Remember last year when the announcement for this year’s tickets to the prestigious Ryder Cup was made? It was bad, right? Fans were positively outraged, citing concerns that it could potentially alienate them and tarnish the tour’s integrity. But all of that fell on deaf ears. The PGA slapped a hefty price tag ($750) on a single-day ticket (per person) and called it a day. What’s more? That was the cheapest ticket available.

If that wasn’t enough to make you mad, let us tell you that some fans consider golf a sport of the rich. Why do we say that? Well, for instance, despite the soaring ticket prices and the outrage, the tickets sold out within hours of launch. With at least 50,000 fans expected to attend the tournament, the Ryder Cup will probably generate a whopping $100 million in revenue!

Looking at this, Ryder Cup Director Bryan Karns defended it by saying they did a lot of thinking about it. He added that this will also help fund PGA of America’s next four years. See, it’s all business.

Is it sport or pure business for the big players? Although we can go on and on about this, there’s something else we need to add to the conversation, and it is rather interesting. Recently, Dan Rapaport sat down for a podcast interview on The Rough Cut podcast and discussed this very issue. Interestingly, Rapaport defended it by mentioning this one thing.

When the host, Peter Finch, mentioned the New York crowd, noting that these fans can get “massively into it” due to their passion for golf, he eventually asked, “Do you think it could go over the edge?” Rapaport quickly agreed, saying, “I think it will. I think it will. I think something’s going to happen. Hopefully, it’s, you know, hopefully no one gets hurt or anything like that.” He then added that the $750 price tag for general tickets will keep all the “hooligans” off the course.

But he made an interesting point in his take, noting how close the fans can get to the golfers during their play. “Like all it takes is one a—ole to scream at the wrong time and the guy hits the ball out of bounds. It’s kind of amazing it hasn’t happened more honestly.” This is also a concern, however. Although the cases are rare, they do happen. According to Rapaport, with the expensive prices, the tour can filter out true golf enthusiasts from troublemakers.

Let’s take a look at a few incidents that support Rapaport’s claims.

The world of golf and hooligans

With the hooligans back in the conversation, let’s take a look at one of the latest incidents. Back in January, Thorndon Park Golf Club in the UK became a victim. A pair of vandals entered the course through a gap in the property’s perimeter and destroyed seven greens and 65% of the course’s fairways. Local golfer Ashley Mullin estimated the damage to be between £50,000 and £100,000.

A similar incident happened last year on the public golf course in Delaware. The individuals, five in number, entered the course on their $8,000 dirt bikes and destroyed the greens.

But this is not a recent problem. Think back to the 2018 season when Rory McIlroy voiced his concerns about it. During the Arnold Palmer Invitational, McIlroy mentioned that a fan kept yelling his wife’s name while he was playing. The Irish golfer said, “When the comments get personal and people get a little bit rowdy, it can get a little much.” Similarly, Justin Thomas had a fan removed from the course during the Honda Classic that same year for yelling “get in the bunker!” during one of his shots. No wonder McIlroy demanded that alcohol shouldn’t be sold on the greens.

With names like Scottie Scheffler playing this Ryder Cup, what do you think of Dan Rapaport’s reasoning?