Male Scratch Golfer on the LPGA Tour

[inthehole]

BOOBS.

Has anyone said boobs create a huge disadvantage yet, or are we afraid CBS will fire us? Because they sure as hell do. The bigger they are, the less stank you can put on your drive, I assure you. They get in the way of putting too. Speaking of which, I'm hitting it about 150 yards on my best strikes as a total novice. How's that sound?

sorry, don't mean to offend anyone, but couldn't resist ...

On a more serious note ... I agree with Moxie as I've seen this first hand.   My wife complains of this on a regular basis ... it is a fairly substantial disadvantage to be well proportioned on a golf course.      Take note ... with a few notable exceptions who won't be singled out here, you typically see a particular body type on the LPGA tour - athletic, slim ... most don't have to deal with this particular problem.

[iacas]

sorry, don't mean to offend anyone, but couldn't resist ...

Let's please stick to the topic.

[Moxie Dawn]

Not offended and don't mean to take it off track. But the example of Laura Davies isn't exactly good. She's a stout lady, but her boobs are not actually that huge in comparison to the rest of her build. I'm not trying to be insulting because I'm a "healthy" gal myself, but the fact is, I can't straighten my left arm comfortably. Ask @zipazoid . It's an issue. But I do appreciate that video posted above about boobs and swing. Also, I have recently invested in a very high-dollar sport bra that may also be of some help. But let's do be square about it. As someone else posted, the typical LPGA golfer doesn't have very many boobies at all.

Enough of a tangent, and I apologize for taking it in this direction. Again, I think this sort of speculation is a great mental exercise and opens up many interesting related topics. But I do fully understand @DrvFrShow in regard to the overall topic of women's golf. We compete against our on sex for a reason, and it should be judged in that fashion. So far in the thread I think you fellas have been very respectful to the professional ladies tour. Good job.

[iacas]

Not offended and don't mean to take it off track.

Your words and actions don't align. This thread is not about breasts.

[jsgolfer]

Your words and actions don't align. This thread is not about breasts.

Do we need another thread for boobs?

Just kidding.

[iacas]

Do we need another thread for boobs?

If the women want to discuss how their breasts affect their swings, they should start it.

Let's keep this one on the LPGA and how well (or poorly) a male might compete if he theoretically was given a chance.

[DrvFrShow]

Against a top 100 player, I think the male scratch golfer would win. Against Lydia Ko, she'd kick his ass.

[rkim291968]

Against a top 100 player, I think the male scratch golfer would win. Against Lydia Ko, she'd kick his ass.

At last year's final round in Swinging Skirt tournament in SF, I was walking along a few yards away from Ko to the final 3 holes where the championship was decided.   She was incredibly composed as if she is just enjoying a casual round.  I think her father (who was there, too) was visibly nervous on every hole.  Lewis who eventually lost was all business in her body language.  Either approach works as their LPGA success shows.

(off topic I know - later, I came home and watched the recording and saw myself in the crowd a few times.  made my day.)

[Vinsk]

In regards to lucy Li ( 11 yr old qualifier for US Open): Among the pros whom Li beat here were Mika Miyazato, who has three top-10 U.S. Open finishes and won $1.3 million in 2012; Kristy McPherson, who won more than $800,000 in 2009; and Marta Silva, the NCAA national player of the year in 2011. This just makes me wonder what a scratch male golfer could do. I mean criminey, an 11 year old girl?

[Strandly]

Speaking of which, I'm hitting it about 150 yards on my best strikes as a total novice. How's that sound?

With a driver?  That's pretty bad even for a woman imo.

[DrvFrShow]

Actually that's quite average. She said she's a complete novice. Drivers are especially difficult for novices with slow club head speeds due to their lack of loft. She should have been fit for a 13.5* driver with a +2 degree adjustment and they should have adjusted it for her to 15.5 degrees.

[Vinsk]

Against a top 100 player, I think the male scratch golfer would win. Against Lydia Ko, she'd kick his ass.

I don't disagree with this. I do think it's interesting to consider the scratch golfer as each would be different obviously. Iacas made a good point about the advantage the scratch would gain by playing the ladies tees. Consideri: 1. If he's a real accurate driver....he'd be hitting wedge/SW on his approach on most of the holes. If his best area is short game...he'd be a strong player. 2. If he's not strong with his driver...he could hit 3W and still have a short iron...again..strong contender. The question would be...would Lydia Ko be able to consistently play her 6/7i approach shots better than his 9/W? For the scratch golfer who really only has a weakness off the tee but is a fantastic short gamer...giving him an easier tee shot might really boost his chances.

[iacas]

The question would be...would Lydia Ko be able to consistently play her 6/7i approach shots better than his 9/W?

Yes.

No doubt in my mind that this guy would not be contending to win many if any tournaments at all. As I've said, he's not at the level of the TOP LPGA Tour players. He is, IMO, at the middle level, though, because of the significant drop in talent from the top 30 to those from 50-100.

[Vinsk]

Yeah. That seems to be the conclusion here. Would be a great event to watch.

[acerimusdux]

I don't disagree with this. I do think it's interesting to consider the scratch golfer as each would be different obviously. Iacas made a good point about the advantage the scratch would gain by playing the ladies tees. Consideri:

I doubt it's that uncommon for scratch golfers to be playing from 6600 yards. If we're talking a PGA Tour player, yes they are regularly playing 7000+ yard courses. But is there any reason to assume this is true of a scratch golfer? Is it really that unusual for a scratch golfer to play a course with a 70-71 CR?

[unabowler]

I doubt it's that uncommon for scratch golfers to be playing from 6600 yards. If we're talking a PGA Tour player, yes they are regularly playing 7000+ yard courses. But is there any reason to assume this is true of a scratch golfer? Is it really that unusual for a scratch golfer to play a course with a 70-71 CR?

Yeah.  I'm not sure I understand why there isn't a mostly quantitative answer to this question.  Multitudes of LPGA players play numerous rounds on courses whose ratings are known or which can be reasonably estimated.  Lydia Ko has a 69.5 stroke average on those courses, the women around 50th average over 72 and women around 100th average over 74.  I've never had a handicap and I'm not versed in how to compute one but I surmise the ones who average 74 would be pretty close to scratch.

[Vinsk]

www.lpga.com/contact-us/faq The average yardage for an LPGA Tour golf course is between 6,200 and 6,600 yards. I'm not sure what "regularly" would amount to. But good point. I wonder how the scores fair when they play 7000yds+?

[acerimusdux]

Yeah.  I'm not sure I understand why there isn't a mostly quantitative answer to this question.  Multitudes of LPGA players play numerous rounds on courses whose ratings are known or which can be reasonably estimated.  Lydia Ko has a 69.5 stroke average on those courses, the women around 50th average over 72 and women around 100th average over 74.  I've never had a handicap and I'm not versed in how to compute one but I surmise the ones who average 74 would be pretty close to scratch.

Yeah, there is, and it's probably been given a few times already to some degree.

Anyway, so far this year, we're only 5 tournaments into the season, but they have averaged 6562 yards and a CR of about M 72.0.  So figure the true male scratch is averaging a little more than 2 strokes over the CR, and yes he's around 74-74.5, maybe ranking in the 85-105 range.