Golf tournaments blighted by rise in drunken fans and heckling, making it worse for everyone

As Rory McIlroy stood on the tee at Bethpage Black last September, trying to focus on the biggest team event in golf, thousands of fans packed around him. Some cheered. Many more jeered. Earlier, the first tee MC, Heather McMahan, had led a chant of ‘F—k Off, Rory’ on the public address system.Later, a cup of beer was hurled in the direction of McIlroy’s wife, Erica.By the end of the Ryder Cup, the world number two ranked golfer was being escorted around the course by a small army of security guards and police officers, teammate Shane Lowry had confronted a spectator who mocked his weight and Europe’s victory had been overshadowed by a question nobody in golf could ignore: when did the fans become part of the problem?This week, as the US Open returns to Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, the spotlight will once again shine on the world’s best golfers.But just as intriguing as the battle for the trophy and first prize of $4.5 million is what happens beyond the ropes, where golf is grappling with a growing epidemic of heckling, abuse and alcohol-fueled disorder that threatens to drag the once genteel sport in a direction it has never wanted to go.Golf has alwayshad the occasional idiot trying to make a name for themselves but usually it’s been little more than a poorly-timed ‘Get in the hole!’ heckle or — in the unusual case of Tiger Woods at the 2011 Frys.com Open in San Martin, Calif., someone running on to the green and throwing a hot dog at him. But things have taken a turn for the worse in recent years.Now, instead of polite applause and respect for the game, there’s an increasingly toxic atmosphere at some pro golf tournaments and those lame heckles aimed at players have become deeply personal and hugely offensive.Jonathan Yarwood is one of the world’s top golf coaches and worked with both 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell and Nelly Korda, the most dominant player in the women’s game.

He believes there has been a discernible s...