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OT: Pro Women's Golf

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Not sure if there are anyone on this board, and PittGirl very interested your comments, but is this tour really in trouble? Can anyone seeing the networks bidding on their events? It has become ridiculous.

8 of the top 10 were from South Korea. 1 from China. 1 from Spain. The top US finisher finished in a tie for 11th. In fact, only 2 US women finished in the top 20.12 South Koreans finished in the Top 20. And ratings hit an all time low (and contrary to CNN, it wasn't Trump's fault, even though the tourney was played on his course).

There were more Koreans in the top 20 than Americans in the top 40. What is going on? What is going on in South Korea that these robotic machines seem to come over and dominant the women's majors. Three of the last 4 women's major champs have been South Korean. And what is funny, the lone US women's champion (Danielle Kang) and Australian (Lydia Ko) are of Korean descent.

You are seeing alot of Korean/Korean American guys playing well on the men's tour. But what is happening in Women's golf, here in the US, where the majors are (except for the British obviously) and big money television deals come from, this does not bode well for the tour to grow.

Trying and hoping to do this without xenophobic and racist accusations, but just looking at it from a spectator/business perspective.
 
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Actually the ratings for the LPGA on the golf channel is not bad. It's huge in asia
 
One of the problems with a tour dominated by Korean and other Asian women is the public/fans lose a connection with the golfer when they don't or cant speak English in post tournament interviews or other events.
Foreign players on the mens golf tour do speak English and have learned that its important to connect with the US fanbase.
Euro and Asian mens players have relocated to the US to play on the men's US PGA tour not because they like living in Florida. The Euro and Asian tours don't offer the same financial and sponsor opportunities.
Hideki Matsuyama made it clear to the US fanbase he's learning English and will soon be speaking without the help of an interpreter. He said in a statement made by his team that he does speak English but he's not confident in post game interviews that he will understand the questions so he used an interpreter.
The US is the largest and most lucrative golf market in the world so the smart players take advantage of this.
Look back a few years. The LPGA was proposing that if you don't speak English you wouldn't be allowed to compete in tourneys but I believe they backtracked on that one.

BIG MISTAKE LOOK AT WHAT's HAPPENING TO THE LPGA!

The LPGA brand has been damaged and is on the decline! It might be growing in Asia but its a US based tour and its not growing or gaining fans in the US market!

LPGA Tour will suspend memberships if players don't learn English

Aug 27, 2008
  • ESPN.com news services


The LPGA will require its member golfers to learn and speak English and will suspend their membership if they don't comply.

The new requirement, first reported by Golfweek on its Web site, was communicated to the tour's growing South Korean membership in a mandatory meeting at the Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore., on Aug. 20. Connie Wilson, the LPGA's vice president of communications, confirmed the new policy to ESPN.com.
 
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Not sure if there are anyone on this board, and PittGirl very interested your comments, but is this tour really in trouble? Can anyone seeing the networks bidding on their events? It has become ridiculous.

8 of the top 10 were from South Korea. 1 from China. 1 from Spain. The top US finisher finished in a tie for 11th. In fact, only 2 US women finished in the top 20.12 South Koreans finished in the Top 20. And ratings hit an all time low (and contrary to CNN, it wasn't Trump's fault, even though the tourney was played on his course).

There were more Koreans in the top 20 than Americans in the top 40. What is going on? What is going on in South Korea that these robotic machines seem to come over and dominant the women's majors. Three of the last 4 women's major champs have been South Korean. And what is funny, the lone US women's champion (Danielle Kang) and Australian (Lydia Ko) are of Korean descent.

You are seeing alot of Korean/Korean American guys playing well on the men's tour. But what is happening in Women's golf, here in the US, where the majors are (except for the British obviously) and big money television deals come from, this does not bode well for the tour to grow.

Trying and hoping to do this without xenophobic and racist accusations, but just looking at it from a spectator/business perspective.
Not sure if there are anyone on this board, and PittGirl very interested your comments, but is this tour really in trouble? Can anyone seeing the networks bidding on their events? It has become ridiculous.

8 of the top 10 were from South Korea. 1 from China. 1 from Spain. The top US finisher finished in a tie for 11th. In fact, only 2 US women finished in the top 20.12 South Koreans finished in the Top 20. And ratings hit an all time low (and contrary to CNN, it wasn't Trump's fault, even though the tourney was played on his course).

