Korean lady golfers

[Kumabjorn]

I have some thoughts about the progress about Koreans on the LPGA Tour, but before getting into what I am trying to figure out I need some hard core facts about golf in Korea. I have Googled and Wikied without getting what I really need.

Does anyone here have some good links about the golfing population, number of courses, averga age of beginning and anything else relating to golf in Korea?

 

[janachen]

hxxp://www.worldgolf.com/courses/skoreagc.html here are the list of golf course in korea

and try to read some issues regarding to korean lady golfer; hxxp://www.worldgolf.com/column/why-korean-golfers-are-dominating-lpga-tour-5643.htm

hope this will help you

 

[cyberious]

Slightly off topic but did you ever notice how the Korean golfers tear it up for like 2 seasons when they first begin to play and then burn out?

 

[WMitch6]

I try to make 2-3 LPGA events each year. One thing that I noticed about the Korean players is that if you pass by the driving range after the round it will be filled with Koreans, usually along with mom and pop critiquing.

There are so many foreign players on the tour that I have lost interest. Last year one tournament, this year - none.

This year the LPGA has 26 tournaments scheduled. 13 in the US and 13 in foreign countries.

 

[TheTrueReview]

I try to make 2-3 LPGA events each year. One thing that I noticed about the Korean players is that if you pass by the driving range after the round it will be filled with Koreans, usually along with mom and pop critiquing.

There are so many foreign players on the tour that I have lost interest. Last year one tournament, this year - none.

This year the LPGA has 26 tournaments scheduled. 13 in the US and 13 in foreign countries.

This topic is a huge can of worms. The previous LPGA Commissioner Caroline Bivens tried to implement an English fluency requirement but was castigated over it and inevitably give the "R" label.

 

[blackxpress]

I try to make 2-3 LPGA events each year. One thing that I noticed about the Korean players is that if you pass by the driving range after the round it will be filled with Koreans, usually along with mom and pop critiquing.

There are so many foreign players on the tour that I have lost interest. Last year one tournament, this year - none.

This year the LPGA has 26 tournaments scheduled. 13 in the US and 13 in foreign countries.

Maybe they should change the name to the ALPGA (American Ladies Professional Golf Association), limit to the field to American born ladies and only play tournaments in the good old US of A. While we're at it, let's get all those foreigners off the men's tour too and make the PGA quit playing in foreign countries. Then it would be more interesting. After all, everybody knows golf is an American game. Dang foreigners.

 

[Wi-Golfer]

After all, everybody knows golf is an American game. Dang foreigners.

Them dang Scottish pricks stole the game from the Americans?

 

[Kumabjorn]

So I'm late in getting back on this, but here are some of my findings.

On a per capita basis less Korean women than Swedish play golf (Sweden being my comparative target), but since population is larger in absolute numbers they are more numerous.
The starting age isn't all that different but more Swedish girls begin in their mid-teens than Koreans, The big difference is that girls starting at an early age (pre-teen) in Sweden begin to leave the game from 16 yrs to 20 yrs, the Koreans seem to soldier on. The main reason mentioned by Swedish girls are "other interests", probably a euphemism for boyfriends. The second most mentioned reason is that it is too "cumbersome", Swedish courses are crowded leaving little room for spontaneous play. However, course access is even more limited in Korea, so there is obviously an attitude gap between the nations.
Another difference is that Swedish girls play comparatively few rounds with their families, most are played with other children, mainly boys for purely numerical reasons.

 

[limpalong]

Good golf is good golf, no matter the nationality of the person holding the club. I have really enjoyed watching some of the LPGA tourneys, many of which have the leaderboards chuck full of names I would have a difficult time pronouncing. So what?? We live in an ever shrinking world. Many of the European born PGA players live in the U.S. Some mistakenly suggest Christina Kim is "a Korean". She was born and raised in California and doesn't have nearly the accent of those born in Wisconsin or Minnesota!

It seems like way too much has been written about the current prevalence of Korean players on the LPGA. For those who attempt to make something out of those statistics... get over it! You could probably take two dozen of the folks suggesting there are too many Koreans on the LPGA, put them in a scramble format, and any one of the top 30 LPGA players could kick their collective butts on the course.

 

[warbirdlover]

I could have swore I put some pics up in here......

 

[WMitch6]

Obviously, I did not make myself clear in my post bemoaning the dominance of foreign players on the LPGA. My problem is not with the success of Korean golfers. It is with the lack of competitive American golfers. The Koreans are their because they earned the position. The Americans are not their because unlike their male counterparts they just aren't good enough. My guess is that there are no more than a half dozen competitive Americans on the tour. There are only 2 in the top 15 money winners.

Reality is, American galleries and more importantly American sponsors ( TV coverage) are less inclined to spend their dollars on a tour with few top American players.

A few years ago I attended an LPGA event at Wykagyl. At the end of the round we passed by the range on the way out. It was filled with foreign players, primarily Asian. There was one American player on the range. That said it all for me.

BTW - Several years ago Se Re Pak did an interview in one of the golf mags. It was during the Michelle Wie drama era. She had some revealing things to say about Korean players, their practice habits and their relationship with their parents compared to American players.

Limp - I know who Christina Kim is, she's the fat assed loudmouth that is probably the most obnoxious player on tour. I had the pleasure of watching her implode at the ShopRite a couple of years ago.

 

[TheTrueReview]

The LPGA Tour is a US based tour. Spin it any way you want but the viewing public are entitled to vote with their feet. If the US viewing public is not interested in watching a tour full of Korean golfers dominating and as a result turn off the TV or don't attend events, then that is their entitlement.

... and that folks is the elephant in the room for the LPGA. Any attempt to address a decline in interest based on those reasons will be met with the "R" word outcry from the reactionaries.

 

[BigJim13]

The LPGA Tour is a US based tour. Spin it any way you want but the viewing public are entitled to vote with their feet. If the US viewing public is not interested in watching a tour full of Korean golfers dominating and as a result turn off the TV or don't attend events, then that is their entitlement.

... and that folks is the elephant in the room for the LPGA. Any attempt to address a decline in interest based on those reasons will be met with the "R" word outcry from the reactionaries.

Agreed. NObody wants to say it but, the money is in US viewership. While other parts of the world has seen a boom in the popularity of golf, the money is still in the US and Money is what drives the tours.

 

[Kumabjorn]

I believe the LPGA now receives more money from Korean broadcasters than US broadcasters. Evian Masters has the most money, so the tour is international, not a closed US based union.

 

[BigJim13]

I believe the LPGA now receives more money from Korean broadcasters than US broadcasters. Evian Masters has the most money, so the tour is international, not a closed US based union.

Is the LPGA even on network TV anymore?