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I really am trying to like the LPGA.....but

bama

bama

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ok...this is just my opinion with no facts to back it up....
Call it a very subjective feeling while watching the LPGA on TV versus anything else...

Being on swing shift for a few niughts, this is the first time in a long time that I have had a chance to sit and try and watch the LPGA on TV (HD-DVR late at night after I get home when the family is asleep is nioce and quiet)

I originally thought that the LPGA would be better to watch as the club lengths and mishaps of the women seem more in tune with my game..Length of the course is also a commonality...then I sat down to watch...

I am not racist, stereotypical or even really biased individual, but it seems the ratrio of Korean, Chinese and Japanese golfers on the LPGA is just staggering compared to the PGA. I found myself fast forwarding through their shots just to see either an American or European female play. I know I might not be summarizing this as politically correct as I could be, but I just dont get anything out of watching every 3rd player on TV being a teenager from overseas...

Call it what you will, but just the fact that I found myself "semi uninterested" unless a non-(Korean, Chinese or Japanese)player was swinging leads me to believe it has to do with the high ratio of overseas players...

Anyone else feel this way?? Is the ratio just as high on the PGA tour??

bama
 
I do not, because I love their game. However Bama, you are in the majority it seems in that thinking. The LPGA needs a star to come out of the mix no matter what the nationality and things could be different.
 
I think you are just being honest and saying what a lot of people think. It is hard for a lot of people to get behind a sport where most of the players don't speak the same language as the market they are trying to sell it to. I think Bivens tried to solve that problem and was crucified for it, but she saw the truth on that one. Flame away at my comments.....
 
CM,
I dont think there is anything to flame. Bivens did see and wanted to "fix it". Unfortunately we live in a PC world and there is nothing that is going to change that. While the US kids were bored with the sport. Other countries saw players like Se Ri Pak as a true icon and modeled themselves after her. Similar to the Aussies seeing Karrie Webb and doing the same. Unfortunately the US ladies did not have that force other than Tiger on the mens tour.
 
I do watch the LPGA enough to know who is who, but I get in the frame of mind when watching it that I don't know a lot of the players and there isn't much name recognition for me while watching. Sure if you watch week in and week out you know all the players. But to me if the players like Creamer, Gulbis, Pressel, Petterson, Ochoa, ect... aren't near the top I change the channel. It's unfortunate I think that way because there is a lot of talent out there but I think a lot of people think that way.

Take for example last week, I watched hoping Pressel would pull it off, but she didn't. I can't tell you the name of other girl who won, just that when she was interviewed she said "good for me" about 5 times.
 
I think that making the courses harder and making the elite players rise to the top rather than have a different winner each and every week would help with name recognition.
 
I totally agree with all the above.... I know who Se Ri Pak is and have for a long time as she was the overseas best...now it is anyones game...

I like the US open thus far....Players are having a rough time...I am enjoying watching Webb and Reynolds and their different game styles.
 
bama said:
ok...this is just my opinion with no facts to back it up....
Call it a very subjective feeling while watching the LPGA on TV versus anything else...

Being on swing shift for a few niughts, this is the first time in a long time that I have had a chance to sit and try and watch the LPGA on TV (HD-DVR late at night after I get home when the family is asleep is nioce and quiet)

I originally thought that the LPGA would be better to watch as the club lengths and mishaps of the women seem more in tune with my game..Length of the course is also a commonality...then I sat down to watch...

I am not racist, stereotypical or even really biased individual, but it seems the ratrio of Korean, Chinese and Japanese golfers on the LPGA is just staggering compared to the PGA. I found myself fast forwarding through their shots just to see either an American or European female play. I know I might not be summarizing this as politically correct as I could be, but I just dont get anything out of watching every 3rd player on TV being a teenager from overseas...

Call it what you will, but just the fact that I found myself "semi uninterested" unless a non-(Korean, Chinese or Japanese)player was swinging leads me to believe it has to do with the high ratio of overseas players...

