Monthly Archives: May 2012

Funny tweets from LPGA golfers

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I have been following a number of the LPGA players on twitter and it is really amazing how much information they share about their personal lives.  Yes, they do promote events they are attending and products they use (or should I say endorse) but overall the tweets are not commercial.  In fact, many of the ladies are quite funny.

The best tweets involve photos, food and/or drink, insider jokes, and conversations between players.  Below are some examples.  If you are not familiar with Twitter, I’ll do my best to explain.  One thing to keep in mind is that anytime you see a twitter handle (like @ChristinaKim) just replace it with a name.  Here we go….

Here is a tweet from Christina Kim that represents it all (Photo, Food, Humor – self-deprecation).  Kim replied to a tweet from Nicole Hage.  Hage tweeted a photo showing her recent baking efforts.  Hage says “all done” (and includes a photo) and Kim replies ” You bake, and look like you….”

Christina Kim Tweet to Hage

Now, Kim has been tweeting a lot about her workouts at the gym (which adds to this already funny tweet.)  If you don’t know this…in the tweet above, there is a photo, Kim is the women in the front (that’s Michelle Wei behind her and the photo is from the Solheim Cup).

Nicole Hage

Here is a Photo of Nicole Hage.  I had to add the photo because Kim said  “you bake, and look like you” (so I know my readers would ask, so what does Nicole Hage look like).

Now, many of you who read my blog know I have written about slow play and how it is bad for the game.  So here is a funny tweet between two players about the time it took to play a Pro-Am tournament.

Suzann Petterson Tweet on Pro-AMChristina Kim reply to Pro-Am As you can see, Kim’s reply comes after Pettersens’ text..5:50, Stop exaggerating. Ugh!  The joke is self-evident.  Hopefully, now you get how to read the tweets.

Below is a “tweet conversation” that I loved because the players are exchanging a bit of “teasing” before a match.  Sophie Gustafson and Karen Stupples were scheduled to go head-to-head in match play (this was tweeted the night before the match).

Tweet between Gustafson and Stupples

Gustafson Foot Photo

And, Gustafson attached photo of her foot…to which, Karen later tweeted..love the golf tan.

Here is a great tweet from Karen Stupples regarding a rain delay.

Stupples tweet about rain delay in NJ

I guess as a traveling golfer you see it all.  Here is a photo tweeted from Rachel Connor.

Connor Tweet on Airplane

And how about this tweet from Sophie Gustafson at an airport terminal.  I can’t attach the video but here is a still of the object on the luggage carousel (yup, it’s a Heinken)

Gustafson Video Tweet

There are so many more good tweets I could show but this post would just get too long.  I want to end with two that are not really “funny” like the ones about; but show the great support these players give each other (as friends) on tour.

Kerr tweet to GulbisLincicome Tweet Congrats to OToole

This week, at the ShopRite tournament, the LPGA will promote the use of twitter by adding player’s twitter handles to name tags that go on the back of the caddie’s bib.  Now, as a fan, I already follow my favorites. So the bibs are interesting but I’m not sure it will get me to follow more.  As a marketing professional, I say “good for the LPGA for trying something new;” and I will be interested to see if it impacts individual player’s (i.e. will they get more followers.)  I plan to do my own research and see if I see any spikes in followers for the players.  By the way, the LPGA did tweet about the new name tags.

LPGA Photo Tweet

Finally, are you wondering which LPGA player has the most followers?  Well, it is Natalie Gulbis with 115,855 followers (as of May 28 at 2:38 pm).  This doesn’t surprise me given I wrote a blog post titled “Natalie Gulbis – This golfer is a savvy Marketer.”

Moments of glory in golf – some forever and some fleeting

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The best advice my mother ever gave me is that life can be tough (with lots of ups and downs) and we live through the tough times to experience “the moments” that make life worth living.  So here are two stories that are perfect examples of the ups and downs of life as a golfer.  One story of a golfer making history and the other who should have made history except for a heartbreaking lapse in concentration.