There were more Koreans in the top 20 than Americans in the top 40. What is going on? What is going on in South Korea that these robotic machines seem to come over and dominant the women's majors. Three of the last 4 women's major champs have been South Korean. And what is funny, the lone US women's champion (Danielle Kang) and Australian (Lydia Ko) are of Korean descent.

You are seeing alot of Korean/Korean American guys playing well on the men's tour. But what is happening in Women's golf, here in the US, where the majors are (except for the British obviously) and big money television deals come from, this does not bode well for the tour to grow.

Trying and hoping to do this without xenophobic and racist accusations, but just looking at it from a spectator/business perspective.
From the Cheap Seats; I enjoy watching the ladies play because they play a style of golf that I can to some degree identify with. The Asian ladies also have two instructors with whom I have just started to work with; Temp Po and Ty Ming. My game is slowly starting to improve.
 
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What were the ratings for fox on Saturday and Sunday. They couldn't have been good. Throw in Joe Buck boring the audience to death and you have a recipe for disaster.
 
From the Cheap Seats; I enjoy watching the ladies play because they play a style of golf that I can to some degree identify with. The Asian ladies also have two instructors with whom I have just started to work with; Temp Po and Ty Ming. My game is slowly starting to improve.
Mrs Buffett and I have been working with :
Tee Hi
Form the LPGA.
Seeing a big improvement in the drive, more air time, longer carry , & longer drives.
 
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What were the ratings for fox on Saturday and Sunday. They couldn't have been good. Throw in Joe Buck boring the audience to death and you have a recipe for disaster.

I think record lows. And yes you are right, add Joe Buck and Fox to the mix, it is unwatchable.
 
Womens golf made great marketing/fashion strides going from this:
th


To this:
Paula+Creamer+LPGA+State+Farm+Classic+Final+aHx8_fQeGcHl.jpg


Back to this:
165-golf-women-kingsmill-championship.jpg


The Asian players don't "buy in" to the LPGA marketing plan of creating an improved fashion image which has helped boost the LPGA with men and women!
 
Not sure if there are anyone on this board, and PittGirl very interested your comments, but is this tour really in trouble? Can anyone seeing the networks bidding on their events? It has become ridiculous.

8 of the top 10 were from South Korea. 1 from China. 1 from Spain. The top US finisher finished in a tie for 11th. In fact, only 2 US women finished in the top 20.12 South Koreans finished in the Top 20. And ratings hit an all time low (and contrary to CNN, it wasn't Trump's fault, even though the tourney was played on his course).

There were more Koreans in the top 20 than Americans in the top 40. What is going on? What is going on in South Korea that these robotic machines seem to come over and dominant the women's majors. Three of the last 4 women's major champs have been South Korean. And what is funny, the lone US women's champion (Danielle Kang) and Australian (Lydia Ko) are of Korean descent.

You are seeing alot of Korean/Korean American guys playing well on the men's tour. But what is happening in Women's golf, here in the US, where the majors are (except for the British obviously) and big money television deals come from, this does not bode well for the tour to grow.

Trying and hoping to do this without xenophobic and racist accusations, but just looking at it from a spectator/business perspective.
Girls in Korea are playing golf at the same age as American girls are playing with their dolls. It's a simple case of work ethic. Korea doesn't have this many good golfers by accident. I actually wonder why their aren't more Korean men high up on the men's tour.

And yes, the LPGA does need more American ladies to step it up. But I still enjoy watching once in a while.
 
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Womens golf made great marketing/fashion strides going from this:
th


To this:
Paula+Creamer+LPGA+State+Farm+Classic+Final+aHx8_fQeGcHl.jpg


Back to this:
165-golf-women-kingsmill-championship.jpg


The Asian players don't "buy in" to the LPGA marketing plan of creating an improved fashion image which has helped boost the LPGA with men and women!
Where have you gone Lacy Underall a nation turns its lonely eyes to you. Woo, woo, woo...
 
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I simply find it amazing that there are not many Americans that are competitive on the Ladies tour.
The Asian invasion has really taken over the tour and pushed out the former top players. Is women's golf
now so unpopular that only marginal players are now coming up through the ranks? How can the top 20 Korean women be light years ahead of the top twenty American women?

