do you watch the lpga tour

[iacas]

Generally, most of their tournaments play between 6500 and 7200 yards. That is usually what the blues will give at most decent courses. Blacks at some of the "member" courses if you know what I mean.

They don't play 7200 yard courses. Some weeks it seems like half the LPGA Tour has to hit a hybrid from 150 yards. At 7200 yards, I wonder if any of them would break par.

My understanding is that the courses are actually much shorter than that. Usually something around or shorter than the Member's tees on the courses they play. A lot of these women hit driver around 225 yds. and playing over 6500 yards would be pretty tough.

I believe the average is 6400-6600, and that gap encapsulates the vast majority of the courses they play. I think the U.S. Open at Pine Needles or Newport may have been one of the longest courses they'd played and it topped out at 6675 or something like that. Not claiming that to be fact - just my recollection.

Most of these girls don't reach par fives measuring 475 yards on flat ground.

For the most part, it looks to me as if more of the ladies have really maximized their full swing fundamentals, than the men have. I also think their short games are not nearly as good as the men. I'm not sure but the difference in short game might be strength.

Or necessity. Most LPGA tournaments I've seen don't have the greenside rough, the penal bunkers, or the tucked flags like we see on the PGA Tour. If they have one pitch shot and one chip and run, they're usually okay. They probably don't spend the time practicing because the shots they face aren't as exotic.

Plus, the LPGA Tour simply isn't as competitive. On the PGA Tour, you MUST get up and down more frequently just to keep your card. On the LPGA Tour, people routinely seem to make the cut at several over par. The gap between Lorena Ochoa and those who keep their cards is MUCH larger than between Tiger and his card-keepers on the PGA Tour.

[ganjagolfer]

i like the dinah shore tradition of the winner jumping in the pond after winning

[Avid Golfer]

I sure would like to know why the ladies use the caddies so much to line up their shots. It is the one thing that bothers me about the LPGA, it seems having a caddie is advantage enough without having someone line up every shot for you.

Most of the caddies that do that don't do a good job, so its not as beneficial as you might think. I've attended a number of LPGA tournaments in person, and I've seen a lot of the caddies say the player's alignment is ok when in fact it is way off. Very few of them actually tell their players when they are misaligned.

[thor]

love it...............

[tm22721]

Ochoa averaged 285 yd. drives last weekend and she only weighs 130 lbs !! They showed one of her drives in slo mo, the strength of her core muscles produces tremendous clubhead lag.

Their rhythm is better than Els, especially Seon Hwa Lee. Whoever coaches the Koreans does a great job.

[lamebums]

I sure would like to know why the ladies use the caddies so much to line up their shots. It is the one thing that bothers me about the LPGA, it seems having a caddie is advantage enough without having someone line up every shot for you.

That is something that bugs me. The LPGA plays painfully slow. Some of them won't putt out a twelve inch tap-in, preferring to mark their ball instead. I've seen Annika do this many times, and Paula more often than I care to remember. Please...put it in. Play's slow enough, and the commentary does twice as much talking just to fill up the time.

[ganjagolfer]

That is something that bugs me. The LPGA plays painfully slow. Some of them won't putt out a twelve inch tap-in, preferring to mark their ball instead. I've seen Annika do this many times, and Paula more often than I care to remember. Please...put it in. Play's slow enough, and the commentary does twice as much talking just to fill up the time.

i would say this would be the responsibility of the tv coverage not to pay so much attention to insignificant events, i don't think this scenario though is unique to the lpga and see the men do this too, not that i'm accusing you of being sexist for noticing it with the gals. my big gripe with this is i would rather see drives and fairway shots and tv coverage in general seems to focus on the final score of the hole and hence the insignificant tap-ins

[Ruari]

Last May I played Machynys, S Wales, which hosted the Ladies Championship of Europe for three years to 2007. No pretense that the LET is the same standard as the LPGA but that course can be challenging when it's windy. The 18th has a long carry over water, into the wind (one of the two days we played), we were playing off tees forward of the LET and the only people in our group who stayed dry were those who bailed out to the left - everyone who went for it ended up in the drink.
The ladies may not be up to the length of the men but they can still show us a thing or two!
(And no, I'm not short off the tee, in case anyone was wondering... )

[Hustle]

i do if lorena is playing, love her head twist at the beginning of the downswing

I could not have said it better. It seems that if you want to really see just how far a ball can go with little or no effort then just flip on the LPGA....

[Hustle]

That is something that bugs me. The LPGA plays painfully slow. Some of them won't putt out a twelve inch tap-in, preferring to mark their ball instead. I've seen Annika do this many times, and Paula more often than I care to remember. Please...put it in. Play's slow enough, and the commentary does twice as much talking just to fill up the time.

On your next round, try and take as much time as they do over your put and I promise you will make more. To me that is where they have the greatest elevation in their game..... PATIENCE.

[lamebums]

On your next round, try and take as much time as they do over your put and I promise you will make more. To me that is where they have the greatest elevation in their game..... PATIENCE.

Possibly. I've heard both sides of playing fast. Some people say to take their time, relax and concentrate. Others say to go ahead and hit it. If you've got nothing to worry about you're not going to worry about it. If you're standing there over a three foot putt for a minute, all you're doing is thinking about how you're going to miss it and being afraid of the consequences should you miss.

I'm of the latter--and as an extension of that, I hate slow play, which is why I jump on anyone and everyone at any opportunity I get (including the PGA Tour, which is just as slow). Nothing ruins my game quite like sitting on a tee for 20 minutes while waiting for the group ahead to clear off. But back on topic--whether or not I watch the LPGA--I watch if Natalie, Paula, or any of the other cuties are playing.

[Klean]

I love watching the women play. Especially when Lorena is playing. Her swings off the tee are a thing of beauty!

[Avid Golfer]

That is something that bugs me. The LPGA plays painfully slow. Some of them won't putt out a twelve inch tap-in, preferring to mark their ball instead. I've seen Annika do this many times, and Paula more often than I care to remember. Please...put it in. Play's slow enough, and the commentary does twice as much talking just to fill up the time.

If you go watch a live LPGA event you'll see that most of the players aren't slow. On Saturday Annika's group moved quickly and had to wait for the group in front of them to clear the green before they could hit. When they have to wait at the next tee box there is no reason to rush the putts. If you watch Annika (or Paula) live you'll see them doing the putter point (asking the other player if it is ok to step in a certain spot) after which they tap in their putts. (If you watched Sunday's final round coverage they showed Annika doing the stradle tap-in). The other thing (that you don't see on TV) is that some times those 12-inch tap-ins as you call them are slick down hillers with a lot of break (but you can't see that since many of the camera views are from above the players instead of level with the ground/green).

I've followed both Sorenstam and Creamer at golf tournaments, and neither one of them is a slow player. If anyone needs to speed up the putting process it's Jim Furyk on the PGA Tour (he's much worse than any LPGA player I've ever seen).

[lovemylabs]

All the time. Two reasons:

Could this have been better stated? I think not. Well said I agree one thousand percent.

[LottaBalata]

I had a Natalie Gulbis swimsuit calendar, does that count? Lol. . .seriously though. I think Ochoa is an amazing golfer. Wish I had 1/2 of the grace that's in her swing.

But if Gulbis and Creamer are playin, I'm watchin'.

[Ruari]

That is something that bugs me. The LPGA plays painfully slow.

I think this year's Masters final round may have taken the lead in that particular contest...

5 hours for two-balls?? Zzzzzzzz

[Ceej]

If I want to watch golf and nothing else is on I will.

[Harry Longshanks]

All the time. Often before the PGA because the field is more competitive.
And they are nicer to look at.