What Would It Take to Fix the LPGA's Issues?

[goblue107501]

For me, and I am not someone who watches at all, there isn't anything they can do. It is what it is. They could broadcast the biggest tournaments on network TV in primetime and I still wouldn't watch.

I like to compare it to mens and womens college basketball. Sure the womens game (b-ball) is fine, fundamentally sound, and exciting to watch at times, but I want to see the game played above the rim. Why, because I can't play above the rim. I can shoot three pointers and pass and get a rebound. What I can't do is grab a ball on an alley oop at the top of the square and dunk it. I can't shoot a fadeaway jumper from the corner over a guy that is 4 inches taller. I can't jump over a guy to get a tip in rebound for a basket.

Same thing in golf. These ladies have all the shots that the men do, but it just isn't as spectacular. I want to see drives that go 350, and 220 yard 5-irons on a par 3, stuff that I can't do. Watching a women golfer hit a drive 250 and then a 6-iron from 160 is nothing spectacular to watch, I can do that. I am as good as the women on tour? Not even close, not claiming to be, and not even making the comparison. They play great golf, it is just not as fun to watch as the men for me. I am just saying that I want to watch things that I am not capable of doing. I want to see people who can reach a 600 yard par 5 in two, not someone who hits driver/3-wood on a 515 par 5 and gets to the front edge, I can do that.

[kris]

Personally, I like watching the LPGA just as much as a Tiger/Phil -less PGA.......... that is, when it's being televised. I'm sure this has been mentioned, but all I see of the LPGA these days is 2 hours of coverage on the weekends of big tournaments. I see it maybe 2 times a month. coverage is almost non-existent.

Also, I was curious where the LPGA tournaments are played so I checked out the schedule online. They don't play nearly every week and some of the tournaments aren't even in the United States. Two of the majors are outside the U.S. and the McD's championship is not much of a major imo. the U.S. Open is the only real BIG LPGA tournament whereas all 4 PGA majors are big and some of the non-majors bring a major feel. No LPGA tournament does that.

Thirdly, marketing is key (as has been brought up by most). I personally have no problem with the Asian influx on tour, after all it's their job to play as well and on the highest stage that they can. However, many are no-names to most Americans. I hate to generalize but my father is a prime example. I flip on the LPGA and the whole top is Korean, which doesn't bother me, but he immediately remarks "who the hell are these people" and sometimes kids about their names. Now he is not a racist, he just doesn't know who the hell these players are! and I think many are in the same boat as he is.

Now, I love Paula, Morgan, Natalie, Michelle etc. not only because they are good-looking but also because they have personalities. I and many others know who they are. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for many of the other players.

[Shindig]

Also, I was curious where the LPGA tournaments are played so I checked out the schedule online. They don't play nearly every week and some of the tournaments aren't even in the United States. Two of the majors are outside the U.S. and the McD's championship is not much of a major imo. the U.S. Open is the only real BIG LPGA tournament whereas all 4 PGA majors are big and some of the non-majors bring a major feel. No LPGA tournament does that.

They have a major a short drive from us a week or two before the Masters every year. And every year, I want to go, but something crucial seems to come up.

[pittpanther]

A few thoughts on this topic:

- Maybe the PGA is benefiting from a few stars, and shouldn't think they are "smart" - they are just lucky. Think about the most-recent US Open. People watched on Sunday because Tiger, then Phil, were still in contention. Imagine if they had both played their way out of the tourney on Saturday - Sunday would have been a dozen no-names competing for the title. TVs across the country would have been changing channels.

- Maybe the LPGA can't be "fixed." Some sports just aren't going to grab the public. WNBA is never going to be big, LPGA is never going to be big. Soccer has been trying to "fix" itself for decades, to no avail. Everyone at least once in their life has bowled, but no one watches the PBA - do they need to be fixed?

- Too many men still see the game of golf as an escape from their wives/girlfriends. They don't really want their wives to get interested in golf, as the men see golf as their private "escape," something to be shared with the guys, not their wife. I see athletic women choosing Tennis over golf, because there are many more women already there, and they will feel accepted.

[iacas]

Two of the majors are outside the U.S. and the McD's championship is not much of a major imo.

Kraft-Nabisco, U.S. Women's Open, and the LPGA are all in the U.S.