I don't know but this will eventually kill the ladies tour. Look for less and less tournaments in the US and
more in Asia as part of the LPGA schedule.
 
How can the top 20 Korean women be light years ahead of the top twenty American women?


It really isn't the top 20 Korean women, for instance there aren't even 20 Korean women in the top 100 in tour earnings so far this year. And it really isn't so much the top 10 even, because the 10th ranked Korean is in 30th and the 10th ranked American is in 31st. The difference is at the very top. There are 5 Koreans in the top 8 and only 1 American. In the top 15 there are 8 Koreans and only 3 Americans. The Americans (in general) aren't competing at the very highest levels right now. Of course neither is anyone else.
 
It really isn't the top 20 Korean women, for instance there aren't even 20 Korean women in the top 100 in tour earnings so far this year. And it really isn't so much the top 10 even, because the 10th ranked Korean is in 30th and the 10th ranked American is in 31st. The difference is at the very top. There are 5 Koreans in the top 8 and only 1 American. In the top 15 there are 8 Koreans and only 3 Americans. The Americans (in general) aren't competing at the very highest levels right now. Of course neither is anyone else.

But why? It is sort of like soccer to me, seeing the US struggle in CONCAF when some of the countries they are playing have the population of Allegheny County.
 
But why? It is sort of like soccer to me, seeing the US struggle in CONCAF when some of the countries they are playing have the population of Allegheny County.

I believe a lot of it has to do with Se Ri Pak. She was quite successful and actually number 1 in the world for a time. I'm sure she inspired this generation of women from South Korea. She was Tiger Woods like back home. Why they're so good? That I'm not sure. Has the government invested?? I would imagine there are some articles on the web with some theories/explanations.
 
But why? It is sort of like soccer to me, seeing the US struggle in CONCAF when some of the countries they are playing have the population of Allegheny County.


I think that in some ways it is like soccer for the men. The best US men's athletes generally don't play soccer. The best US women's athletes don't play golf. Oddly enough, many of them actually do play soccer.

But it's also possible that at the end of the day it's just cyclical and the US women are going through a down period right now and in a few years things will be back to more "normal" with respect to US players. On the other hand, I think the rise of the Korean women is likely not cyclical, that they will have many of the top players for the foreseeable future. I've never been there, but my understanding from some people who have been is that that place is absolutely mad for golf. To the point where many of the courses have lights so that people can (and do) golf pretty much 24/7.
 
I think that in some ways it is like soccer for the men. The best US men's athletes generally don't play soccer. The best US women's athletes don't play golf. Oddly enough, many of them actually do play soccer.

But it's also possible that at the end of the day it's just cyclical and the US women are going through a down period right now and in a few years things will be back to more "normal" with respect to US players. On the other hand, I think the rise of the Korean women is likely not cyclical, that they will have many of the top players for the foreseeable future. I've never been there, but my understanding from some people who have been is that that place is absolutely mad for golf. To the point where many of the courses have lights so that people can (and do) golf pretty much 24/7.

I drove past a very popular local public course yesterday at 3:00PM and there were like 4 cars in the parking lot and I saw few people on the course. Golf is in real trouble in our hyper ADD world. I never golf with clients anymore. No time. Imagine that, emails, cellphones were supposed to make all our lives easier for their convenience but we all have less time for leisure.
 
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Not sure if there are anyone on this board, and PittGirl very interested your comments, but is this tour really in trouble? Can anyone seeing the networks bidding on their events? It has become ridiculous.

8 of the top 10 were from South Korea. 1 from China. 1 from Spain. The top US finisher finished in a tie for 11th. In fact, only 2 US women finished in the top 20.12 South Koreans finished in the Top 20. And ratings hit an all time low (and contrary to CNN, it wasn't Trump's fault, even though the tourney was played on his course).

There were more Koreans in the top 20 than Americans in the top 40. What is going on? What is going on in South Korea that these robotic machines seem to come over and dominant the women's majors. Three of the last 4 women's major champs have been South Korean. And what is funny, the lone US women's champion (Danielle Kang) and Australian (Lydia Ko) are of Korean descent.

You are seeing alot of Korean/Korean American guys playing well on the men's tour. But what is happening in Women's golf, here in the US, where the majors are (except for the British obviously) and big money television deals come from, this does not bode well for the tour to grow.

