Women's Professional Golf Has a Problem in the U.S.

[ladders11]

On 7/17/2017 at 1:52 AM, gregsandiego said:

Inbee Park retired?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inbee_Park

Oops. She took six months off and then of course came back. Her retirement was spoken about quite a bit last year, for something that didn't actually happen!

[gregsandiego]

1 hour ago, ladders11 said:

Oops. She took six months off and then of course came back. Her retirement was spoken about quite a bit last year, for something that didn't actually happen!

That's good. It doesn't seem like these Korean women should retires so young.

 

[Ping]

On 7/13/2017 at 5:28 PM, Patch said:

I always wanted to know why they played on the same days as the men do. 

Simple..they made the sandwiches the night before.

On 7/13/2017 at 6:28 PM, ChrisP said:

Look at the leaderboard. There are FOUR Americans in the top-30 of this Open. The first 3 pages of the leaderboard is littered with Orientals that most people have no clue who they are. This is what has happened to Women's Golf. I'm sure there are some that may see the Asian Invasion as a good thing....but I see it as something that has killed the interest in Women's Golf in America. I remember the days of Nancy Lopez and Pat Bradley and Annika Sorrenstam when the US Women's Open was a big story and people would watch. Now no one cares. Heck, I didn't even know it was going on until I saw this thread. SportsCenter barely even mentioned the Open and it's not like there's any other sports going on right now. 

Couldn't agree more...It would be a pleasant change if some of the US LPGA members would stop posing for magazines, and start defending the flag.

[jsgolfer]

1 hour ago, Ping said:

Simple..they made the sandwiches the night before.

Couldn't agree more...It would be a pleasant change if some of the US LPGA members would stop posing for magazines, and start defending the flag.

More money in posing?

[Hategolf]

The popularity of golf  is not always driven by educated golfers followers or even golfers in general. People choose to go watch live or in tv for different reasons. And I don't think anyone has the say on why you should watch or not. 

I am fairly new to golf and the reason I picked the game was because it is fun to hit a ball well. But is not until I got better and learned more about it that I attended a golf tournament. Watching golf in tv came last. 

My main reason to watch the LPGA is because is fun to watch live and like I said before some of the girls are good looking and I get to know them over time....do I care to watch a final between two not so attractive non English speaking overweight girls who I can,t even tell what kind of person they are? NO!..I usually change the channel...if that bothers some..be it.  That is my preference and like me, I believe there are lots of people but they probably won't want to say it.

Don't get me wrong is not all about the looks and the figure though..cause I really like to watch Christina Kim for example. 

Golf is a product and buyers buy for different reasons. I would buy more of it...if ....well I don't have to say it again.

 

Edited July 20, 2017 by Hategolf

[Apoc81]

21 hours ago, jsgolfer said:

More money in posing?

Most definitely, and much easier. Women like Paige Spiranac (drool) don't have to be great golfers, they just have to get themselves out there to be seen, then the money floats in. 

[70sSanO]

I enjoy watching the LPGA.  I do enjoy the course management and there seems to be good camaraderie out there.

As for the lack of Americans competing.  Even if you go to other non-mainstream team sports, the lack of Americans will lose the casual viewer even for the men.

Women's tennis has Serena, until this year, going for major wins.  It will be interesting to see the 2017 ratings.  On the men's side, there are no Americans.  Even a more obscure sport like cycling, there is so little interest on the US, but the Tour de France is huge in Europe.  Everyone in the US has heard of Lance Armstrong, from good to bad reasons, but no one has a clue about any current American rider.

It is just the nature of sports in America... win or unknown.

John

Edited July 23, 2017 by 70sSanO

[BallMarker]

On 7/13/2017 at 0:26 PM, BaconNEggs said:

Heck, that people could name Michelle Wie is at least something. I doubt most Americans could name a single women's hockey player or basketball player.

I didn't even know there was a women hockey league.

.

For the record, I like watching LPGA golf. It's interesting to see which of one of dozen Korean women will win for on a particular week....lol.

I've even attended every Texas Shootout since it's inaugural tournament

[iacas]

Amanda Kessel.

[dennyjones]

7 hours ago, BallMarker said:

I didn't even know there was a women hockey league.

U.S. Women's hockey

[BallMarker]

I've heard, and read, that the reason the LPGA come out with "formal" dress code is because some of the players started to complain.