Let’s start with the moment of glory for Rhein Gibson.  Gibson is not someone you should know.  He plays on the Golfweek National Pro Tour (frankly, a mini-tour I have never heard of before now).  So what did Gibson do for his moment of glory?  He recorded a 55 (or 16 under par) at his home course, River Oaks, in Edmond, Oklahoma.  His scorecard is all over the internet but if you have not seen it here is a great shot of it from the Australia Broadcasting website article (Gibson lives in Oklahoma but is Australia).

Australia Broadcasting Company Image of Rhein Gibson Scorecard

How good is a 55?  The world’s best female golfer is known for shooting a 59 (in tournament play) and her nickname is Annika59 (yes, Annika Sorenstam).  She often talked about her personal goal to shoot a perfect round — the elusive score of 54 (which would be a birdie on every hole).  But this has never happened for any golfer.

Now, Gibson was not playing in a tournament but Gibson’s score of 55 could still go into the Guinness Book of World Records.  We will have to wait and see if it accepted; but what an amazing site to see.  Six birdies on the front nine for a 29; followed by 2 eagles (the triangles) and 6 more birdies for a back 9 score of 26.  Will Gibson ever make it to the PGA?  Who knows, but he has his 15 minutes of fame and a moment in his life that he will never, ever forget.

Now to a story that should have been history making for a young high school female golfer.  Caroline Inglis was on her way to winning the Oregon state tournament for the 4th year in a row. She finished with a 3-under 69, a score that was nine shots better than anyone else in the tournament.  But she was disqualified and lost her title.  How?  Read on…

In golf, a player must sign the scorecard at the end of the round and if the player signs an incorrect scorecard they will be disqualified.  This is what happened to Inglis.  According to news reports, her playing partner recorded a par for Inglis on the final (18th) hole but Inglis shot a bogey (1 over par); and Inglis did not catch the error and signed the card.  You can see the disbelief in the young golfer’s face in the photo below.

Churchill golfer Caroline Inglis after being disqualified for a scorecard violation — Jesse Skoubo/AP/Corvallis

(Photo by Jesse Skoubo/AP/Corvallis).

You wonder how could this happen; but according to an article written by Mike Tokito of The Oregonian, it happens more that you think.  He interviewed the University of Oregon women’s golf coach Ria Scott.  Inglis will play college golf for the University of Oregon next year. The quote from the article is:

“From my experience, it seems to happen when people are really emotional about their round, one way or another,” Scott said. “Either you’re really frustrated or really excited.”

In other words, the young player was so excited that she lost her concentration and did not focus on making sure the card was correct.  That’s a tough golf (and life) lesson to learn.

I’m sure Caroline Inglis will recover and go on to bigger and better things in golf.  Although we can’t predict her future; I think we can predict she will always double check her scorecard.

Kevin Na’s personal frustration translates to golf fan frustration with slow play

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The big story from the 2012 Players Championship was Kevin Na’s endless struggle with his pre-shot routine.  What I thought was fascinating was that the press was so empathetic and forgiving.  Normally, the press would be very critical but this time it was the fans that were outwardly critical.  The fans were respectful the first three rounds but by the 4th round, the fan frustration was evident with the haggling Na had to endure.

What led to this “gentler and kinder” press?  The answer appears to be in the fact that he did not hide from their questions.  Many reports stated Na “is refreshing” in his admission of his problem.  He not only apologizes to his playing partner but opens up in his press conference explaining:

“I’m trying to get comfortable with my waggles. It’s usually a little waggle, half waggle, little waggle, half waggle, and boom, supposed to pull the triggers. But if it doesn’t work, I’ve got to go in pairs.  So it’ll go four; and if it doesn’t work, it’ll go six; and after that, just — there’s a lot going on in my head. (Laughter).  And it’s not — I’m not being nice to myself, trust me. I’m ripping myself.”  See more of Kevin Na’s press conference at PGAtour.com

Now, I certainly have sympathy for any personal struggle but I must admit that more than once I was yelling at my TV — “just hit the ball.”  Eventually, I turned away from golf (something I rarely do on a Sunday of a big tournament).  I’m sure I am not the only fan that stopped watching.  My reaction is something golf cannot afford. The goal of the golf industry is growth (both in the fan base and in recreational play) and risking that a percentage of the current fan base might “walk away” from a telecast is going in the wrong direction.