Trying and hoping to do this without xenophobic and racist accusations, but just looking at it from a spectator/business perspective.
Just good golf stock. It is in their dna. How quickly we forget the 38-under-par 34 reportedly fired by the late North Korean despot Kim Jong Il.
 
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I don't even watch men's golf anymore, it's a sport that I can only watch if I'm playing, and after playing regularly for 20-25 years, I've kind of given it up the last few years. Just out of curiosity though? How may of these "Koreans/Asians" where raised in America? Like Michelle Wie?
 
Michelle Wie isn't Korean, she's American. The top Korean players on the LPGA tour were pretty much all born and raised in Korea.
 
I don't even watch men's golf anymore, it's a sport that I can only watch if I'm playing, and after playing regularly for 20-25 years, I've kind of given it up the last few years. Just out of curiosity though? How may of these "Koreans/Asians" where raised in America? Like Michelle Wie?

No. They are all Koreans. Not a Michelle Wie. Michelle Wie was incredibly marketable. In fact, Nike sort of put the cart before the horse with her.
 
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Michelle Wie isn't Korean, she's American. The top Korean players on the LPGA tour were pretty much all born and raised in Korea.

She's of Asian descent, that's what I meant, people look at someone "Asian" on TV, especially in women's golf and might assume they aren't from the USA.
 
I female co-worker of mine is of Korean descent, born in the USA, she always jokes about how people assume that she's good at golf and have even asked her about golf and she's never even played the game.
 
I drove past a very popular local public course yesterday at 3:00PM and there were like 4 cars in the parking lot and I saw few people on the course. Golf is in real trouble in our hyper ADD world. I never golf with clients anymore. No time. Imagine that, emails, cellphones were supposed to make all our lives easier for their convenience but we all have less time for leisure.
You would have to be an idiot to want to play golf in the middle of the day when it is in the 90's and humid.
 
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I enjoy golfing.
If I get out twice a month it's a major miracle and I'm only playing 9.

Golfing is frankly selfish...at this point in Time in my life. Which is a shame

You need to be a real man. Tell the wife it is her job to deal with the kid. Have a nice smoking jacket and she should have dinner and a nice drink ready for you after your round. This is what real men do. I know this because I watched Leave it to Beaver.
 
You would have to be an idiot to want to play golf in the middle of the day when it is in the 90's and humid.

A colleague and I played near Harrisburg on our way home from a meeting yesterday. We tee'd of at 1:20 and were done by 4:15. A little heat is worth a sub 3 hour round to me.

To recruits point, it was a former country club that's now also open for public play and nobody was there. We never caught a group through 18 holes. Crazy that it was only $35 and still kept in great condition.

Courses don't get nearly the play they did 20 years ago. Too much slow play with 5 hour + rounds that become torture. People who can't break 100 taking all day to line up a put.
 
You would have to be an idiot to want to play golf in the middle of the day when it is in the 90's and humid.

Or its the best time to play. If you're a real man and dont cry about the weather, you get an open course because fat sweaty pigs are afraid of the heat
 
She's of Asian descent, that's what I meant, people look at someone "Asian" on TV, especially in women's golf and might assume they aren't from the USA.


But the problem isn't caused by someone who looks Asian, which is shown by the fact that Wie is one of the most popular players on the tour. The problem, as someone else alluded to, is that many of these players don't speak English, which hurts their chances to build any rapport with the fans and relationships with the sponsors. However I think it should also be said that most, if not all, of the Korean players who play regularly on the LPGA tour are at least trying to learn English. They, and probably more especially their agents, realize that they need to be able to speak English to maximize both their and the tour's potential.

While she is Chinese and not Korean, Shanshan Feng, who lead the US Open after each of the first three rounds last weekend, has learned the lesson. She is obviously not a native English speaker, but I heard her interviewed after the Friday and Saturday rounds last weekend and her English is good enough that not only does she not use a translator, she actually has a bit of a self-deprecating sense of humor. Players like her are generally not the problem.
 
You need to be a real man. Tell the wife it is her job to deal with the kid. Have a nice smoking jacket and she should have dinner and a nice drink ready for you after your round. This is what real men do. I know this because I watched Leave it to Beaver.
I saw the same scene....at Mar-a-Lago.
 
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