Hi all from New Zealand (the home of Steve Williams) ... just read thru this thread and had to laugh ... as a Military man (20 years in RNZAF as of tomorrow) I am used to "doffing" my hat when inside a building or dining hall - it is part of our "tradition" and is also a sign of respect ... I am 38 and have always been taught to hold the door open for ladies, call people "Sir" & "Ma'am", etc.

Dblain - you say you don't necessarily follow tradition - do you celebrate July 4th? or Thanksgiving? are these not based on Americas proud traditions? I agree that society is changing and the "young'uns" don't always like to follow the rules but does that mean they shouldn't have to follow tradition as well? The removing of headress inside is a matter of respect as much as of etiquette and rather than being scorned it should be instilled in the youth of today - setting standards of decency gives everyone an idea of what is expected of them ... do we want to be a society of degenerates? (you give up one tradition or standard and very soon the house of cards will tumble).

Enough of that ... Steve Williams .... I see mentioned on this thread that he is full of himself, etc - is it not true that to be great in anything you do you have to have a certain amount of self-confidence? (quite often masquerades as arrogance) - think about the greatest sportsmen of all time and you will see it is true (Mr Ali anyone?) - SW is really a sportsman himself and has been at the top of his game for a very, very long time ... as for who is allowed to shake hands first - if it was a foursomes match would it be expected that the senior player be allowed to shake hands first??