Anyone else feel this way?? Is the ratio just as high on the PGA tour??

bama
Click to expand...

I completely agree.
 
I wonder why there is such a huge influx of Koreans, asians, etc on the LPGA tour but not on the PGA? I don't watch the events because I don't watch much TV, but even when I do catch a bit it seems like every 3rd players last name is Park. I get them all confused.:confused2:
 
dynarider said:
I wonder why there is such a huge influx of Koreans, asians, etc on the LPGA tour but not on the PGA? I don't watch the events because I don't watch much TV, but even when I do catch a bit it seems like every 3rd players last name is Park. I get them all confused.:confused2:
Click to expand...

My theory: South Korea remains a very traditional, male-dominated society. Not a lot of opportunties for ambitious young women.

Along came Se Ri Pak, role model extraordinaire. Suddenly, parents ambitious for their daughters see a viable career path. There aren't a lot of other good options.

I married into a tennis family. Just TRY to keep track of all the Eastern European female tennis players.
 
Just a guess on my part, but I think that reason is because as a whole, the American, and European players are better than their Korean, Asian counterparts. This may, or may not be the case with the LPGA tour. Like I said just a guess. :comp:

QUOTE=dynarider;109676]I wonder why there is such a huge influx of Koreans, asians, etc on the LPGA tour but not on the PGA? I don't watch the events because I don't watch much TV, but even when I do catch a bit it seems like every 3rd players last name is Park. I get them all confused.:confused2:[/QUOTE]
 
This whole topic is very evident this weekend. Look at all the players in or tied for the top 11 in this tourny. People may not want to acknowledge it, but that is part of the reason for lack of viewership. Looking forward to seeing the ratings come tomorrow.
 
GREG COUCH, a reporter, summed it up pretty well. Womens golf has 3 problems. #3 was Bivens. #2 is the economy scaring a way sponsors..
#1 is that womens golf does not sell.

Sports Corp's Marc Ganis said the game of golf is a "niche" sport, and womens golf is a "niche" of a "niche". :cool:
 
ya i was thinking the exact same thing yesterday when i was watching. But i still find it weird how they are pros playing "the hardest venue all year" and there is 374 yd par 4s. :confused2:
 
provisional said:
GREG COUCH, a reporter, summed it up pretty well. Womens golf has 3 problems. #3 was Bivens. #2 is the economy scaring a way sponsors..
#1 is that womens golf does not sell.

Sports Corp's Marc Ganis said the game of golf is a "niche" sport, and womens golf is a "niche" of a "niche". :cool:
Click to expand...

I think golf at one time was niche. But Tiger Woods changed that for many many people. It now gets higher ratings than many of the "regular sports"

OFvar said:
ya i was thinking the exact same thing yesterday when i was watching. But i still find it weird how they are pros playing "the hardest venue all year" and there is 374 yd par 4s. :confused2:
Click to expand...

Difficulty is not always measured by distance. The Masters and others are not the longest courses out there.
 
I am probably in the minority again, but I spend more time watching a good NFL, MLB, contest and maybe even a decent match up between two NBA teams, than I do golf. Now that the the NFL, MLB, and the NBA have there own year around networks, golf has to feel some what of a pinch. I can say I might watch golf more when Tiger is playing than I normally would. But he limits his playing time, so there are a lot of down weeks, where I just wait for the highlight reels. If he is in the final group on Sunday with a 2 stroke lead, I figure the tournament is over already, and go on about my business. As far as the LPGA, I probably watch more women's tennis when their events are telecasts.

I love to play the game, I like reading about it's history, but to set 3 hours a side to watch it on TV, there is just not enough action to keep me glued to the flat screen for that long. I think it is tough to appreciate what the players are doing watching the game on TV. Yeah, you get to see the 300+ yard drives, the great approach shots, and the 40' putts, but it is not the same as being there in person, or hitting/putting a few of these shots yourself. I don't hit 300 yard shots anymore, but that 260 one feels pretty good. :comp:



JB said:
I think golf at one time was niche. But Tiger Woods changed that for many many people. It now gets higher ratings than many of the "regular sports"



Difficulty is not always measured by distance. The Masters and others are not the longest courses out there.
Click to expand...
 
