Known for his fan-friendliness, Golf legend Phil Mickelson’s next-door-demeanour and his readiness to interact with fans during rounds has always been spoken about at length.  It has been said that Mickelson has been carrying Arnold Palmer’s fan-friendly legacy to connect with the crowd during rounds and creating lifetime memories for his fans. From oodles of fist-bumps to thumbs-up acknowledgement to the gallery to conversing with the crowd, he has done it all and with élan.

 

 

 

 

With Golf unleashing newer ways to reach out with the new-age audience, 4moles.com finds out from its live community: Do golfers need to interact more with the crowd during their rounds?

 

 

 

 

And we garnered quite interesting figures when we posted this poll on the 4moles.com community. While 43.75% feel that Golfers should connect with the fans during rounds as this will help them grow their fan-base, 56.25% feel that they shouldn’t as they might end up losing their focus on the game. 

 

 

 

 A few 4moles.com readers feel that it’s a good idea to build a connect with the new-age, millennial audience and make the game of Golf more appealing.

 

 

 

What’s wrong in interacting?

 

 

 

 

Ankur S, an active reader from Bangalore, enthuses, “What’s wrong in connecting with the fans in the most meaningful way? As long as you do not lose your focus, you can walk the course free of arrogance and acknowledging your fans or even interact with them. There’s a need to realize that it’s fans who make the game grow exponentially.  This is certainly one of the great ways to reach out to the younger audience and make the game more alluring and fun.”

 

 

 

A personal choice

 

 

 

 

With the ever-increasing popularity of mainstream sports like football and cricket reaching a fevered pitch, those in charge of the game of Golf are increasingly realizing the need to interact with fans during tournament rounds. However it’s certainly a personal choice, feels professional Golfer Gaurika Bishnoi. “Well, I personally think it all depends on each player and their personal attitudes. Some players get distracted quite easily while others don't,” says she.

 

 

Echoing similar sentiments, Professional Golfer Aman Raj quips, “I would say yes, but it depends on person to person and once a player performs the fan base increases automatically.”

 

Well, that’s an interesting one!

 

 

 

 

After the round interaction!

 

 

 

 

Many feel that being fan-friendly necessarily does not mean interacting with them within the rounds. Golf prodigy Pranavi Urs father Sharath Urs, shares, “Most of the Golfer's do enjoy interacting with the crowd once they finish the round or just before tee off. Once on the tee, their focus will be only on golf and nothing else. That's what I think.”

 

 

Professional Golfer Yuvraj Sandhu says, “ No, they might lose focus on their game.  Yes, small talk and jokes are always good to build that special rapport with your fans.”

 

 

Yes, connecting with a younger audience will certainly help the sport to grow. How about taking the social media route in doing so? Your inputs are solicited.