Even though the tournament officials put Kevin Na on the clock (which added to his stress); it did not appear (to me) to quicken the pace of play.  Slow play is one of the biggest issues in golf today (both in professional and recreational golf).  If the professional golfers are role models for “how to play” then they need to send the message that playing slow is not acceptable.

Many tour players have expressed their dislike for slow play but it helps the cause when big name players take a stand.  Yesterday the biggest of big name players, Tiger Woods,  stated his opinion on how to fix slow play on tour.  Currently the fine for slow play is $5,000 up to $20,000 depending on the situation.  Tiger Woods said that he believes a penalty stroke should be accessed for slow play.  Woods explained:

“Strokes is money….what’s the difference between first and second [at the Players] right now?… $800,000…that’s one shot, and that’s the difference. That’s what people don’t realize, that one shot is so valuable out here.”

I completely agree with Woods, given the income of professional golfers a $5,000 fine is nothing but a stroke is significant.  A stroke not only impacts the wallet for the professional; but it could impact where they place in the tournament which can also carry over to Fed-Ex points and world rankings.  All of these combined make a stoke penalty a more meaningful deterrent.

Finally, I think the PGA could learn something from the LPGA.  Both the PGA and LPGA do have stroke penalties in the rules for slow play.  Both the PGA and LPGA give the slow player a warning before giving a violation.  But the difference comes when the first violation is given to a player.  The  PGA only imposes a fine; not a stroke on the first violation. The LPGA imposes a fine and stroke on the first violation.

Final word — gentlemen it’s time to follow the ladies lead — give a stroke penalty for the first violation of slow play.

When will golf be a truly inclusive game?

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When I told a new friend (who happens to be male) that I loved golf; he replied “You know what golf stands for?  (I thought here comes the joke all women hear when they say they have an interest in golf; wait for the punch line.  Here it comes.)  “Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden.”  I just rolled my eyes.  He laughed and said “I guess you’ve heard that joke.”  If you are curious…The origin of the term golf (according to the USGA Museum) is the Dutch word “kolf” meaning club.

I have a good sense of humor and know he was just joking but later in the evening I did think about the old Russian proverb — In every joke there is a bit of truth.  And, I would be in serious denial if I did not recognize the fact that there is still an exclusive aspect to my favorite sport.  Women are still (in many ways) second class citizens.

This year, Augusta National’s policy of not admitting female members, hit home even more.  Why?  Because IBM was the key sponsor and their CEO is a female; and all past CEO’s of key sponsors were offered membership at Augusta.  Of course, playing Augusta (let alone being a member) is just a dream for most of us (man or woman); but it would have been the perfect year for Augusta, “America’s mecca of golf,” to exemplify that golf is an “inclusive” game.

But what about the rest of the golf world?  Overall there are many great courses, instructors, and organizations that recognize the benefits of catering to women golfers.  But there is still a long way to go before women can go to any course and feel that they are as “valued” as their male counterparts.  And by “valued” I mean that women are not an afterthought.  Too often, my friends and I have tried a new course only to be disappointed by lousy amenities and poorly laid-out forward tees.

I do hope for the day when it is the norm that …

  1. All pro shops cater to women golfers.  Simple things like stocking ladies gloves and balls so I can grab them on the go.  Or decent rental clubs available specifically for women.
  2. All courses have forward tees that are as nice as the back tees (e.g. well marked, level, and well manicured.)  And, that ball washers and water at located by the forward tees too.
  3. All golf stores have an equal amount of “shelf space” allocated to women’s clothing, accessories, and equipment.

And although I have played with many very nice men there are many men that really don’t like women golfers.  It would be wonderful to have a future where men do not openly show disdain when a woman is put with their group.   After all, golf is a gentleman’s sport and being gracious to any additional member to your foursome is the decent thing to do.

Now, I am an optimist and do believe that the day will come when we no longer debate if golf is a truly inclusive game.  I do hope that it will be in my lifetime!  Until then, I will reward the courses, instructors, and stores that do make me feel welcomed by spending my golfing dollars with them!