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Man Up, Play Like a Woman
I owe my mother a lot. She patiently carried me in her body for 9 months. She devoted her whole life to making sure I would grow up to be a productive member of society. Above all, she taught me to respect women.
I wish male golfers would respect women golfers a bit more.
Golf is a male-dominated sport. It’s no surprise that men take their cues from other men, and try to emulate what is going on in the PGA Tour. With charismatic stars like Bubba Watson blasting their drives all over the place it’s hard to turn your attention away.
When you think it through, it doesn’t really make sense. Average male golfers are NOTHING like PGA Tour players. They are not even in the same vicinity. Check out this graphic I cooked up to find out why.
What becomes blatantly clear is that you sir, John Q Golfer, are more similar to an LPGA player. Your swing speeds and average distances are probably not as long as most of them, but you’re in the same wheelhouse 😉
When I watch LPGA tournaments, a few things strike me:
Tempo: They have beautiful tempos with their swings. They never look like they are trying to hit it harder than they have to.
Short Game: Most women pros have unbelievable feel around the greens, and execute amazing shots. You can see that they are completely relaxed, and not as tense with their bodies.
Course Management: Rather than rely on power, they are mostly plotting their way through the round. Have you seen Lydia Ko play lately? She hit 64 of 72 greens at Royal Melbourne!
Practical Golf is all about choosing the rational path to lowering your scores. It is my hope that some readers of the site will begin to approach the game differently. Watching what LPGA players do on the golf course should be one of the first things on your list.
I think there is so much to learn by watching how women play golf. They are more thoughtful, do not take unnecessary risks, and play within themselves. I am not even going to begin to explain why that is. The internet might bite my head off if I do.
What I do know is that if male golfers continue to try and mimic what PGA Tour players are doing, then they are going to be stuck in neutral with their games, and possibly go in reverse. The PGA tour has been shifting towards more of a power game for years now, and we have Tiger to thank for it. That same shift has not occurred amongst recreational golfers, and I think the data I’ve shown you proves it.
My suggestion is to switch it up a little bit, take a look at what LPGA players are doing. I think you will learn even more about your own games, and that they are the ones you should be trying to copy. I plan to watch more of the LPGA tour this year, and I think they have some very exciting talent that everyone should be following.
I totally agree. We can learn a great deal from these women. They play the game the way most of us mere mortals need to play.
you see the light!
This article is so sensible and irrefutable that i am certain most ‘average’ male golfers is firmly ignore the good advice. Cuz that’s how they do it. I call their process crazy but then I’m a woman with access to both sides of my brain and plenty of synapses operating between them.
very funny! I’m glad you enjoyed it
There’s some good common sense here except you omit the uncomfortable fact that men, while closer to LPGA stats than PGA, are playing off the men’s tees, not the women’s. Using Royal Melbourne as the example that means that Ko gets around 800 metres advantage (also the Composite course is par 72 for men but 77 for women). This pretty much blows your argument. Doesn’t it?
I have to respectfully disagree Craig. I just looked it up, and Royal Melbourne was playing at 6479 yards for the ladies that week (sorry I’m a Yankee I think in yards). That is longer than the average course played by the average male golfer, which is who I was making the comparison with. Most courses that I play have mens tees somewhere between 5800-6300 yards. More experienced players will play from the back tees, which are anywhere from 6500-6900 yards, but those were not the kinds of players I was speaking of.
So I would say most LPGA players are playing tees that are actually even farther than most of the public courses that the “average” male golfer is playing. Also their setups are even harder. The comparison is somewhat irrelevant because I don’t want to mislead anyone into thinking that an average male golfer could actually compete on an LPGA tour event, it’s not even remotely the case. I just think that if men are looking for some inspiration for their games, then it might be best to start with the women for a change! I thought using the average distances might give a reality check to some guys.
Thanks for reading, and commenting…I appreciate ALL feedback on my articles 🙂
I realise that this post was from 2015, but it still holds very true to today. In my opinion, a lot can be learned from observing the LPGA players pick apart a course – I always find a gem or two (2) when watching them play. What stands out to me is their tempo, course management and how they are around the greens. I realised a few years ago that I had more in common with how they play versus how the PGA play and began to review film of how they swing, check out Mickey Wright’s swing on YouTube – beautiful, and be mindful to where they position the ball and why. Egos need to go to the side and players need to play tee boxes that allow the game to be fun.
Even after 4 years, this article is very timely. As an “average” player I do find the work of the LPGA a great teacher. Based on who I am with we are going from either the “senior” (approx 5500 yds) or “mens” (approx 6100 yds) – the latter being close to the LPGA tee box range. Their execution of tee shots, general course management and work on the greens is a great template for learning. I know I will never hit the ball like Rory, Tiger, Brooks or any of the top drivers, but I can learn much from Danielle, Nella, Brooke or any of the others who are hitting the ball consistently in fairways, making birdies and demonstrating excellent course management.