Women's golf -- What would you do?

So this is something I've been thinking about as I've watched the best women amateurs grind out Champion's Retreat ahead of the final round at the Augusta National Women's Amateur event. I'm a big fan of this event, but I'm also aware that women's golf faces many hurdles. What would make women's golf the best it could be 5 years from now, 10 years from now? If you had a daughter, say 9 years old, what golfing environment would you wish her to walk into as she prepares to move into college golf. If you have a prodigy that could go pro at 21 or younger, that LPGA would you wish her to walk into?

The #ANWA has me thinking about how we can make golf not only sustainable, but more equitable in the coming decade. If you discovered your (notional) daughter turned nine this year (mine did) how would you pave the way for her to life if it turned our she was really good at making golf balls do what her club demanded it do?

It's all about the money. Make the pay much more in line with the men's game. Once the bigger purses start to show, more women will want to go pro.

Since this is a niche market (not just them, the whole of the game), first you maximize your current customer base. Then, you start to move into related customer bases.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be the guy who mentions income strata as the be-all end-all, however, it's the reality.

First you market hard to the mother's of said daughters. the fathers are probably already on the hook. Get the mom's on board. Then you market hard to the high schools that have golf programs. Provide equipment, apparel, book bags. Frame it as a game where they can compete with the boys, and beat them.

Once you get that rolling, you market to smaller colleges that either have golf or don't. Throw some golf scholarship money down. The smaller schools won't cost as much to support as the bigger more prestigious schools.

Don't just advertise on the Golf Channel. Buy some spots on, let's call them "women oriented" shows. Once again, not trying to be demeaning or divisive, it's all just trying to make the smart strategy for growing a specific demographic.

Disclaimer: I am just some dude on the internet. These opinions have no bearing on anything.

I think disparity in distance is a big factor in how the men on the PGA rank. With ladies, precision and putting are the keys, with distance being less of a factor.

That said, I think the Asians are coached with this in mind, and at least anecdotally, this is reflected by looking at any LPGA leaderboard on any given day. An analogy might be found in watching women's diving in the Olympics; the Chinese divers are so technically precise, and that has to be a product of intense coaching.

In California back in the 90's, I saw 2 young Asian girls (maybe 11 or 12 years old) hitting 7-irons to a green about 135-yards out. Their shot shapes were nearly identical, and their accuracy was just uncanny. Every shot was a carbon copy of the last - it was truly amazing to watch.

Their coach was very active and engaged, stepping in to reinforce body and club positions. Anyway, after a 4-1/2 hour round, they were STILL out there hitting that same shot over and over!

So I guess my advice would be to seek out the coaching that would garner and reinforce precision. It's probably a grueling way to learn, and might result in burn-out, especially with Americans. I can only imagine the young Chinese divers have no choice but to practice this way, but the results are undeniable (not sure if Chinese golfers are subject to that, but it would make sense).