TERRE HAUTE — In a mandatory meeting on Aug. 20, the Ladies Professional Golf Association announced to its membership that it was adopting a policy that will require all of its members to speak English or face suspension. If a player has been on tour for two years and fails to pass an oral evaluation at the end of 2009, she could be suspended. The rule is effective immediately for new players.
This information leaked to the public sooner that the LPGA had hoped, so it hadn’t finished drafting a written version of the policy. LPGA officials were very naive to think it wouldn’t be leaked, and blind if they didn’t think it would be controversial. Blogs, bulletin boards and web pages are full of people claiming either racism or discrimination, or both.
Some people agree with the LPGA and understand its point of view. The Australian Ladies Professional Golf chief executive Warren Sevil supports the LPGA in its decision saying, “It’s important to note that this whole policy is directed at international members. It’s not about the Korean players. Everyone’s been talking discrimination and it’s all about getting Korean players off the Tour, and really it’s the wrong thing to assume; it’s not about that. It’s important that [non-English-speaking players] are able to communicate with the sponsors, with their playing partners and even with the rules officials.”
Libba Galloway, LPGA deputy commissioner, made this statement: “We’re focusing on the fact that we’re in the sports entertainment business and we have to interact with fans and sponsors. We want to emphasize to our players that they need to be approachable.”
She added that there were very few players who didn’t speak English and said she doubted any suspensions would happen, but emphasized that if they do, the player will not be kicked off the tour. The LPGA will work with them to help them meet the requirement. In 2007 the LPGA established a program that includes tutoring services available to players and has made language-learning software available too.
The organization insists the purpose of its language policy is to help players maximize their earning power and promote the tour at the same time.
From a business point of view, I understand what the LPGA is trying to do, and why it has a right to do it. The LPGA Tour is a product. That product is a combination of a structure, which would be the schedule of tour events, and personnel, which would be the players themselves. Of those, 121 are foreign players from 26 different countries. There are 45 players from South Korea.
The tour travels to many different cities, and reaches many different fans. People buy tickets to come out to see highly talented women play golf. Volunteers in vast quantities are necessary to make a golf tour event go smoothly. These people will come away from their day at the event with a better impression if one or more of the tour members shakes their hand, signs an autograph or talks to the crowd.
The LPGA Tour prides itself in being fan accessible, and it needs to be. There are only so many sponsorship dollars available, and the PGA Tour has the majority of them. In order for the LPGA to compete it needs to display an event where players are relevant, which in this case means ones who the television audience cares to see. If a player can’t speak English well enough to answer questions, it’s very hard to put together an interesting montage to keep those television sets turned on.
The LPGA is in a tough spot. It wants to attract the best players, but if those players happen to be non-English speaking, it puts a damper on the enthusiasm of the fans. The LPGA has to enhance its product and market it to enough sponsors to keep the tour alive.
I don’t know if speaking English is the answer, but it could very possibly help. It might have other side effects also. It could cause even more foreign-born players to scoop up the golf scholarships to colleges, in order to give themselves time to learn the language before they join the tour.
Time will tell what kind of effect this policy will have on the LPGA. Meanwhile, what they really need to do to enhance their tour is to promote golf as a sport to young American girls. If the United States can continue to produce quality young players like Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel, the competition will be great and the American fans will feel a connection too. There are so many sports options available to young girls now, golf is usually pretty far down on the list.
Quote of the Day- “Now I can go out and play golf and have some fun.” – Michael Phelps, U.S. Olympic swimmer, after winning his eighth golf medal at the Beijing Games.
Vigo County Golf Leagues
Ft. Harrison Ladies 9-hole — Low gross: Darby Guglielmetti. Low net (tie): Betty McKee and Dorothy Dwyer. Low putts (tie): Mary Shake and Georgette Arnold. Play of the day (tie): Lucy James and Guglielmetti. Chip-ins: Mary Add Baker, Arnold and Shake.
