Women Golfers

[RitaBragg]

I’ve been watching more LPGA events lately, and I have to say I’m genuinely impressed by the level of skill, discipline, and sportsmanship shown by women golfers. Players like Nelly Korda, Jin Young Ko, and Lydia Ko have games that are technically sound, mentally sharp, and incredibly inspiring.

It got me thinking about how women’s golf has evolved and how much more visibility and respect it deserves—not just on TV, but at local clubs and among fans in general. The precision and strategic play on the LPGA Tour sometimes get overshadowed by driving distance in men’s golf, but if you watch closely, there’s a lot to admire. Who are some of your favorite women golfers, past or present?

Do you think women’s golf gets enough attention?

What can the golfing community do to support and promote the women’s game more?

[bkuehn1952]

The LPGA probably doesn’t get enough attention. They need a superstar to start getting larger audiences.

I always liked Annika Sorenstam and tried to catch her tournaments.

At least in Michigan, I think there is a lot of support for junior golf, both girls and boys.Title IX has brought a lot of resources to the women’s college game. The resources are there if the girls and women want to grow the game.

[iSank]

Good Topic; My wife and I catch about the same amount of PGA and LPGA, mostly depending on the quality of the tourney. For the LPGA I enjoy seeing almost all of them do well. When I get a bit wild with my swing I do try to picture Inbee Park with her swing. Years ago, I volunteered at the LPGA event at Koolina, and it was an enjoyable 4 laps. Half the holes a tablecloth could have been thrown over all 3 of their balls after the drive. That in 17 tourneys they have had 17 different winners really shows you how "On any given Sunday", one of them can walk away with the title.

Will

[ChetlovesMer]

On 7/3/2025 at 10:41 PM, bkuehn1952 said:

The LPGA probably doesn’t get enough attention.

I agree.

Personally, I've been watching the LPGA for a couple decades. My wife and I attended the US Women's Open in Edina, MN way back in 2008. 

Two comments: 
1 - I also enjoy another women's sport; Softball. The College Softball World Series is a big event in our household. Interestingly, my niece plays softball and my nephew plays baseball. Often we go watch them both play the same weekend. Both games will have the same start time. I have to say I enjoy the softball more than the baseball. The women are on a 20 second pitch clock. Yeah, you read that right 20 seconds. Plus, the players stand in the dugout the entire game and sing and/or chant stuff the whole time. Tons of energy. The game moves along at a fast pace. We often watch my niece's entire game and then go over to watch my nephew and they are in the 3rd inning. The baseball seems to move at a crawl after coming over from the softball game. 

2 - My daughter and I have taken to watching the youtube channel "The Golf Girl Games". Great content. Very entertaining. If you haven't watched them yet, I recommend them. 

[ConorHealy]

Yes, agree that there should be more TV coverage. I think the fact that they don't have the swing speed of their male counterparts makes it (slightly) more relatable, in that the rough is more of a penalty and the lack of distance means they are often pulling longer irons or lumber to get home on par fives.

I think this season has been a bit tough on the LPGA to build much of a narrative with no one winning more than one tournament. And you could argue that they didn't really make hay with Nelly's run of wins, which should have been crowding out Caitlin Clark for female sports story of last year.

One piece that they need to fix is the slow play - I would argue there is less player power compare to PGAT, so I don't understand why they aren't hitting the repeat offenders with stroke penalties. They have taken some strides in that respect this season, so let's hope Kessler continues the momentum.

[ChetlovesMer]

8 hours ago, ConorHealy said:

I think the fact that they don't have the swing speed of their male counterparts makes it (slightly) more relatable, in that the rough is more of a penalty and the lack of distance means they are often pulling longer irons or lumber to get home on par fives.

I don't see the swing speed as any advantage or disadvantage either way. While they don't have the "WOW!" factor that some of the men have. i.e. "Did you see Rory's 380 yard drive on 17!" That kind of thing. They do, however, play the courses shorter. I think their average LPGA Tour course is like 6400 yards, compared to 7300 for the men. So when I watch it on TV it looks kinda the same. They hit driver then 8 iron, just like the men hit driver then 8 iron. I don't really care that the hole is 100 yards shorter or whatever. 

Let me put it another way. If I was to watch the WNBA and then watch the NBA, I would immediately notice how much slower the players are. How much more the men play above the rim. etc... Why? Because the court is the same size. The hoop is the same height. When I watch the LPGA Tour and then watch the PGA Tour, I don't notice (as much). They hit driver then 5 iron into a par-5 just like the men do. Because the course is smaller, it looks similar. BTW - The same is true of softball vs baseball. The softball diamond is much smaller. So, the line shots look similar, there are equally as many home runs, because the field is smaller it looks pretty similar in play. 

9 hours ago, ConorHealy said:

One piece that they need to fix is the slow play 

Here's where to my way of thinking, they can make some hay. If the LPGA Tour was to lead the way in terms of pace of play they may be able to add additional excitement to their game and possibly start to make some converts. I'm an idiot who has never been a sports commissioner. But it seems that when MLB noticed their games started approaching 4 hours and Major League Soccer was always done in under 2 hours. They made changes to try to improve and it seems to be working. 

With the LPGA Tour it seems you either need exciting personalities or need exciting play. If they improve the pace of play issue it could add to exciting play. Again, I'm no expert but that seems like an area they could lead instead of follow. It does seem they've recognized this. So, we shall see. 

[ConorHealy]

On 7/12/2025 at 12:48 AM, ChetlovesMer said:

I don't see the swing speed as any advantage or disadvantage either way. While they don't have the "WOW!" factor that some of the men have. i.e. "Did you see Rory's 380 yard drive on 17!" That kind of thing. They do, however, play the courses shorter. I think their average LPGA Tour course is like 6400 yards, compared to 7300 for the men. So when I watch it on TV it looks kinda the same. They hit driver then 8 iron, just like the men hit driver then 8 iron. I don't really care that the hole is 100 yards shorter or whatever. 

Yes, agreed. But I do think the fact they have less power behind them makes rough and bunkers more of a penalty, so they have to play the courses as intended rather than being able to bully them in the same way.

A good final day the Women's Open. After the day one leaderboard it wasn't a surpise to see a Japanese winner, but always nice to see some UK representation on the leaderboard at the Open too.

Thought the course showed up nicely, and think the lower trajectory of the women's game really suits links golf. A good watch.

[ChetlovesMer]

14 hours ago, ConorHealy said:

Yes, agreed. But I do think the fact they have less power behind them makes rough and bunkers more of a penalty, so they have to play the courses as intended rather than being able to bully them in the same way.

A good final day the Women's Open. After the day one leaderboard it wasn't a surpise to see a Japanese winner, but always nice to see some UK representation on the leaderboard at the Open too.

Thought the course showed up nicely, and think the lower trajectory of the women's game really suits links golf. A good watch.

You and I are in agreement. 👍😁👍