CAG Editor's GolfBuzz Blog

Do LPGA Players Need to Put Some English on It?

CAG Editor — 08/26/2008 20:10:01

The LPGA recently announced that by the end of 2009, all players who have been on the tour for two years must pass an oral evaluation of their English skills or face a membership suspension. The reason? “Athletes now have more responsibilities and we want to help their professional development. There are more fans, more media and more sponsors. We want to help our athletes as best we can succeed off the golf course as well as on it.”
Right. How delightfully patronizing and paternalistic. The LPGA wants to “help” its players by suspending them if they don’t achieve fluency in English. It’s one thing to lose your card for not playing well; it’s another to lose it for needing a translator for your victory speech.
Let’s face it. This policy isn’t aimed at Lorena Ochoa; it’s aimed at the four dozen Korean women on the tour, the “expressionless” Asians whom Jan Stephenson said were “killing” the women’s game a few years back. This year, Korean women won six events over seven weeks and took three of the four major championships. That couldn’t have been good for ratings or sponsorship prospects.
In the women’s game, it’s apparently not enough to have talent; you’ve got to charm the gallery. And in this country, the LPGA asserts, you can’t do that with limited English skills.
The language golfers speak is golf. Improving their English will take them away from the practice tee, and, potentially, from the winner’s circle. But threatening players with suspensions if they don’t pass a “fluency” test is a draconian move. The LPGA can spin it by saying it wants to help its players, but all it’s doing is the same thing it did in 2002 when then-commissioner Ty Votaw told players to sex up their acts. The difference is, Pat Hurst was never threatened by a suspension for non-compliance.

Open Season Closed

CAG Editor — 08/08/2008 17:39:59

Did you make it out to The Broadmoor to watch the U.S. Senior Open? I sure did. What a pleasure to watch the world’s best 50-year-old-plus golfers, including Greg Norman, Mark O’Meara, Hale Irwin and Tom Watson, take on the East Course, which proved to be more than equal to the task. Kudos to superintendent Fred Dickman and his staff for keeping it in such pristine condition while maintaining the USGA’s notoriously tough standards. Congratulations also to Eduardo Romero, who won the event by four strokes (the largest margin of victory since 1995) over Fred Funk.

Rocky and the Eye of the Tiger

CAG Editor — 06/18/2008 09:19:32

I’ll admit I don’t watch as much PGA TOUR golf as I probably should, given my job.
The majors, however, are another story.
And this year’s U.S. Open was a story I couldn’t turn away from.
In one corner, the aging Grinder; in the other, the gimpy Goliath. Tied after 72 holes, they sparred for another 18 on Monday. Going into the final hole, Rocco had pulled one shot ahead, but then he pulled his birdie putt after Tiger had made his.
Onto sudden death. We know how it ended, but did we really want it to end?
I, for one, didn’t.
I rooted for both players. Rocco Mediate’s age and affability made him more than an underdog in my eyes. I identified with him. He’s seen as many turns around the sun as I have, and there’s nothing “privileged” about his approach. His father and my father both cut hair for a living, and our Italian forebears anglicized the pronunciation of our surnames to blend into the American melting pot.
But, as even Rocco said after Sunday’s round, you can’t root against Tiger. Nobody plays the game with more intensity. The shots he made on Saturday and Sunday alone would comprise a career’s worth of highlights for most professional players.
I wish the last highlight from the U.S. Open would be of Tiger or Rocco sinking an impossible putt or holing one from off the green. Instead, Mediate’s par putt rolled by the 19th playoff hole.
It ended with a miss instead of a make, but I’m glad I didn’t miss watching it.

Welcome to the new website!

CAG Editor — 11/20/2007 13:12:26

Welcome to the new and vastly improved Colorado AvidGolfer website! It’s truly a one-stop shop for all your golf needs. You can track your game and scores, connect with other golfers, find courses, order a Golf Passport, give feedback on articles and MUCH, MUCH more. All you have to do is become a member (it’s FREE!!). Then poke around and see what gets your juices going. We’ll be adding more goodies every day, so bookmark this page, and become part of the best golf community in Colorado and the U.S.!