Only women's major not in the U.S. - like the men - is the Women's British. Not two. And that "McD's" that you refer to is the equivalent to the PGA Championship. Don't be fooled by the title sponsorship - even the Women's British Open has a title sponsor - Weetabix or, this year I guess, Ricoh. It doesn't change much, but I don't think the gals feel like their majors are any less of a big deal just because they have title sponsors for three of 'em.

[sam004]

Good posts, enjoying the banter.
I think I understand better now, comparing NBA vs WNBA.
Not likely to watch any WNBA.

One of the issues about being on TV is probably the ratings.
If no one watches, there isn't going to be any better TV slots.

I do think that ESPN could do better to help.
They do hold alot of marketing power. Celebrity poker, or any poker for that matter,
is NOT a sport. I know it's popular. How about LPGA players in a poker tourney ?

[kris]

Kraft-Nabisco, U.S. Women's Open, and the LPGA are all in the U.S.

You're right. For some reason I thought the Evian Masters in France was a major. I guess that's a problem in itself, I watch the LPGA whenever I find it on and I still don't know all the majors!

[Shindig]

You're right. For some reason I thought the Evian Masters in France was a major. I guess that's a problem in itself, I watch the LPGA whenever I find it on and I still don't know all the majors!

And this confusion is something the LPGA has to deal with. No one on the men's side is confusing the Australian Masters with the event in Augusta. And you'll never see the Pizza Hut Masters as a men's major.

[Clambake]

In my opinion, the last couple LPGA commissioners have been administrators, not marketers, and that is the fundamental problem - a lack of market vision. They do not understand the key tennants of marketing such as understanding their target audience, what sells to that audience, how to create lasting product value, etc. In short, they don't know who the buyers are or even the product they have to sell.

Look at how successful David Stern has been with the NBA - whether one likes his methods or not, he has done a great job of creating an overall brand image of the NBA that is well targeted towards several markets. Steve Jobs is not an administrative CEO; he is a marketing visionary who understands how to create exceptional differention and value in the hypercompetitive segments of personal computing and wireless communications. Even Finchem does a better job at marketing the PGA, or at least he's surrounded himself with some people that grasp the concepts. There are behind-the-scenes stories that get told and draw interest; there are rivalries that are pumped up; there are David vs. Goliath stories that bring in interest; and there is superhuman golf ("These Guys are Good") which grabs the attention of the serious golfer. The PGA is able to market their brand to people who may only be casual golfers or not even play, but it is still interesting.

Women's tennis had a similar problem not too many years ago. Interest had fallen way off, and it feels like there was a similar analogy to the LPGA's problem now. They lost the Everetts, Austins, Hingis', etc. and were left with the Williams sisters and a whole bunch of eastern European names that Americans did not know and couldn't distinguish. The LPGA lost the Lopez', Davies, Kings, etc. and now had Anika and Lorena and a bunch of Korean names that were indistinguishable. Women's tennis somehow managed to turn their situation around, and even though the players haven't changed, they have managed to build a brand image and have started to get a lot more presence in the Tennis press, general sporting press, and TV.

But the LPGA is totally devoid of this market vision. It doesn't know how currently watches women's pro golf or who COULD be a future target audience. It does a terrible job of creating messaging within the current media - how often does one actually see LPGA stars gracing the covers of golf magazines, or featured prominantly in the articles? Where are the stories, the intrigue? In the trivial amount of marketing the LPGA really does, they don't know whether they're selling sex or golf - it's a completly mixed message, but neither is probably the right answer. They draw some of the hard core golf viewers, but nothing they do converts casual viewers or non-golfers.

How to fix the LPGA? Forget Condeleeza (an administrator) or Oprah (a great promoter but only of Oprah), and seek out the best marketing talent out there. Hire the head of marketing from a major brand like Coke, or Proctor & Gamble. Approach the business by really understanding the audience and associated consituency and figure out what the product is, then promote tirelessly.

[David in FL]

I don't think the issues can be fixed. Sorry.

Men make up the vast majority of the golf audience, and there just aren't enough of them impressed enough with the quality of play to convince them to turn on the TV, let alone spend the time and money to attend a tournament. Hot babes and sex appeal? They can get more of that by watching beach volleyball. I believe that golfers watch golf in order to see a pro doing something that they themselves can't do..........and laying up on a 485 yd par five or hitting an 8 iron 140 yds just isn't it.

