LPGA Tour Summit

[PEZGolf]

100 members of the LPGA Tour attended the MANDATORY meeting at Kingsmill Resort last Saturday. Like any business during this severe recession, the Tour is trying to figure out "how to cope". They are correct that all the players are responsible for helping to attract and KEEP corporate sponsors and fans. My own view of this is that the players that I have met and closely observed have been great at doing this: Annika, Juli Inkster, Paula, Natalie, Laura Diaz, Cristie Kerr, etc. I have commented on this forum before that I have found almost all of the Tour's players to be very "fan friendly".

Personally, I found it interesting that one of the topics was social networking on Twitter, with Morgan Pressel talking about her experiences. Let us face it---modern technology and the internet have drastically changed communication and the ways of doing business. For example, forums like this one give us the opportunity to share views on golf instantly with many others. Before the internet, this process was more limited or took more time between statement and response.

As I have stated before, I am a huge fan of the LPGA Tour and I wish them the best. It is great that Nancy Lopez and Judy Rankin were there to offer advice. One person who is NEVER reluctant to voice her opinions is Dottie Pepper, and she has the best interests of the Tour in mind when she does it.

Anyone here got any original ideas for helping the Tour to survive and rebound from the effects of this recession?

[BallStriker]

Anyone here got any original ideas for helping the Tour to survive and rebound from the effects of this recession?

Topless Sundays

......sorry, couldn't resist.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Did they invite any of the korean players? Or is the LPGA still blaming its failure on them?

[Elvisliveson]

Anyone here got any original ideas for helping the Tour to survive and rebound from the effects of this recession?

Yes, make it like professional wrestling and have Natalie Gulbis, Erica Blasberg or Anna Rawson win every week.

[jorruss]

The English rule they tried to install and promptly retracted was controversial, but sadly it's probably needed. The Korean girls are taking the LPGA by storm, thanks to Se Ri Pak paving the way in the 90s. They are very quiet, keep to themselves and show no emotion on the course. That's just the way they are, and while it makes for great golfers, it's not very fan friendly. Just like Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg were criticized in tennis for not being more flamboyant or outgoing, the Korean girls get the same treatment.

I think what we need is some fan friendly features, like on course interviews such as on the Champions and Nationwide tours, and more personal bios to let the fans into the lives of the players a bit more. Maybe we can show them that they aren't golf robots after all and have a personality!

More prime time LPGA golf would be good too. The girls got no TV time for weeks after the thrilling Nabisco finish. We get a great tournament final round like that and then they go off the air for over a month. Not good planning.

The LPGA Tour is struggling to find an identity since Annika has retired. Paula Creamer is dealing with health issues and hasn't been on her game, Natalie Gulbis hasn't reached her potential yet, and Michelle Wie hasn't stepped in to be the next superstar yet. Will she ever? Who knows.

Some of the other young players I know that have lots of star qualities seem to be busy partying and enjoying life, rather than focusing on being the best golfer they can be. I won't mention their names, after all it's their right to live how they want. They could be working hard and competing for championships (they have the talent), but instead they choose to skate by making a cut here and there and cashing a nice check.

I would also like to see more PGA/LPGA tournaments, like the old JC Penny classic at Innisbrook. That was a great way to show off the best golf in the US in a more casual atmosphere.

[pittpanther]

Well, I'm not a Marketing guy, so I'm not going to provide a solution, just some food for thought.

First of all, Men's Golf should not fall into the trap of thinking that the popularity they have now will continue indefinitely. Once Tiger leaves the game, the PGA is at risk of falling back into being irrelevant to the majority of sports fans, only watched on TV by people who play golf. I hope the PGA is not sitting around patting themselves on the back for a job well done, when the reality is that Tiger brought fans to the game, and will take those fans away when he retires.

Second, spectator sports thrive on personalities. LPGA has no personalities that transcend the hardcore golf fan. No one outside of the hardcore fan knows Natalie, or Ochoa, or anyone else on the tour. The closest they had was Annika. How do you create personalities? I don't know, but Nike does a good job of it...

Third, spectator sports thrive on conflict. People tune in to watch the personalities they like, or hate, battle each other. If they don't have a vested interest in the outcome, then why would the casual sports fan watch. Most people watch Tiger to see dramatic finishes and comebacks, not just to watch him whip the field by 20 strokes. Some other people watch Tiger to see if he can be beaten. LPGA has none of this conflict - the casual sports fan doesn't know the players, so has no vested interest in the outcome. That lack of "skin in the game" by the sports fan cannot be sustained, and eventually they will stop tuning in.

LPGA has to market "personalities" to make sports fans care.

Women's Tennis is arguably MORE popular then Men's. What are they doing right? Well, they have "personality." Everyone knows the Williams sisters. Everyone knows Sharipova. We all knew Martina, Steffi, etc., and it has NOTHING to do with their looks.

By the way, I reference the "casual sports fan" very often. If you think the LPGA should not attempt to target this demographic, then you will probably disagree with my points above.

[PEZGolf]

Well, I'm not a Marketing guy, so I'm not going to provide a solution, just some food for thought.

Good post. You know, I have thought about better marketing for the LPGA Tour,and I am not sure what the answer is. The Tour and its young stars have tried to reach out to the casual sports fan and the general populace. Laura Diaz was interviewed on the "Today" show, and Natalie and Paula have gone to modeling shows. Natalie's calendars did create some publicity, but overall, most people do not know the players on the LPGA Tour and do not care to watch them. The only players on that Tour who have created a "buzz" of publicity were The Babe (Babe Didrickson Zaharias) and Nancy Lopez. Each of them had charisma, and casual sports fans watched them live (the Babe was a star before TV coverage existed) or in Nancy's case, on TV. They had special personalities that people could relate to. The Babe played in the 1950's and Nancy in the 1970's and 80's. Stars like them appear only once in a great while. Annika did rise above the normal lack of interest in women's golf by playing in the Colonial, and then she was invited to the Skins Game that is shown on Thanksgiving weekend. She was "good for the game", but I do not think that interest in her approached the "star status" of The Babe and Nancy. The bottom line is this: I do not know what the solution is. Maybe there is none.

