The 2023 U.S. Open wasn’t your typical major tournament. While we’re used to seeing packed crowds and buzzing atmospheres at the U.S. Open, the only buzzing at Los Angeles Country Club took place overhead.
From the opening round of the tournament, the smaller crowd and subdued atmosphere in Los Angeles led to a brutal viewing experience on television (and likely in person) with airplane noise audible nonstop on the NBC broadcast.
Fans eventually decided to look on Flight Aware to see what the source of the noise was, and we were indeed hearing a plane circling Los Angeles Country Club all tournament.
If you're wondering why it sounds like there is a plane buzzing directly above Los Angeles Country Club on the US Open broadcast, it's because there is a plane buzzing directly above Los Angeles Country Club on the US Open broadcast. pic.twitter.com/bM47xJJULp
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) June 18, 2023
Someone had to give an airplane the green light to circle the course for an entire weekend, which was a terrible decision. And it was downright shocking that NBC hadn’t figured out a way to minimize the noise over a four-day period.
You can’t blame golf fans for being upset about the incessant buzzing noise. It was relentless.