On Sunday night, I was perched in front of the tele enjoying what could only be described as a sports lover’s paradise… happily flicking between the El Classico and the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.
Sandwiched between moments of awe over Messrs Messi, Bale, Ronaldo and co., the bulk of my attention was on my beloved Adam Scott as he attempted to overcome “a bout of the Greg Norman’s”.
Having watched Scott’s seven-shot lead at the halfway mark disappear faster than last week’s pay, a glimmer of hope emerged at the par-5 16th. Matt Every, leading by three, pushed his tee shot into the trees and failed to find the fairway with his escape shot, eventually carding a bogey six.
In the group behind, Scott stood over his tee shot knowing a decent drive would put him in a terrific position to make eagle and join Every in the lead. Could the 33-year-old salvage his tournament, and with it, the chance to become World No.1 for his defence of the Masters in a fortnight?
There existed palpable tension as an eerie silence fell over the awaiting gallery.
Scott swung and an all too-familiar noise broke the silence…
“MASHED POTATOES!” shrieked a woman in the crowd.
Sigh.
Really? Still?
Whether you like it or not, the vast majority of televised golf events today are dominated by as many cries of “mashed potatoes” and “Baba Booey” as there are birdies.
Where did it begin?
Yelling after shots has been in vogue among rambunctious golf fans for years. It used to seem like every swing was accompanied by a gaggle of spectators screaming “GET IN THE HOLE!” – typically on a 580-yard par 5, seemingly adding to the chant’s apparent hilarity.
But this new breed of golf yelling is certainly not done out of fandom or excitement. In the era of social media, it’s about someone gaining their 15 minutes of fame; to be uploaded on Youtube and shared with any willing audience on Facebook and Twitter.
According to a Golf Channel article titled “Unmasking golf’s screamers; can they be stopped?” we have Andrew Widmar to thank from introducing “mashed potatoes” into the golfing vernacular.
Widmar, a then 20-year-old college golfer, was attending the final round of the Chevron World Challenge in 2011 – the scene of Tiger Woods’ first victory in more than two years. Earlier that morning, Widmar’s mother had asked her son if she would see him on television during the telecast.
“What are you wearing?” she asked. “Where will you be?”
“I don’t know,” he answered. “But if you hear ‘mashed potatoes,’ you’ll know I was there.”
When Woods stepped to the 18th tee box on Sunday afternoon – with the whole world watching with bated breath – Widmar knew his moment had arrived.
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His mother heard it alright. The entire viewing audience heard it. Even the broadcasters, neglecting their general rule to ignore boisterous fans, made mention of it.
And more than three years later, it’s almost surprising if we don’t hear some indiscriminate cry of a side dish or another peculiar aphorism immediately following a player’s swing.
But why, of all things, “mashed potatoes?”
“I’d seen it before on YouTube,” explains Widmar. “My friends thought it was stupid, but I thought it was hilarious. I wish I could take credit for starting it, but I will take credit for it becoming popular. It’s a good one to yell, because it’s nice and quick and it means absolutely nothing.”
Some believe, as it is allowed in other sports, that fans who pay good money to attend a golf tournament have every right to yell and make noise.
But as anyone who has played the game will know, a sudden outburst of noise from an otherwise silent scene can have an enormous effect on a golfer; let alone one who is playing with millions of dollars on the line.
What do the players think?
Last year at the PGA Championship, the Oak Hill gallery were particularly boisterous with their post-shot shouting. Aside from the usual yelps, new catchphrases included “rutabaga,” “scalloped potatoes,” and “Chewbacca”.
Never one to mince his words, Ian Poulter took to Twitter to condemn the yawpers, calling for the PGA Tour to “tazer” them.
This baba boo shit & mash potato crap shouting wouldn’t happen at Augusta, The Open, nor would it happen at Wimbledon. Tazer the thrushes.
— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) August 11, 2013
Whether or not you agree with his methods of punishment, the Englishman is right. This type of behaviour is almost non-existent at The Masters and The Open, where officials have a zero-tolerance policy for fans that misbehave. Is it any wonder these are considered golf’s two showpiece events?
At one point during the PGA Championship, with Jim Furyk battling for the lead, fans yelled just after his drive on the 16th hole. The veteran turned around to the crowd, pointed, and looked to tell them something that didn’t exactly appear to be a stamp of approval.
Should a player of Furyk’s calibre – let alone any golfer – be subject to this sort of behaviour at a major championship?
Clearly, Furyk is done with the bonehead after-shot screamers as well.
— Stina Sternberg (@StinaSternberg) August 11, 2013
When another ‘bonehead’ spectator yelled everyone’s favourite “mashed potatoes” at Graeme McDowell during the 2012 Chevron World Challenge, the Nothern Irishman looked towards the offender and appeared to mouth “w*nker” with an accompanying gesture just in case they didn’t speak English.
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McDowell later Tweeted: “Thanks for all the messages guys. Fun weekend. Oops on the signal to ‘mashed potato guy’ but it gets a little annoying after a while.”
Carl Pettersson agrees the shouting is “kind of annoying”. “I don’t think anyone really enjoys it”, the Swede says. Others, like Nick Watney, don’t seem to mind.
“It’s guys wanting attention,” Watney says. “I think it’s more annoying watching on TV than actually being out there.”
“If they yell it during my shot, I’ll be upset,” Robert Garrigus says. “If it’s after my shot … mashed potatoes, baba booey, who cares?”
Will it ever stop?
Last year, the PGA Tour banned caddie races – one of the funniest and most harmless spectacles on Tour (which originated from the Waste Management Open at TPC Scottsdale) – despite positive support from fans. Furthermore, the players (who ultimately sign the caddies’ paychecks) didn’t seem to mind.
Yet the PGA Tour seem either unwilling or unable to ban the more prevalent issue of shouting nonsensical phrases milliseconds after a shot is struck, which certainly irks a large portion of the Tour’s main asset – the players.
What will it take to make it stop? Sergio Garcia to unleash an Eric Cantona kung fu kick on a loud-mouthed fan shouting “baked carrot” mid-swing? That would make some viewing.
According to the PGA Tour’s executive vice president, Ty Votaw, if a fan yells while a player is in the act of playing a shot, they can be punished immediately. Anything yelled after impact, however, is considered well within the rights of the ticketholder.
“It’s lumped in with any behavior that affects the competition,” Votaw explains. “Anything that influences the competition in a way that’s disruptive.
“I’m not sure shouting ‘mashed potatoes’ after a guy hits the ball is disruptive. It might be irksome, but it may not fall into that category of disruptive to the competition.”
With more and more fans not only trying to outdo each other in sheer creativity and loudness, but also immediacy, it may just be a matter of time before a shout comes directly at impact during a crucial moment.
When it does, retribution will be swift.
But I shudder to think if an ill-timed vocal serving of “mashed potatoes” goes on to spoil a major championship.