ClairefromClare

I grew up on G&S.; Absolutely love the stuff. But there's no way you could sing that blither I quoted. Or that you quoted, for that matter. (Say--want to hear me rant about that vs. which? Since vs. because? While vs. although?) And then there's http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/ . A tad off topic, but great fun.

This is why events get played on Monday! If the event is too small for that, it would certainly make sense for the course to insist that the group pay for an hour's worth of tee times in addition to the ones they intend to use. Maybe even insist that the registration form include some sort of signed acknowledgment of responsibility for knowing and following rules of golf, pace of play, etc.

This has got to be a couple of decades old, and I hope it never goes online, but I recall the worst-written piece of legalese I've ever read. Couldn't quite bring myself to memorize it, but it started off as follows: It takes serious talent to write like that. I simply can't do it.

You're funny, Julie! I may be on a roll here. Spent the morning mired in legalese. This is an old rule, but people need to be reminded (lawyers particularly). "Shall" is the first person version of "will." I shall, we shall ("We shall Overcome"), but you will, he will, she will, they will. To reverse it: I will, or she shall, is essentially to be insisting and banging your fist on the table about it. It's like barking out an order. So it drives me nuts that all this legal gobbledygook is all third person shall. Among other things. And then there's decimate. Deci, as in decimal, as in one tenth. Here's the etymology. A couple thousand years ago, when Rome ruled the western world, its army attacked in a formation ten deep and however many wide. Imagine those soldiers running up and over the hill towards the enemy--anyone on the front line was pretty much doomed. Hence, the army was decimated. It doesn't mean to be wiped out totally. Okay, back to financial doom and gloom. This is way more fun.

The thread title includes the word, "usage," so this isn't too much of a detour: First, never use a word of one syllable when you can employ one of two or utilize one of three. I'm a dinosaur here, but: gender refers to nouns in romance languages. It doesn't have anything to do with people. Yes, the English language could use a word to describe the non-sexualized aspects of male-female differences, but gender already has a perfectly good and different meaning. Firnd something else. Ditto organic, which means carbon based. Twinkies aside, there is no food out there that isn't carbon based and hence organic. Let's not even get to "I could care less," "ATM machine," and "PIN number." I fight that losing battle with my kids almost daily.

Me too! And I'm a lefty myself. Just TRY finding clubs. Club fitting is the only way to go. There's an underlying assumption here though--that they guy is in charge of buying the gal's clubs. Nah--the only club my husband has ever bought me is off a shopping list I gave him. My clubs are a lot better than his. That said, the stereotype is that men are a lot more willing to change clubs than women, and it seems to hold. Lots of my golfing buddies haven't bought a club in years. My bag seems to turn over every year, except for my putter. I am totally in love with my putter and wouldn't consider rotating it out.

Well, let me add mine as well. Congrats. And good luck with that razor burn thing.

I clearly need to get to this site more often. This is almost as much fun as internal rates of return and standard deviations. That was deviations, not deviants.

My daughter was crushed when she outgrew the pink clubs. She's onto the lime green set (in the USKG series), but her goal in life remains beating Paula Creamer in a tournament.

Here: I should have given you the link the first time. http://www.ewga.com/

Really? Ever checked out the EWGA? My chapter has 500 members, and it's cool to hang out with that many women who love golf. Plus lots of leagues. Really? Ignore that nonsense. There do seem to be a number of thin skins on this board. The posts of yours I've read are all well-reasoned and informed.

I'm here, but not all that often. Life keeps getting in the way.

Good for you! Whatever it takes.

Believe me, I'm not trying to defend the LPGA here; Bivens has always struck me as having a tin ear. I did see something somewhere on previous, unsuccessful attempts to get more English on the tour: they gave foreign-born players a computer program, but (paraphrasing one American player), the Koreans would rather be on the driving range. Without going into that whole "who's got the better work ethic" debate, it sure sounds like previous attempts were less than half-hearted. I could no more learn a language from a computer program than I could learn to play golf by watching videos and reading books. So--feeble attempt doesn't work, and now they're bringing in the sledgehammer? Geez, this is so totally away from what I do for a living, but I could design a better language/cultural immersion program than this.

The New York Times op-ed page blasted the LPGA today, though they didn't get into the "entertain the sponsors" angle. This really is going to be a P.R. disaster.

An employer cannot have a requirement with a disparate impact on a protected class unless the employer demonstrates it is necessary for the job. For instance, if the LPGA were to require that all players have blond hair, that rule would have a disparate impact (greater negative effect) on non-caucasions. So member of minority groups could complain. The LPGA would then have to demonstrate that being blond was a necessary component of the job. If it could not do so, the requirement could be struck down. So--because (non-U.S.) national origin is a protected class of people, and the language requirement has a disparate impact on those folks, the LPGA will have to show that reasonable English fluency (or whatever their technical standard is in there) is a necessary job requirement. This will be an interesting show.

They're self-employed. Receive 1099s and report earnings on schedule C. Pay own employment taxes. Can set up own retirement plans, hire employees (i.e.., a permanent caddy), etc. How long have we golfed together?

The pro-ams are a HUGE deal. And you're right--let's address it more comprehensively. In addition to language and personableness, there's basic manners. On the PGA Tour especially, a lot of those guys ignore their teammates and spend the entire round practicing putts. (Makes their caddies insane--they know what the pros' job is out there.) Let's ban that. In fact, let's just define what how we want a pro to behave in a pro-am and require it of everyone.

Don't mind Harry--he's harmless.

Well, this made the front page of The New York Times , which was a surprise--I'd have expected it buried in the back of the sports section, where you usually have to go hunting for the LPGA. I'd post a link but I"m autosubcribed there, so it wouldn't do anyone else any good. A couple of interesting points in the Times. They stated no other league has a similar requirement, including baseball. Went on to talk about the need to make sponsors happy on Pro-Ams and got into whether English proficiency is a really a job requirement here. Also pointed out that many states have stricter civil rights laws than Title VII, so that individual tournament sites can be affected differently. That last could be a serious case of the law of unintended consequences. If the LPGA suddenly finds itself without venues in say, New York (Corning Classic and HSBC Matchplay come to mind), they'll really be scrambling.

Definitely, do it! Inside the ropes is the only place to be.

Two countries divided by a single tongue, and all that...

Oh jeez--by the time I got halfway throught that, there were just too many swing thoughts involved. When he says, "down," he doesn't mean down? Then he should say what he means. And draw pictures.

I'm a big LPGA fan but think this is wrong, wrong, wrong. I can only hope the meda spun this the wrong way. Why would the LPGA even set this up as punitive? If they were going to do it at all, why not do it as a big perk/incentive: we're going to work with you to help you communicate and manage better in the U.S. That's the way to do it. Now they have a mess on their hands, and they're welcome to it. As a fan, what's hard for me in following many of the Asian-born players is that their names aren't familiar to western ears. How many of us really can distinguish Yani Tseng from In Bee Park from N.Y. Choi? (I can, but only because I've walked courses behind them.) But it can be hard to keep them straight. So what's the LPGA gonna do about that--make everyone adopt a western-sounding moniker? One player did adopt Sarah Lee, and that was just silly.

I've been told to aim about a half inch in front of the ball, and that helps some. But what works for me is to make sure I dig my left (your right) shoulder down on the forward swing. When I can do that consistently, I'm great in the fairway.