[pittpanther]

First of all, nice posting. Even if I disagree with some of it, it's a well-thought-out response that deserves to be read.

Women's tennis had a similar problem not too many years ago. Interest had fallen way off, and it feels like there was a similar analogy to the LPGA's problem now. They lost the Everetts, Austins, Hingis', etc. and were left with the Williams sisters and a whole bunch of eastern European names that Americans did not know and couldn't distinguish. The LPGA lost the Lopez', Davies, Kings, etc. and now had Anika and Lorena and a bunch of Korean names that were indistinguishable. Women's tennis somehow managed to turn their situation around, and even though the players haven't changed, they have managed to build a brand image and have started to get a lot more presence in the Tennis press, general sporting press, and TV.

I think you overstate how far women's tennis had fallen, if indeed it fell at all. From Chris Evert, there was Navratilova, and Steffi Graf. These are names that even very casual sports fans will know. Hingis and Henin are not household names, but Williams sure is (both V and S). And although tennis has no shortage of "Ova's and Ic'es," Maria Sharipova has managed to become famous as well - but not until she learned English well enough to get through a TV commercial without embarrassing herself. Having legs that are 5-feet long certainly helps the tennis players, I admit. Even the "less attractive" players tend to have knockout bodies (think Jelena Jankovic, for example).

How to fix the LPGA? Forget Condeleeza (an administrator) or Oprah (a great promoter but only of Oprah), and seek out the best marketing talent out there. Hire the head of marketing from a major brand like Coke, or Proctor & Gamble. Approach the business by really understanding the audience and associated constituency and figure out what the product is, then promote tirelessly.

Agreed, although I doubt the LPGA could afford the Head of Sales & Marketing from a major consumer products company (wouldn't that be a 7-figure position?). They might have to settle for a frustrated "second-in-command" guy who is tired of waiting to get promoted to the big chair.

Since Annika left, there is NO ONE on the LPGA tour that is a household name. No One. The casual sports fan does not know Lorena Ochoa. They only know Creamer as the "girl who wears all-pink and play with a pink ball." This has to change. Personalities will drive the LPGA to popularity. And take a tip from tennis - more golf dresses, less knee-length shorts. No need to get sleazy, but don't hide the fact that these are women.

[ControlJunkie]

In my opinion, the last couple LPGA commissioners have been administrators, not marketers, and that is the fundamental problem - a lack of market vision. They do not understand the key tennants of marketing such as understanding their target audience, what sells to that audience, how to create lasting product value, etc. In short, they don't know who the buyers are or even the product they have to sell.

I definitely agree with everything you said here, except Finchem doing a better job marketing the PGA. As much as I hate to say this, the commercial success the PGA has had can be attributed to a that Woods guy, and at first his abilities. Then, Nike, Buick, EA Sports, and Gatorade pushed him even higher from there, which, whether people like to admit it or not, has made golf reach new heights in popularity. MJ did the same for the NBA, then it's players managed to screw that up. Dont get me wrong, I'm by no means saying golf and the PGA wouldnt be popular without Tiger, I'm just saying it probably wouldnt be

as commercially popular.

Women's tennis had a similar problem not too many years ago. Interest had fallen way off, and it feels like there was a similar analogy to the LPGA's problem now. They lost the

Are you talking about the guy that got in a fight with Jim Rome on his show????

But the LPGA is totally devoid of this market vision. It doesn't know how currently watches women's pro golf or who COULD be a future target audience. It does a terrible job of creating messaging within the current media - how often does one actually see LPGA stars gracing the covers of golf magazines, or featured prominantly in the articles? Where are the stories, the intrigue? In the trivial amount of marketing the LPGA really does,

This statement made me think of something - Cant they sell both? Think about it for a minute, all major sports do both pretty well. I know lots of women who will watch the NFL/MLB because "Tom Brady/Chipper Jones/flavor of the week looks hot in those pants". They see them on the cover of GQ or Us Weekly or whatever, and they drool. Sure, it gets people watching for the wrong reasons, but it also keeps the sports we love thriving. On one hand, it can get annoying, but on the other hand it saves us from having to change the channel from whatever game we're watching in favor of Lifetime.

