"How about a little noise? How do you expect a man to putt?"
About this Quote
The specific intent is tactical bravado. By requesting “a little noise,” Ruth seizes control of the atmosphere and dares the audience to test him. It’s a psychological feint: if he misses, the racket becomes the excuse; if he makes it, the feat looks superhuman. Either outcome protects the legend. The phrasing “How do you expect a man to putt?” is mock-reasonable, a faux complaint that flips social etiquette into a punchline. He’s pretending the crowd is being inconsiderate by not heckling enough.
The subtext is pure Ruth: performance over piety. In an era when sports heroes were becoming mass entertainment, Ruth understood that spectators weren’t just watching outcomes; they were watching personality. He turns pressure into theater and frames himself as the kind of athlete who needs chaos to feel normal.
Contextually, it fits the larger Ruth mythology across sports, especially in exhibition settings and golf anecdotes: the larger-than-life slugger swaggering into a precision game and bending it to his charisma. It’s less about putting than about authorship of attention.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Ruth, Babe. (2026, February 16). How about a little noise? How do you expect a man to putt? FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/how-about-a-little-noise-how-do-you-expect-a-man-30021/
Chicago Style
Ruth, Babe. "How about a little noise? How do you expect a man to putt?" FixQuotes. February 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/how-about-a-little-noise-how-do-you-expect-a-man-30021/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"How about a little noise? How do you expect a man to putt?" FixQuotes, 16 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/how-about-a-little-noise-how-do-you-expect-a-man-30021/. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.



