Masters and British Open champion.
``He's used to having crowds that sometimes aren't hugely experienced golf followers,'' Kinnings said in an interview. ``I'm sure it will change as there's going to be so much golf in China and the crowds will become more knowledgeable.''
Countries now established on the golf circuit probably had similar experiences when they first hosted events, Kinnings added. The unexpectedly large number of fans at the HSBC Champions Tournament may have exacerbated the problem, he said.
``There were a few times when me and my playing partners had to back off shots,'' said the 29-year-old Woods, who was playing his first professional tournament in China. ``They're not used to seeing golf here so we can understand it.''
