Contributing writer Anya Alvarez joins us for a discussion started last week on the disparity between men and women’s golf, and how to elevate the game of golf for women around the world.
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| Driver Ping G30 | Hybrids PXG 0317 |
| 3/4 IRON PXG 0311XF | 5-GW Srixon Z 565 |
| SW PXG 0317 | LW PXG 0311 |
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5 years ago
Liked much of the discussion; having worked as a volunteer in several LPGA and Senior events, & and a US Open. The most entertaining have been the LPGA events, where the average player was hitting it where I used to hit it (now I’m much older).
One thing that might aid is the LPGA working with the PGA Tour to have a presence on PGA radio.
Playing with a friend she noted that standard forward tee (red) for women was to hard and long for the 60+ year old lady and did not offer a playable experience comparable to forward tees (silver) for men. She was correct the standard forward tee for women; slope and course rating were equivalent to the men’s standard “white” tee. Hard to play it forward when there is not an option. And equivalent to the “senior” tee for women would extend the playing life for women – many who are returning to the game after raising kids and ending there out of the home work experience.
5 years ago
It’s sad, but the same discussion about women’s golf can also be said about racial equality in men’s golf. The games biggest star is Tiger and has been for two decades and yet his presence hasn’t led to an influx of black or mixed race golfers. Why? Because the majority of consumers who watch golf (in this country) are white males. This white male demographic is slowly decreasing in society. For golf to continue flourishing into the future the PGA needs to recognize this and make changes on how they market the sport we all love.
5 years ago
Great topic following Haney’s unfortunate comments and the amazing coincidence that a Korean named Lee won the US Women’s Open last weekend. Anya mentioned that in South Korea women’s golf is greater than men’s golf, and it is absolutely true. I see a good reason for women’s golf not being so great in the US yet. The LPGA is very popular in Korea and Thailand because they have their heroes (Seri, Arya, Inbee, In Gee, Sung Hyun and now Lee6). Their story touches the public there. I remember few years ago that the LPGA tried to limit the access of foreign players by requesting an English proficiency tests as an attempt to attract more local (say non Asian) players. In exchange several LPGA events are now sponsored by Asian companies (see ANA from Japan, JTBC a Korean TV channel) and the LPGA created the Asian Swing, a sequence of tournaments played in Asia. on the other side of the river, we see many Asian players forged in the US like Inbee Park, Danielle Kang, Gina Park and they are not known by the large public in the US. Not even non Asian players are properly publicized in the US. We would like to read more about players like Lexi Thompson, Michelle Wie, Maria Fassi swing sequence, their superation stories. I see no single answer to the posed problem. We need idols with great stories being publicized in women’s golf. Anya, thanks for joining MGS and all the best!
5 years ago
I loved the debate and appreciated everyone’s point of view. I have a daughter myself and want her to have every opportunity in the world. I honestly watch as much LPGA as I do PGA. I just love golf and watching it on tv. I pick a lot of things up from the women’s game that I use when on the course myself. I currently serve in the military and have been stationed all over the world. Anya you made some great points about the stories. I saw one comment above that his daughter cannot relate to the Korean golfers. I honestly think this is because there is a lack of a story. The one thing I have found in my travels is that we can all relate. Honestly, we are all not that much different. We all love our family and have goals and dreams. Sorry for rambling. Please keep up the great work.
5 years ago
If women watched womens golf then this would not be a problem, the truth is that sports to most women is not important, it is not inequality, it is the capital market speaking, I run a business, I put my resources in place to generate the most revenues. It is simple as that, if you want to change womens golf, you need to stop complaining and get more woment involved and watching golf.
I have a daughter and son who both play HS golf, on Sunday my daughter chose to watch the memorial rather than the Womens US Open. It is simple, she knows Lydia Ko, Lexia Thompson, the Korda sisters, etc. but does not relate to the Korean players, it is not sexism, etc.
5 years ago
Couldn’t agree more as the father of a wonderful daughter. The talent level is potentially on par with men’s top tier high-school golf at best. I’ll take Akshay Bhatia & 4 other HS boys vs. the LPGA’s top 5 on a true championship layout any day of the week. Same reason the WNBA doesn’t attract many viewers. No one will tune in to watch 2nd or 5th best with the exception of friends and family. Tennis was the exception given how some of the player’s looked, however that is now unacceptable in today’s hyper-sensitive, SJW environment where feelings trump facts and truth. Stick to hard data MSG.
5 years ago
I enjoyed the topic the more discussions like this will work to make golf more accessible and a sport people will want to stay involved with. As someone that is not white I routinely experience ‘the look’ and sense the ‘what are you doing here’ vibe, it is very unpleasant.
The LPGA is great I watch it all the time and referring to what Anya said I find it more useful to watch LPGA they don’t swing at a million miles an hour so you can follow the swing however in saying that many of the players have very powerful swings. They LPGA coverage is very limited which is frustrating when you only get short snapshots, but I was really shocked to hear that the stats for both tours are not the same, give me strength can someone hand the PGA a match so they can find their way out of the cave :)
5 years ago
I could only stomach about half of this video. The level of virtue signalling and identity politics was through the roof. Please stick to golf. If you want to talk about how to grow the women’s game then talk about growing the women’s game. Don’t whine about the media and blame everyone in sight because people aren’t tuning in. Get to work, stop looking for excuses.
5 years ago
Anya – start writing player background stories for MyGolfSpy (equal parts women and men). Start telling those interesting stories about women that you say media needs to cover and we want to hear. Let the ripple effect of more coverage about women golfers start right here, right now. I will definitely support and read your stories.
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5 years ago
The TV ratings for Sunday’s Women’s US Open were the lowest in history (0.5 rating and 728,000 viewers). It’s not because they were broadcast the same time as the Memorial. That’s been true in previous years, And, Tiger wasn’t in contention (finished 10 shots from lead).
One of the stories linked below noted that … “As recently as three years ago, final round coverage had a comparably healthy 0.9 and 1.31 million. Five years ago, when Michelle Wie won, the final round had a 1.4 and 2.04 million on NBC. Thirteen years ago, when Annika Sörenstam last won, ratings and viewership reached as high as 3.1 and 4.28 million.”
So why would this be?
https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2019/06/pga-tour-memorial-ratings-viewership-tiger/
https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2019/06/us-womens-open-ratings-record-low-fox/