Mark’s Par Three Men’s Senior — Standings: Midwest Gas 358, Tabco 340, Vigo Bowl 324, Dew Drop Inn 302, Mattingly Collision 295, Sycamore Chevrolet 290, Old National Trust 284, Fuson Cadillac 266. Low gross: Max Fulmer 34. Low net: Bob Artis. Closest to pin: Stan Shimer (7). Longest drive: Max Fulmer (2). Longest putt: Jack Pattison (1).
Rea Park Wednesday Evening Ladies 9-hole — Final standings: Padgett-Snow 37, Newton-Petty 33, Pair-Bedwell 31, Meyer-Clements 30, Swalls-Mozley 29, Mann-Rusk-28, Lanke-Johnson 26, Horrall-Mahalek 25, Cannon-Atterson 23, Honselman-Hiatt 21, Bocard-Luttrell 21, McCord-Ugo 21, Hamilton-Harden 21, Durand-Hyde 18. Low gross: Stephanie Meyer 37. Low net: Stacy Bogard 30. Chip-in: Meyer.
Terre Haute Savings Bank Senior Men — National Division standings: Complete Kitchen and Bath 25 1, Page’s Market No. 1 242, Pizza Hut 222, Lough Bros. 221, Fore Seasons Golf Complex 218, Paitson Bros. 206, SMC 199, T.H. Savings Bank 189. Low gross: Paul Stanley 35. Low net: Merle Stabler 29. American Division standings: VFW No. 972 249, Spring Clean Car Wash 238, Page’s Market No. 2 225, Callahan Funeral Home 223, Poplar Flower Shop 205, Pabst Painting 196, Salt of the Earth 181. Low gross: Darrell Guerin 41. Low net: Dan Scott 32.
On & Off the Course
On and Off the Course: LPGA’s new policy might help, but other solutions needed
- On & Off the Course
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Death Notice: Feb. 7, 2013
• Gary R. Wright
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Donna Lynn Strahla Bown
Donna Lynn Strahla Bown passed away early Friday morning, Jan. 25, 2013, with her children by her side.
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‘The Match’ pitting amateurs vs. pros recalled 62 years later
Quote of the Day: “I play golf with friends sometimes, but there are never friendly games.” — Ben Hogan.
Bubba Watson has had a busy fall. Not only did he play all the way to the final round of the FedEx Championships, and in the Ryder Cup, he also played in an event commemorating a very famous match played at Cypress Point in 1956, pitting two of the greatest golf pros at the time against two of the best amateurs.
Come to think of it, all four were some of the best golfers of all time. This year’s event was celebrating The First Tee’s exceeding $100 million in pledges to reach 10 million new young people. It wasn’t televised and kept very quiet; only 225 people were in the gallery.
One of the people in the gallery was Mark Frost, the author of a book titled “The Match,” which is about that match played 62 years ago that was re-enacted in modern terms last week. The pros in 1956 were Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson and the amateurs were Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward. It was supposed to have been a private affair, built around a wager by two millionaires, George Coleman and Eddie Lowery. -
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf from the wrong side of the brain
Imagine this scenario: a woman, small in stature (possibly freckled), walks into a hospital emergency room and says, “I have an emergency, I need a doctor quickly!” The admitting nurse, ever trying to be helpful, asks what the emergency is.
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Farmers looking at widely varying yields
Combines will roll through fields this weekend, bringing in the harvest from a summer with nearly no rain.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf debut in London would have been nice
As the Olympics get underway in London this weekend, I was thinking it’s too bad that the Olympic committee decided too late to add golf as one of the sports for this event; instead it will be added to the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Getting to Hoosier country’s best golfing venue part of the fun
If you are looking for Indiana’s premier golfing destination, then you should look no further than French Lick.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Indiana's Pete Dye courses worth the drive
You’ve probably heard of the Robert Trent Jones Golf trail throughout Alabama, but you might not be aware that Indiana has its own “Pete Dye Golf Trail” comprised of seven courses.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Fathers typically a big influence on golfing sons
Some events fall naturally into place around holidays. The Fourth of July always falls somewhere during Wimbledon, giving all of the Yanks in attendance something to be boisterous about, to the chagrin of their hosts; The Masters often, but not always, ends on Easter Sunday, which is fitting since golfers find it such a reverent occasion.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Memorial just one of many visions of Jack Nicklaus
When Jack Nicklaus was a young man, the golfer he most admired was Bob Jones.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: With some tricky rules, golf is not a walk in the park
Golf is not a casual sport, even though it has a term called “casual water.”
