“Fore” is one of the words golfers learn very early on in their coaching lessons. At the latest when you stand on the golf course for the first time, you encounter golf’s own warning call for the first time. It doesn’t matter whether you are a novice or a tour professional, the call when you hit a failed ball is part of etiquette and even more, part of the basic safety measures on the golf course and is obligatory in these cases. However, Bryson DeChambeau sees it a little differently. In the podcast “Rick Shiels Golf Show” he now talks about his decision to deliberately omit the “Fore”.
Bryson DeChambeau: “The patrons don’t hear me anyway”
Bryson DeChambeau has repeatedly attracted negative attention in recent years due to his lack of “Fore”. But he does not see himself at fault. He points out that many professionals leave out the warning call on the tours if they think they are not endangering the spectators. “Most of the time when we hit shots, if we don’t think it’s going to get there, there’s really no reason to say anything and most guys don’t on tour.”
But why, then, does it seem that the Tour’s DeChambeau, in particular, is piling up the negative headlines? “You could, because of how far I’m hitting it, every single shot say ‘FORE’. Sometimes, it’s potentially more harmful because people move and they walk into the direction of the golf ball. When I see a ball and it’s close but I don’t think it’s going to get to someone, that’s when I’m like one, they can’t hear me because it’s into the wind.” DeChambeau implies in the podcast that he can judge the landing point of his balls surprisingly accurately from over 300 metres, especially considering that he doesn’t always care where the fairway is as long as he thinks he can hack his way out of the rough.
Even other professionals keep criticising him for his lack of warning calls:
It shouldn’t be difficult to understand that you should ALWAYS shout “fore” when you hit a shot into the crowds… @b_dechambeau When is someone going to do something about this? Hopefully before a spectator gets seriously hurt! pic.twitter.com/kSXnEe70XW
— Edoardo Molinari (@DodoMolinari) August 6, 2021
“Of course I care if I hit people”
Bryson DeChambeau has already hit a spectator with his ball in the past. Contrary to popular opinion, as DeChambeau expressed, he does care if he hurts someone with his shot. “I’ve hit people before and it’s been the worst possible feeling in the world, so don’t ever think I don’t care about fans.” Nevertheless, his motto seems to be to shout once too little rather than too often. After all, he does not want to break the concentration of other players with his frequent shouts.
“The one time that looks like I should be yelling fore and I don’t, sometimes that’s the one that I get the most slack for.” This begs the question, isn’t the criticism justified when it comes to the issue of safety, Bryson?