I agree that I spend more time watching the NFL and MLB than golf. But remember golf has their own network too.
 
JB said:
This whole topic is very evident this weekend. Look at all the players in or tied for the top 11 in this tourny. People may not want to acknowledge it, but that is part of the reason for lack of viewership. Looking forward to seeing the ratings come tomorrow.
Click to expand...

I think with the right marketing and the Girl's Golf program here in the US, the LPGA can overcome this in time. They went through a similiar problem in the 70's when there were so many lesbians on the tour and going to the events that many other people had little interest in the LPGA.
 
You are correct Diane. And while I have never cared at all what a golfer's sexual orientation is, many people apparently did. I mean the Karrie Webb story from a few years back was major news in certain areas, and I just did not care one way or the other.
 
It was the 70's - different time and place. I hate to say this, but most American's won't take the time to learn which Kim is which unless the LPGA does something to differentiate the players. Or the players do something themselves. Winning isn't enough - they really need to brand themselves in some way whether it's wearing a certain color or something else.
 
JB said:
I agree that I spend more time watching the NFL and MLB than golf. But remember golf has their own network too.
Click to expand...

You are right of course. But if TGC did not come with my cable package, I am not sure I would have it. Their channel is where I get my highlight reels, and EPGA. Not a real fan of the net work otherwise. :comp:
 
Diane said:
It was the 70's - different time and place. I hate to say this, but most American's won't take the time to learn which Kim is which unless the LPGA does something to differentiate the players. Or the players do something themselves. Winning isn't enough - they really need to brand themselves in some way whether it's wearing a certain color or something else.
Click to expand...

You are 100% right. Most look at them as machines and all the same. Right or wrong, that is the perception.
 
JB said:
You are 100% right. Most look at them as machines and all the same. Right or wrong, that is the perception.
Click to expand...

This is marketing 101 - I can't understand why the LPGA doesn't get it.
 
They dont really have a choice. They can only do so much with the talent. They have some great domestic players that really could do something special for the tour. Players like Gulbis, Wie, Creamer, etc... could really help with viewership. But right now it is hard for the casual viewer to watch.
 
interesting difference in opinion

interesting difference in opinion

This conversation is very interesting to me.
I have been watching some of the LPGA majors this year and I had a completely opposite feeling.

Since the end of yesterday till right now, NBC has been showing 2 out of every 3 shots by Paula Creamer. She is plus 5 and not currently in the top ten.

Candy Kung (Taiwan) is tied for 2nd place and there are approx 4 Koreans in the top ten. Yesterday, the majority of the leaderboard was Asian.

Being Korean-American, I find myself eagerly waiting for NBC to show more Korean players. IMO, in comparison to the number of Koreans on the leaderboard, they are not being shown proportionately.

I know this is a US broadcast, but, with the caveat that I am not the must avid LPGA fan, I don't understand why Paula Creamer gets so much attention? I know she is not the LPGA's Tiger, but is she Mickelson before he won a major? Is it partly because she wears pink on Sundays?

Lastly, as for the marketing 'strategy' of the LPGA regarding their Asian players, I have an opinion.

It would be a bit strange and borderline prejudice if the broadcasts ignored half the leaderboard because certain players
1) don't have names that are easily distinguishible for our roman-based language, and
2) because the majority of the Asians players are hard to tell apart because "they all look the same".

I do admit that the Korean players could make more efforts in distinguishing themselves to the fans by a) using American names and b) by speaking more english to the media. We all remember Birdie Kim.

Korean students take English classes from a very young age and most people can read much better then they can speak.
I think part of the reason some players may choose not to interview in English is because they are afraid of being teased. Remember K.J. Choi's interview after winning the Memorial? His flubbing of the language is still alive through youtube and he was the butt of a number of jokes on golf blogs.

Sorry for rambling. Hope I did not offend or bore.
 
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