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

[Yukari]

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.

This.

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 ;))

The second part is not true.  How many women can put a sufficient back spin to cause the ball to roll back or even stop as soon as it hits the green?  Most, if not all, women golfers rely on their balls to run after hitting the green.  So they can't attack any pins that are tucked behind a bunker or other hazards, whereas even Luke, Justin and Corey can put enough spin on their ball to have it "drop and stop" or "drop and roll back".

"Power" doesn't mean exclusively distance.

[Stretch]

Even the really good women tend to be arm swingers. I don't know why that is. Maybe having hooters fundamentally affects your pivot?

Someone needs to do the necessary biokinetic inquiry ...

[Lihu]

Statistically speaking, the male players need to be better to get to the top. There are simply many more men trying to be PGA pros than there are women trying to be LPGA pros.

For a counter example, in Korea, the best archers are not the men, but the women. The top women shoot bows with draw weights very similar to men at 40 pounds. The top Olympic recurve limb weight is 50 pounds, which very few people use in competition. These women pull 40 pounds and hold for 8 seconds 720 times or more a day, while aiming at a 12cm target 70m away. So, strength is not an issue for women archers. The top male archer, is currently a Korean man (Oh), but in a head to head competition at 70m there is very little difference between him and his female counterpart (Ki). This is because there are a lot of women, almost the same as the number of men, competing in archery in Korea.

Yes, there are a lot more men that are large and athletic than women, but golf, like archery, doesn't really require a super large build. Many women fit into the mold of a good golfing build. However, not as many of them are interested in golf as the men. This pares down the competitive playing field for women making it statistically easier to get to the top.

This seems like a plausible explanation as to why there is such a disparity in skills.

[Phil McGleno]

I nominate ZeroComp.-Then he can leave the other thread alone.[quote name="Stretch" url="/t/71468/why-are-the-men-pga-tour-so-much-better-than-the-women-lpga/18#post_928701"] Someone needs to do the necessary biokinetic inquiry ...  [/quote]

[Stretch]

Brilliant!

[nick1998bunker]

Even at 6,500 yards long?

What do you mean? [quote name="Pretzel" url="/t/71468/why-are-the-men-pga-tour-so-much-better-than-the-women-lpga#post_928531"]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. [/quote] I personally find faster greens easier because they tend to be smoother and I make more. It's also easier to be accurate. I also don't think they are that much faster. My middle school used to play on a Palmer course where the LPGA played a few times and they weren't all that fast

[rkim291968]

Originally Posted by Lihu

Counter example, in Korea, the best archers are not the men, but the women.

That's 100% b/c Korean women are far superior than their men .    How many LPGA events have they won vs their counterparts won on PGA?

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

Counter example, in Korea, the best archers are not the men, but the women.

That's 100% b/c Korean women are far superior than their men .    How many LPGA events have they won vs their counterparts won on PGA?

[MS256]

What do you mean?

I personally find faster greens easier because they tend to be smoother and I make more. It's also easier to be accurate. I also don't think they are that much faster. My middle school used to play on a Palmer course where the LPGA played a few times and they weren't all that fast

In some tournaments the greens are intentionally much firmer and faster just for the tournament but it would be hard to maintain those conditions for a long period of time without losing the greens.

That said, I have no idea how fast the greens usually are in an LPGA tournament.

[The Recreational Golfer]

What I want to know is why teenage girls can win on the LPGA Tour, while you'll never see a teenage boy even sniff the PGA Tour.

Maybe that's a different thread.

[jamo]

What I want to know is why teenage girls can win on the LPGA Tour, while you'll never see a teenage boy even sniff the PGA Tour.  Maybe that's a different thread.

Jordan Spieth won the John Deere this year as a 19 year old.

[MS256]

What I want to know is why teenage girls can win on the LPGA Tour, while you'll never see a teenage boy even sniff the PGA Tour.

Maybe that's a different thread.

Mostly because girls get closer to their athletic peak sooner than boys.

Not unusual at all for a girl to be the best player on a little league baseball team and most of us remember that girl in Jr. High that could outrun, out jump, out throw and out play all of the boys. That same girl didn't stand a chance against the same boys a few years later in high school, and the gap widened even more in college.

[Golfingdad]

What I want to know is why teenage girls can win on the LPGA Tour, while you'll never see a teenage boy even sniff the PGA Tour.  Maybe that's a different thread.

[quote name="jamo" url="/t/71468/why-are-the-men-pga-tour-so-much-better-than-the-women-lpga#post_928998"] Jordan Spieth won the John Deere this year as a 19 year old.[/quote]Oops. ;). (Anybody know who Roseanne Rosannadanna is?? She applies here. ;)). Edit: I may be confusing her with a different Radner character. I meant to reference the one who always finished her segments by finding out she was confused and just saying "never mind." ;)

[nick1998bunker]

What is the difference between men's and women's cr

[luu5]

What is the difference between men's and women's cr

You brought the CR (72) up, so perhaps you can find the right CR for the tee and for the gender. Women and men have different CR and slope ratings on same tee.

[sacm3bill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Recreational Golfer

What I want to know is why teenage girls can win on the LPGA Tour, while you'll never see a teenage boy even sniff the PGA Tour.

Maybe that's a different thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamo

Jordan Spieth won the John Deere this year as a 19 year old.

Oops. ;). (Anybody know who Roseanne Rosannadanna is?? She applies here. ;)). Edit: I may be confusing her with a different Radner character. I meant to reference the one who always finished her segments by finding out she was confused and just saying "never mind." ;)

Chevy Chase : And now with tonight's commentary; Miss Emily Litella.
Emily Litella : Thank you, Cheddar. Now what's all this talk about violins on tv? I think we need more violins and less of that loud rock music. And furthermore...
Chevy Chase : Uh, excuse me; Miss Litella. It's violence on TV, not violins.
Emily Litella : Oh. Never mind.

[Ernest Jones]

[URL=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000331/]Chevy Chase[/URL] : And now with tonight's commentary; Miss Emily Litella. [URL=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0705717/]Emily Litella[/URL] : Thank you, Cheddar. Now what's all this talk about violins on tv? I think we need more violins and less of that loud rock music. And furthermore... [URL=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000331/]Chevy Chase[/URL] : Uh, excuse me; Miss Litella. It's violence on TV, not violins. [URL=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0705717/]Emily Litella[/URL] : Oh. Never mind.

Emily: And what's so important about natural racehorses? I like other kinds of horses too. Quarter horses, draft horse, ponies... Chevy: That's resources, natural resources... Emily: Oh...Never mind. :-P

[Crim]

Jordan Spieth won the John Deere this year as a 19 year old.

Granted that was the first time in what....80 years? Also he turned 20 years old the very next month.