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On and off the course: Sycamores seeded sixth heading into MVC golf tourney
It wasn’t too long ago that Indiana State University didn’t even have a women’s golf team.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: A hard ticket to come by
This is the weekend of the Masters Tournament, the first of the four major tournaments.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Some things on golf course are worse than steep putts
It’s not often that anything gets more scary on a golf course than a steep downhill putt, but on some courses around the world, things a little more on the supernatural side might give you a bigger fright!
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The shot heard round the world
I don’t know if the Golf Channel will show a “Best Shots of 2011” highlight reel, much like ESPN does for baseball or football.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Red, White and Blue visits the Isle of Green
In 2006, the Ryder Cup was held in Ireland at The K Club in County Kildare.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Fall may be coming but golf season is far from over
Once the major tournaments are over with, what’s there to look forward to in the world of golf?
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf… simplified!
Golf is not a simple game. A golf course is made up of 18 holes, all different. There are par-3s, par-4s and par-5s; they all vary in length and elevation, and each has its own challenges. There can be water hazards, trees, sand bunkers, tall grass, hills, valleys — and then, if that’s not enough, there’s probably wind too.
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On and Off the Course: Northern Ireland builds on golf history
Northern Ireland is only about 5,452 square miles in area and has a population about the same as West Virginia, which is about 1,880,344.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Women’s Open at the Broadmoor
This is the weekend of the U.S. Women’s Open, and this year it’s being played at The Broadmoor, East Course, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Fort Golf Course: A Walk in the Park…
Indiana has some pretty spectacular state parks, but one of them gives you the ability to “spoil a good walk” by chasing a little white ball.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Father’s Day is a good day for golfers
Most people consider the time around Christmas to be the gift-buying season.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Playing with lead a difficult task
As exciting as last week’s Masters was, with six players being tied for the lead at one point on Sunday, it was very difficult watching Rory McIlroy fall apart to shoot an 80.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Masters a rite of spring
This is Masters weekend, the grand kickoff to the golf season for a lot of golfers. Sure, there have been tournaments on TV, because the professionals have been playing in Hawaii, California, Texas, Dubai, and other areas not so affected by winter as we are here in the Midwest, but to me, watching The Masters is a rite of spring.
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ON THE OFF THE COURSE: Some history on the Ryder Cup
I fell asleep in way too many history classes to ever qualify as a history buff. However, since I have grown up a bit (not much), I enjoy learning about all kinds of history. I often have questions about how something began, or how something came to be.
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On and Off the Course: Purdue's Kampen Course a gem in Indiana's rough
About a month ago, Indiana was still heavily mired in heat and humidity, making outdoor activities such as golf less appealing than usual. At that time it felt like the repressive heat would never go away, it would never rain again, and all of the grass was just going to continue to wither and die. And the month prior to that we kept getting rained out of golf events!
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On and Off the Course: Successful golfers know ... focus is the key
I have a good friend who coached his daughter’s basketball team for a number of years, and told me that his theme with the girls was always “focus”, until it was ingrained in their brains. Now when they play high school ball, if they hear “focus” yelled from the stands, they know the source.
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On and Off the Course: Technology adds even more fun to the course
You’ve hit a drive into some brush in an area marked as a hazard, but you can’t find the ball to prove it is there. And no one actually witnessed it go in the hazard. You just think that’s where it probably is. What is the rule for this situation?
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On and Off the Course: Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic a worthwhile charity event
On Monday, I worked as a volunteer for the Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic, Golf Tournament and Auction at Eagle Creek Golf Course in Indianapolis. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with clear blue skies, just a few wispy clouds here and there and a high temperature of about 76 degrees.
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On and Off the Course: Trends show golf in decline
You don’t have to watch the news or read the paper to understand that America is struggling on the economic front. The evidence can be witnessed at the local golf course.
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