[Clambake]

I definitely agree with everything you said here, except Finchem doing a better job marketing the PGA. As much as I hate to say this, the commercial success the PGA has had can be attributed to a that Woods guy, and at first his abilities. Then, Nike, Buick, EA Sports, and Gatorade pushed him even higher from there, which, whether people like to admit it or not, has made golf reach new heights in popularity. MJ did the same for the NBA, then it's players managed to screw that up.

I largely agree with your points here, but would add that Finchem was smart enough to build a marketing focus on Woods back, aided with other personalities like Mickelson, etc. And perhaps this is a key point - in all of these examples, it takes a variety of personalities to make the sport fly successfully, not just one or even two people with exceptional proficiency in the sport. If Tiger was surrounded with a somewhat faceless supporting cast, I doubt that the PGA would enjoy its recent success. Byrd and Magic needed each other as well as Kareem, McHale, etc. to build the success of the NBA, and Jordan came in on the tail of that to take it to another level. But I doubt he would have become as much of a legend if he was largely solo and didn't also have Pippen and other personalities, plus some strong team rivalries. What all of these sports have done is to market the personalities and build up the stories behind the scenes to build interest. People loved last year's US Open not only because Rocco gave Tiger a great fight, but the story behind Rocca of who he was, where he came from - he was an interesting personality. I doubt that there would have been nearly as much interest if it was a bland personality. In a way, the LPGA was after the right thing with their terribly misguided attempt at requiring English proficiency. They were attempting to boost the level of interest in the players as people and not just golf robots, but it was a dumb way to do it and backfired terribly. As to the question of selling both sex and golf and "Why can't they do both?", you're right. But it is very very hard to market a product with fundamentally different parts of the "value proposition". Light beer was an extremely difficult product to market until the geniuses behind "tastes great, less filling" hit on the magic method. The LPGA will likely have to rely on the ability to market both elements as you suggest to be successful, but that is a tough job. Perhaps that is why the current LPGA has failed at this - it isn't easy, and they don't have that marketing vision to pull it off.

[Guest]

I enjoy the LPGA, but agree about 2 items here:

1) Women's sports are not as exciting as men's sports which can limit their popularity
2) Golf is driven by personality + performance. Without both, you can't capture the attention of the viewing public.

What I think would rope folks into the LPGA is to bring in some nationalism. I'd love to see Korea vs U.S. in Solheim Cup-style team events. Nothing like a little flag-waving to inspire rabid fans. Position the Koreans as the evil robots versus American "apple pie". The current Solheim cup just doesn't do it.

The second thing is that the LPGA has to be a grass roots effort. Those girls must market themselves by making themselves available for every promotional opportunity.

[PEZGolf]

Still seems like little to no NBC/CBS/ABC/Fox coverage though, as opposed to seeing womens tennis on the big networks a little more frequently. More coverage on The Golf Channel and ESPN2 is definitely a step in the right direction though.

I believe that you are correct---the TV coverage is a step in the right direction. Once Carolyn Bivens is gone, the new Commissioner immediately needs to work on better national ads and a better tournament schedule. Here is one plus that needs to be fully utilized: American LPGA stars like Paula, Natalie, Cristie, Laura Diaz, etc. are not only good looking and excellent players, but they are very personable and "fan friendly". That needs to be fully marketed, and more exhibtions in large media markets is needed: New York, LA, Atlanta, etc. Natalie was on the "Celebrity Apprentice" show, Laura Diaz has been on the "Today" show, Paula and Natalie were involved with some modeling assignements, and more of this needs to be done. The Tour has no charismatic personality like Nancy Lopez, but these American gals are marketable.

[senorchipotle]

in all honesty, women's sports just aren't that fun to watch. except for tennis, it would not be at all a disservice to me if women's sports were not broadcast on television. yes, i know it sounds sexist. but whatever it is, it is reality. if someone handed you tickets to a lakers game and tickets to a sparks game, both occurring on the same day in different places, which would you choose? i rest my case.

[CarlSpackler]

Granted, the LPGA will never ascend to level of the PGA, but I think it is the most successful woman's sport from a broadcast perspective. How many other woman's pro sports are even semi-regularly broadcast?

Behold the power of golf!

Too dramatic?

Yeah.

[PEZGolf]

Granted, the LPGA will never ascend to level of the PGA, but I think it is the most successful woman's sport from a broadcast perspective. How many other woman's pro sports are even semi-regularly broadcast?

You are right, and that gets lost when people try to compare the LPGA to the PGA Tour, the NBA, etc.