The New LPGA

The LPGA (Ladies’ Professional Golf Association) has issued a policy that if players don’t speak English well enough to pass an oral exam, their membership will be suspended.

Since when did any sport have language as a condition? There are lots of good reasons why a player coming to North America should learn some English. But to put it down as a condition of entering a tournament is unacceptable to me.

It sounds as if the American association is concerned that too many players from other countries are winning their tournaments. When it comes time to accept the prize, they are not as eloquent as their English-speaking counterparts. This apparently does not satisfy the sponsors and the television networks.

This ruling is no threat to most European golfers. Any visit to that continent will result in your realizing that most young people speak English quite well.

The policy seems to be directly aimed at Asian golfers.

I have one word for you LPGA – translators. What would you rather have, somebody’s words from the heart translated or that same person spitting out some clichés they have learned, giving 110% while doing it?

As far as marketing is concerned, if the Koreans are doing so well, why not approach companies like Kia and LG for sponsorships?

We just finished watching just over two weeks of the Olympic Games. Can you imagine how this spectacle would be tarnished if speaking English was a requirement? For me, it was this blend of cultures that made the competitions so interesting. I didn’t see any interviews with the Chinese gymnasts, but that didn’t seem to bother me. I had witnessed the best in the world competing against each other. That was enough.

I think I would like to change the meaning of the acronym LPGA to Let’s Play Golf Again and get over this bureaucratic regulation requiring somebody to be less than herself.