View From The Fairway by Derek Clements
Women’s golf still struggles to gain proper traction. Having reflected upon the recent AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl, I have some theories as to why that might be.
Let’s get the first one on the table straight away. Pace of play! I know that I drone on it about on a regular basis but what does that tell you?
During the first two rounds it was, yet again, utterly funereal.
Time and again we hear about the powers-that-be threatening to impose penalties on slow players so why don’t they do it? Earlier this year the LPGA made it clear that they were planning to bite the bullet and penalise the worst offenders. What has happened? Precisely nothing.
They have the power to impose penalty strokes and what better place to do it than in a major with the eyes of the world on the event? The prevarication simply must stop. Let’s start making examples of the worst offenders. PLEASE!
I devour golf but I could not bring myself to stick with the opening round after Lottie Woad holed her final putt. It was like watching paint dry.
A total of 47,000 fans attended at Royal Pothcawl – I would remind you that this is a major. The Open pulled in 280,000 – and that number could have been multiplied five-fold were it not for ticket restrictions.
On the eve of the tournament, Charley Hull, who provided a thrilling final-round charge, admitted that she watches very little golf – and when she does it is things like Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf that catch her attention.
She believes that today’s players do not need to be nearly as creative as those who dominated the sport in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. And she is quite correct.
Back then, players routinely manipulated the ball – left to right, right to left, low, high.
But here’s the thing – the equipment of the day allowed them to do precisely that. Today’s clubs are designed to be hit as hard as possible, especially drivers. It is no coincidence that today’s top players miss more fairways from the tee than those who went before them because they hit the ball so hard.
The likes of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Hull herself don’t care if they have to play from the rough because they are all super-fit and can muscle the ball to the green. And today’s rough is a joke.
There is another issue.
If you tuned in to The Open Championship from Royal Portrush you will know that you were able to watch every single shot on all four days, from the opening drive on the first day to the winning putt on the Sunday.
The Women’s Open?
Coverage on Sky Sports Golf started at midday. Why?
If you wanted to watch highlights of the final round on BBC2 then you had to stay up until 11.40pm! Talk about treating women’s golfers like second-class citizens.
The irony is that those who were unable to tune in to Sky Sports Golf missed an absolute treat on the final Sunday.
Hull looked like she was going to reel in Miyu Yamashita right up until she dropped shots at the 16th and 17th. The English golfer is a breath of fresh air. She goes after every drive, attacks every flag and always gives the hole a chance. In other words, she is exactly the sort of golfer the sport needs to attract a new audience. But with such poor TV and media coverage, how on earth can that ever happen?
I also have to say that I have some concerns about the Ladies European Tour (LET) schedule.
There has been no shortage of tournaments in 2025. On the face of it then, all is well. But look a little closer and a couple of things stand out – first, the more lucrative events (excluding the majors) are financed by Saudi businesses and second, the total prize money on offer at 12 tournaments is less than £350,000.
We are talking about first-place prize money of around £50-70,000.
When you take into account the costs of travel, caddies and suchlike it does not take a genius to work out just how difficult it is for the rank and file to make ends meet, far less enjoy a lucrative lifestyle.
If you have ever attended a routine LET event you will not need me to tell you that the galleries are paltry, the atmosphere non-existent.
I can’t help but worry about what will happen if the Saudis ever decide that women’s golf is not for them. And it could easily happen. They will not continue to back something if they don’t see it as a good investment and cannot foresee making a return.
There is a decent living to be made for the leading players on the LPGA Tour but Europe is an entirely different kettle of fish.
If the LET is to survive and thrive it needs greater media exposure. Sadly, that is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
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