Why are the men (PGA Tour) so much better than the women (LPGA)?

[nick1998bunker]

My friend and I are wondering why the PGA tour players are so much better than the LPGA. Other than distance which I assume is irrelevant because they play farther back. Maybe with higher club head speed they can make better recovery shots? I assume the LPGA has the same opportunity to practice. Thanks Also what handicap would be needed to make the cut about half the time on the LPGA.

[Hammer 4]

Doesn't have anything to do with skill, but look at the $$$ disparity between the LPGA and the PGA. 59th place on PGA makes almost as much as 1st place on LPGA..the gals need more prize $$$ imho.

[nick1998bunker]

Doesn't have anything to do with skill, but look at the $$$ disparity between the LPGA and the PGA. 59th place on PGA makes almost as much as 1st place on LPGA..the gals need more prize $$$ imho.

Well they need more people to watch them so they can.

[rkim291968]

There are a lot more competition among men.  More competition means better quality.   It's simple as that.

[Golfingdad]

There are a lot more competition among men.  More competition means better quality.   It's simple as that.

Don't tell that to all of the guys in the Jack vs. Tiger thread. ;)

I agree with you, by the way.

[rkim291968]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkim291968

There are a lot more competition among men.  More competition means better quality.   It's simple as that.

Don't tell that to all of the guys in the Jack vs. Tiger thread. ;)

I agree with you, by the way.

I haven't read the thread but I can guess the relevance ....

[14ledo81]

Really?? This is a serious question? Why is the NBA better than the WNBA? Why do the top men run faster, jump farther, lift more than top women? Men are physically superior than women. Men will dominate physical activities.

[mvmac]

Also what handicap would be needed to make the cut about half the time on the LPGA.

I would say a legit scratch male golfer would a decent amount of cuts, playing from the same tees.  They also don't tuck the pins like they do on the PGA Tour.  Here are some scores, just picked a random LPGA tournament.  If you shot even par for two rounds, you made the cut.

http://www.mobilebaylpgaclassic.com/scores/

[nick1998bunker]

Really?? This is a serious question? Why is the NBA better than the WNBA? Why do the top men run faster, jump farther, lift more than top women? Men are physically superior than women. Men will dominate physical activities.

That's what I thought but it wasn't sure if that was the case. [quote name="mvmac" url="/t/71468/why-is-the-pga-so-much-better-than-the-lpga#post_928488"] I would say a legit scratch male golfer would a decent amount of cuts, playing from the same tees.  They also don't tuck the pins like they do on the PGA Tour.  Here are some scores, just picked a random LPGA tournament.  If you shot even par for two rounds, you made the cut. [URL=http://www.mobilebaylpgaclassic.com/scores/]http://www.mobilebaylpgaclassic.com/scores/[/URL] [/quote] I also think the course rating or slope, can't remember the difference, is about 72 so wouldn't be difficult for a scratch golfer. Thanks

[Golfingdad]

Really?? This is a serious question?

Why is the NBA better than the WNBA? Why do the top men run faster, jump farther, lift more than top women?

Men are physically superior than women. Men will dominate physical activities.

I think the point of his question was the golf isn't all THAT physical.  (Plus he even wrote it into the first sentence that he was speaking more on relative terms from their respective tees)  Luke Donald or Justin Leonard or Corey Pavin can still have a lot of success on tour as short hitters.  None of the stuff that those guys do to be successful is really stuff that would be considered in the "power" category.

Nobody is ever going to suggest that women would be able to compete with men on a level playing field, but there really is no reason (other than lack of participation) that should keep them from being as good from their relative distances.  (Unless Ben Wright was correct in his assessment ;))

[mvmac]

That's what I thought but it wasn't sure if that was the case.

I also think the course rating or slope, can't remember the difference, is about 72 so wouldn't be difficult for a scratch golfer.

Thanks

Even at 6,500 yards long?

[Pretzel]

Even at 6,500 yards long?

Don't they keep the greens running as fast as any PGA event still? That I know will make everything more difficult to an unprepared golfer just due to the mental intimidation it can cause when you watch as your putt sails past the hole and off the green on a downslope chip shot.

[mvmac]

Don't they keep the greens running as fast as any PGA event still? That I know will make everything more difficult to an unprepared golfer just due to the mental intimidation it can cause when you watch as your putt sails past the hole and off the green on a downslope chip shot.

Don't think they are as fast as the PGA Tour but yeah I'm sure they're still fast.  It's also not like the player would just be showing up on Thursday, there are practice rounds I also took the original question to mean playing more than one tournament, like if a +1 handicap played for a season on the LPGA, would he make half the cuts?

[Lefty-Golfer]

courses are shorter, greens are slower and softer....the women are not as good.

BTW this should not be a new observation to anyone - some won't like it but that doesn't change the fact it is true.

[luu5]

I also think the course rating or slope, can't remember the difference, is about 72 so wouldn't be difficult for a scratch golfer.

[14ledo81]

(Unless Ben Wright was correct in his assessment ;))

You mean the part about where women have a harder time (due to physical differences) trying to keep their left arm straight? LOL. I don't really think that is the reason.

Nobody is ever going to suggest that women would be able to compete with men on a level playing field, but there really is no reason (other than lack of participation) that should keep them from being as good from their relative distances.

I see I guess I misunderstood the question.  Kind of like I could possibly compete agains the PGA tour pros if they played at 7200 yards while I played at 2500 yards??

I just think that the women would need more of an advantage to compete.

[newtogolf]

As was pointed out (correctly) to me in a different post by Erik, women not only struggle with the distance but their short game and putting is not as good as the men either.

Putting and chipping have little do to with physiology and more to do with practice.  I don't think women work as hard on their game as men because their competition hasn't required that they do.  We're seeing greater efforts made by women outside the United States and that is placing pressure on the US women to step up their games to a higher level.   Maybe in 20 years the majority of LPGA women will be more concerned with golf than modeling.

[Golfingdad]

You mean the part about where women have a harder time (due to physical differences) trying to keep their left arm straight? LOL. I don't really think that is the reason.

Yeah, that's what I meant. ;)  I was being facetiuos, of course, but you got it. :)

As was pointed out (correctly) to me in a different post by Erik, women not only struggle with the distance but their short game and putting is not as good as the men either.

Putting and chipping have little do to with physiology and more to do with practice.  I don't think women work as hard on their game as men because their competition hasn't required that they do.  We're seeing greater efforts made by women outside the United States and that is placing pressure on the US women to step up their games to a higher level.

Totally agree.  Less competition due to less participation.  I did a quick google search and found a stat (no idea how reliable) that said that women make up about 20% of all of the golfers in the world.  So imagine if 75% of all male golfers were randomly eliminated (don't worry about how ;)) ... it seems pretty reasonable that the overall quality would drop.