US Ladies Complacent?
Hello. FYI Geroge White wrote a column on thegolfchannel.com quoting Karrie Webb as saying the LPGA needs more American ladies competing and winning tournaments in order for interest to soar. I agree 100% with that statement.
Geroge White is without question the writer who is most responsive to comments on his articles. And while I've had more in-depth email exchanges with John Rolfe of si.com, White is almost a 100% guarantee to reply. The following is a combination of an exchange of emails between George and myself today.
Hello George. Thanks as always for your prompt replies. Believe me, it makes an impression on your audience.
By the way, if anyone replies back saying Karrie Webb's remarks were racist in any way, tell them the IOC does the same thing (seeing how the countries fare in previous Olympics) when awarding the Olympics. That's why if things stay the same Canada will never get another Summer Olympics again. You want the home country to be competitive.
Very well said George! As a Canadian, I heard all the excuses over the years about why we didn't do better internationally in sports (low population, lack of federal money, weather, etc). Finally the "Own the Podium" program was started for the Winter Olympics sports with an aim of #1 nation in 2010 in Vancouver. Needless to say, our team did great this year, finishing 4th overall with our highest ever medal count.
Where are the supposed "young guns" (Christina Kim, Natalie Gulbis, Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie) this year with the wins? I know Creamer has been injured. If they started playing up to the lofty expectations placed on them by the media, your article would've been unnecessary.
Please note too that only 7 of the top 25 in the US Open were Americans, so it's not restricted by gender.
Should the US (and Canada) be taking a look at what the other countries (Sweden, Australia, Korea, Japan) are doing in golf, and model it? Or is North America complacent, like Canada was in 1972 when the USSR gave us the scare of a lifetime in the hockey Summit Series? Or like Ford, GM and Chrysler were when Japanese automakers invaded?
Or are Canada and the US places where you can have a high standard of living without having to excel to be your best, so why bother? How many great potential golfers are watching digital TV or playing video games? Are players from other countries hungrier, because the living they can make here is much higher than back home? A lot of research would have to be done to figure that out.
The last few days I've written in my blog about the different reasons why certain nationalities are not doing as well, and why PGA regulars are going to struggle in majors. I think things will get worse before they get better for North Americans. In the meantime, though, may the best players win!
Regards,
Steve
P.S. If I were the LPGA, I'd market myself a little differently. While sex does sell, the LPGA is really the tour golfers of all abilities should be watching to improve. Just seeing their strategies as they are presented with problems can help all of us. They also hit shots we can all relate too. Se Ri Pak's winning LPGA Championship shot is much more impressive because she used a utility club, whereas Tiger would've probably hit a 7-iron. If the broadcast focus was on course management, consistency, etc I think it would pull in more viewers. Just a thought.
Geroge White is without question the writer who is most responsive to comments on his articles. And while I've had more in-depth email exchanges with John Rolfe of si.com, White is almost a 100% guarantee to reply. The following is a combination of an exchange of emails between George and myself today.
Hello George. Thanks as always for your prompt replies. Believe me, it makes an impression on your audience.
By the way, if anyone replies back saying Karrie Webb's remarks were racist in any way, tell them the IOC does the same thing (seeing how the countries fare in previous Olympics) when awarding the Olympics. That's why if things stay the same Canada will never get another Summer Olympics again. You want the home country to be competitive.
Very well said George! As a Canadian, I heard all the excuses over the years about why we didn't do better internationally in sports (low population, lack of federal money, weather, etc). Finally the "Own the Podium" program was started for the Winter Olympics sports with an aim of #1 nation in 2010 in Vancouver. Needless to say, our team did great this year, finishing 4th overall with our highest ever medal count.
Where are the supposed "young guns" (Christina Kim, Natalie Gulbis, Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie) this year with the wins? I know Creamer has been injured. If they started playing up to the lofty expectations placed on them by the media, your article would've been unnecessary.
Please note too that only 7 of the top 25 in the US Open were Americans, so it's not restricted by gender.
Should the US (and Canada) be taking a look at what the other countries (Sweden, Australia, Korea, Japan) are doing in golf, and model it? Or is North America complacent, like Canada was in 1972 when the USSR gave us the scare of a lifetime in the hockey Summit Series? Or like Ford, GM and Chrysler were when Japanese automakers invaded?
Or are Canada and the US places where you can have a high standard of living without having to excel to be your best, so why bother? How many great potential golfers are watching digital TV or playing video games? Are players from other countries hungrier, because the living they can make here is much higher than back home? A lot of research would have to be done to figure that out.
The last few days I've written in my blog about the different reasons why certain nationalities are not doing as well, and why PGA regulars are going to struggle in majors. I think things will get worse before they get better for North Americans. In the meantime, though, may the best players win!
Regards,
Steve
P.S. If I were the LPGA, I'd market myself a little differently. While sex does sell, the LPGA is really the tour golfers of all abilities should be watching to improve. Just seeing their strategies as they are presented with problems can help all of us. They also hit shots we can all relate too. Se Ri Pak's winning LPGA Championship shot is much more impressive because she used a utility club, whereas Tiger would've probably hit a 7-iron. If the broadcast focus was on course management, consistency, etc I think it would pull in more viewers. Just a thought.
posted by Irrelevant at 1:15 PM
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