LPGA has a bad idea

LPGA has a bad idea

Orlando Sentinel: Back in the day, getting a spot on the women’s professional golf tour wasn’t all that convoluted: Just hit a golf ball well.

Now you have to talk a good game, too.

The LPGA is requiring golfers to speak English by 2009 or face suspension. Officials with the Daytona Beach-based LPGA say that it’s a sports-entertainment business and golfers have to interact with fans and sponsors.

We get that. The women’s golf tour, unlike other professional team sports, has more one-on-one interaction with corporate sponsors. A pro team can pick from any number of stars for corporate face-time. The LPGA has limited options. There are 121 foreign players from 26 countries, 45 of those from South Korea.

This is where the rationale drifts into Crazy Land.

Seven of the world’s top 20 players come from South Korea. Even though the LPGA is trying to spin this by saying it’s not singling out one group, we know better. It doesn’t want corporate sponsorships to get lost in translation. It’s also missing the bigger picture.

Our nation embraces diversity. It’s not South Korea’s fault that it produces better women golfers than the United States. That’s like Ford and Chrysler complaining that foreign cars are driving away business. Maybe there wouldn’t be a problem if the United States had better golfers.

No other major sport has an English-speaking policy. Imagine if the NBA had turned away Yao Ming when he first came overseas in 2002 and needed an interpreter. If the LPGA folks are so concerned about marketing, why not take a peek at the NBA? The brand is now worldwide, thanks to 76 international players from 31 countries.