What was the complaint? Who were the ones complaining?

Was there really a need for a dress code. I never notice any one dressing too risque.

.

What a bunch of prudes....

[Vinsk]

On 7/13/2017 at 1:26 PM, BaconNEggs said:

"Women's professional golf has a problem in the US"

In what sense?

Would you go to a women's basketball game? Soccer? Hockey?

I would think the answer to all of the above would be overwhelmingly "no" for most people. If you watched any March Madness this year, you may have noted that many women's games were virtually empty-- even UConn, a perennial powerhouse with a fairly dedicated fan base, were playing games with less than a quarter of the arena full.

Personally I enjoy watching women's golf, but most people don't. I think most people don't like watching golf, in general; the Golf Channel is the bane of my girlfriend's existence.

Heck, that people could name Michelle Wie is at least something. I doubt most Americans could name a single women's hockey player or basketball player.

There's a Women's Hockey league?

[BallMarker]

On 7/13/2017 at 6:28 PM, ChrisP said:

Look at the leaderboard. There are FOUR Americans in the top-30 of this Open. The first 3 pages of the leaderboard is littered with Orientals that most people have no clue who they are. This is what has happened to Women's Golf. I'm sure there are some that may see the Asian Invasion as a good thing....but I see it as something that has killed the interest in Women's Golf in America. I remember the days of Nancy Lopez and Pat Bradley and Annika Sorrenstam when the US Women's Open was a big story and people would watch. Now no one cares. Heck, I didn't even know it was going on until I saw this thread. SportsCenter barely even mentioned the Open and it's not like there's any other sports going on right now. 

SET SARCASM ON

I know. Right?

All those orientals are ruining it for the Americans.

Heck, even some players playing under the Old Glory are Koreans.

And even players from New Zealand and Australia are Koreans.

I wish these foreigners would stay in their own country to play golf so more of "our" girls can win in the LPGA.

SET SARCASM OFF

lol

Edited August 2, 2017 by BallMarker
grammar

[BallMarker]

On 7/14/2017 at 1:12 PM, ChrisP said:

I would like to see an American player step up and dominate the game like Tiger did with the men.

I can agree with this.

It would make LPGA very interesting, if a friendly rivalry would develop between American and the Koreans. I once thought Stacy Lewis would step up and give the Koreans run for their money, But that ship has sailed already.

But I don't see it happening. It seems to me American girls get distracted too easily by other things....which isn't a bad thing...just different priority.

[No Mulligans]

Shenshan Feng, from China.  She's my favorite on the LPGA.  Such a great attitude and a sense a humor, also a mighty fine golfer though she's not as long as a lot of the other girls.  Kind of like Kuchar from the PGA, and he's my favorite PGA player.

Nationality on the tour doesn't matter much to me... unless it's the Solheim Cup or the Ryder Cup or the Presidents Cup in which case I'm rooting for the home team.

[pganapathy]

When we talk about people like Lorena and Annika retiring it is not from lack of money.  They were seriously raking it in.  Very few men's golfers earn as much as them, except where the sponsorships make a difference.

They retired to focus on their family and/or starting a family.  This is the sad truth of why women athletes retire earlier than the men.  They mostly end up being the ones to look after the kids.

For me the LPGA shows more skill in general than the PGA.  Very few guys have the overall skill package that the women have.  Most guys are just able to score low because of the distance they hit the ball and thus have short irons into the green (I know I will get trolled for this, but c'est la vie)

[iacas]

6 hours ago, pganapathy said:

When we talk about people like Lorena and Annika retiring it is not from lack of money.  They were seriously raking it in.  Very few men's golfers earn as much as them, except where the sponsorships make a difference.

Huh?

Lorena earned just under $2.6M in 2006. Annika won just under $2M.

http://www.lpga.com/statistics/money/official-money?year=2006

#32 on the men's money list won more than Annika, and everyone from positions 1 through 20 earned more than Lorena.

http://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.109.2006.html

[BallMarker]

On 7/16/2017 at 9:06 PM, Hardspoon said:

I really couldn't care less what country the players are from.  I've always thought it was weird that they emphasize the flags on the leaderboards (in both men's and women's events).

I don't know. It's kinda interesting to know the nationality of a player......even though many of them make their home somewhere in the USA.....which brings up another question...but for a different thread.