[HSip]

I'm a fan of the LPGA - try to watch whenever I can. I think that one of the biggest problems for the LPGA (and perhaps for the PGA someday) is that so many people just do not get it - golf I mean. If they haven't played themselves it looks like a slow, tedious game. Most of the other sports people have some sort of connection to the game, they've played in school etc. It always amazes me how many people I talk to that have never picked up a golf club let alone played a round of golf. It may be too late for the LPGA but they need to get women and better yet girls to get involved in playing the sport. Most people I know who play also love to watch.

[PEZGolf]

I'm a fan of the LPGA - try to watch whenever I can. I think that one of the biggest problems for the LPGA (and perhaps for the PGA someday) is that so many people just do not get it - golf I mean. If they haven't played themselves it looks like a slow, tedious game. Most of the other sports people have some sort of connection to the game, they've played in school etc. It always amazes me how many people I talk to that have never picked up a golf club let alone played a round of golf. It may be too late for the LPGA but they need to get women and better yet girls to get involved in playing the sport. Most people I know who play also love to watch.

Good point. In most cases where a girl plays golf, it is because she learned by playing with both parents or at least one, and that often is her Dad. That was true with my daughter. I have asked the question about why teen age girls do not play golf to Dottie Pepper, Lynn Marriott, and others and the answer is always the same-----girls like to be with their friends. They like to be on teams, and not play individual sports. They do not want to play or practice alone, unlike guys. So, unless their gal pals play golf, they have NO interest in the game. To change that, schools and golf courses have to convince groups of girls to try the game. If a few of them agree to do that, then there is a chance they will like golf. Otherwise, forget about it, except in rare cases, like my daughter, Dottie, and Lynn, all of whom had to play on the boys team in high school, as the only girl.

[HSip]

I'm trying to get my 5 yr old granddaughter interested. Just going to try to keep it fun and not push her too hard. We're trying to start up a junior golf league hopefully the girls will be as interested as the boys.

[PEZGolf]

Today, I was reading an article about Fred Couples in the November 2003 issue of "Golf" magazine and came upon an interview that Peter Kessler did with Jan Stephenson about marketing the LPGA Tour! Here are some excerpts that are of interest:

Kessler: "Should the LPGA actively sell sex?"

Stephenson: "We have to promote sex appeal. It's a fact of life. The people who watch are predominantly male, and they won't keep watching if the girls aren't beautiful."

Kessler: "What's the matter with the LPGA's marketing?"

Stephenson: "I was talking to a mutliple-major winning PGA Tour pro who said, "Men are men. They watch the majority of sports. If you want them to watch women, the women will have to play great and look great."--------The answer is that this is entertainment, and female entertainers have an obligation to look as great as they possibly can."

That was almost six years ago. Natalie, Paula, Cristie Kerr, Laura Diaz, and some of the other Americans have listened and are trying to do market themselves as well as possible. So, it is not from lack of trying that the LPGA Tour's TV ratings are what they are. Again, I am not certain if there is a sure answer to boost their popularity.

[Harold]

I think that one of the biggest problems for the LPGA (and perhaps for the PGA someday) is that so many people just do not get it - golf I mean.

I think golf viewership is also an issue among those that do get it. Given the choice of watching golf or playing golf what are most on this board going to do here? Play golf most likely. How about someone who falls in the casual golfer category? Probably something else. If it's not college football it's the NFL. Then it's college basketball. Than it's the NHL and Pro basketball. Than you have baseball, NASCAR, MMA, American Idol and so on and so on. And that's just here is the US. The rest of the world has their own sports viewing cycles. That's just TV viewing too. Too many other hobbies and sports to get involved in and that just continually puts the LPGA at the bottom rung viewershipwise. As mentioned earlier the PGA would also likely be there if not for Tiger and they got a taste of what life will be like sans Tiger when he was out with his knee injury.

[PEZGolf]

I think golf viewership is also an issue among those that do get it. Given the choice of watching golf or playing golf what are most on this board going to do here? Play golf most likely. How about someone who falls in the casual golfer category? Probably something else. If it's not college football it's the NFL. Then it's college basketball. Than it's the NHL and Pro basketball. Than you have baseball, NASCAR, MMA, American Idol and so on and so on. And that's just here is the US. The rest of the world has their own sports viewing cycles. That's just TV viewing too. Too many other hobbies and sports to get involved in and that just continually puts the LPGA at the bottom rung viewershipwise. As mentioned earlier the PGA would also likely be there if not for Tiger and they got a taste of what life will be like sans Tiger when he was out with his knee injury.

You are right. I belong to a not-for-profit fraternal organization. When some of us are there trying to watch golf, we are banished to watch the little, old TV. The non-golfer outnumber the golfers so we have NO choice but to move to the little TV.

[PEZGolf]

I'm trying to get my 5 yr old granddaughter interested. Just going to try to keep it fun and not push her too hard. We're trying to start up a junior golf league hopefully the girls will be as interested as the boys.

Congratulations! You are doing the right things. I hope that your granddaughter does grow to love golf. If there were more people like you, women's golf would really blossom into what it is capable of being.

[HSip]

Thanks. It's such a thrill to see someone's eyes light up when they sink a putt or strike a ball well. If we can get someone started early in the game of golf - it can be a life long interest if not passion. It really is rewarding hopefully more golfers (the First Tee does a great job) will mentor someone and grow this great game from the ground up. Cheers