Does the LPGA Need to be Saved?

These days golf participation and interest in the game has been damaged by a poor economy and professional golf sponsorships are waning; the LPGA especially looks to have been a victim of these circumstances. Is this merely a result of the circumstances, or does the LPGA face an uncertain future and need to be "saved"?



It definitely appears that golf in the Western hemisphere is in a temporary decline; although the sport is booming in the Far East. Golfers aren’t playing as much as they did in years past, courses and golf resort destinations are cutting rates in vain to attract travelers, corporate partners are pulling sponsorships of professional events and the latest $500 golf drivers are collecting dust on shelves throughout the country. There is no doubt that the global economic meltdown is the primary culprit, and the primary cause of the golf industry's most recent decline. That’s the good news.



This is good news because it’s temporary. The sport of golf might never (then again, it might) reach the heights it once saw when Tiger and Annika were young phenoms, but golf should regain at least part of what has been lost due to shrinking wallets in the past few years.



That all makes perfect sense. When people have less money, luxury items (golf) typically don’t get purchased. When people have money they will buy luxury items (play golf). Then why is their a rush to say that women’s golf, in particular the LPGA, is on the brink of disappearing?



There is a virtual laundry list of commonly cited problems with the LPGA, including: tour events that are without sponsors and television coverage; too many foreign players are on the tour who do not speak English; the LPGA lacks strong leadership at the top after Commissioner Carolyn Bivens unsuccessful tenure and resignation; and there is simply not a large enough fan base to support the tour. The combination of these factors would appear to spell nothing but disaster for professional women’s golf.



Tour events losing sponsors and changes in LPGA Tour leadership have had some impact, but there is not a general lack of interest, nor do Asian players and their lack of English language skills have an impact on popularity. The PGA Tour has also lost sponsors, but is the men’s professional golf tour in danger of disbanding? Corporations all across the world have problems at the top, but do they go out of business because of it? I would answer these questions with a resounding “no” on both counts.



As fans of golf (not women’s golf or men’s golf, but simply “golf”) we love seeing great play, and players whose love of the game shows through their intensity, exuberance and words (whether through an interpreter or not). Nowhere are all these things more clearly on display than on the LPGA Tour. This is a great time for the LPGA Tour; from top to bottom they have the best talent they’ve ever had. They love to play golf and they care deeply for the game that has become their lives. Based upon those criteria, if any tour should be worrying it should be the PGA Tour. Talk about a stoic, emotionless group!



The LPGA governing body is not synonymous with the LPGA Tour. Television alone does not dictate the LPGA Tour’s success. The players are the tour. The players are what will keep the LPGA Tour on sound footing, and by my view it is in good hands. As world economies recover, so will the state of women’s professional golf, men’s professional golf and the sport of golf in general. Any grand talk that some aspect of the game will fall to the wayside because of a temporary downturn in the world economy is complete bunk.