Showcasing Architecture via the LPGA Tour

[Benjamin Litman]

I have been thinking of starting a thread on this subject for a while, but when I just noticed that my favorite professional tour, the LPGA, is heading to Royal Melbourne in two weeks for the Women's Australian Open (late-night coverage on Golf Channel, starting February 18), I figured now was the time.

To be sure, the LPGA has played at famed private courses before (e.g., Birkdale and other British links, Royal Melbourne and other Sandbelt gems), but those courses, unlike the private gems in the United States, are already accessible to the public. This thread, then, really pertains to top private courses in this country. So many of the courses that we prize here on GCA--mid-6000-yard courses that are obsolete for the male professional circuits--are perfect fits for the LPGA, which is presenting perhaps its best, and most competitive, product ever. I'd even venture to say that, for the last year and a half, the LPGA has been far more intriguing to watch than the PGA Tour.

Like top amateur events, LPGA events are far, far more spectator--and therefore GCA-enthusiast--friendly than PGA Tour events. The crowds are smaller, the players are more approachable, and the play is more relatable. Since I became a GCA enthusiast, perhaps my greatest thrill was walking NGLA, which I've never played, during the Walker Cup in 2013. Having an LPGA event there would be even better. I know some have said that you can't appreciate GCA as a spectator, as opposed to as a player, but small crowds allow you to do so much more easily. And LPGA events are also more host friendly, requiring less in the way of infrastructure and taking less out of a course (most women, save Lexi Thompson, take far shallower divots than men). (The new U.S. Women's Senior Open will be nice, but I don't think you can realistically compare the two products--especially from the standpoint of a TV audience.)

I am well aware that the LPGA has played at a few famed private courses in the United States before--typically for the U.S. Women's Open (e.g., Newport, Sebonack)--but I think they should do so more regularly so that many of us who otherwise wouldn't get to see these courses can. The positives seem many, and the negatives seem few. Imagine an LPGA event at Merion, with the course playing as it was designed--i.e., without over-the-top rough.

Thoughts?

[K Rafkin]

Benjamin-

Although i don't watch ton of the LPGA tour i do agree that they have an interesting opportunity to get to play some of the great American courses that have been removed from PGA consideration due to length.  While Length is a necessity in hosting a modern PGA event, there are a good batch of courses that are excluded not for course length, but rather minimal extra space for parking, sponsor tents, and concessions.  LPGA events have a smaller attendance, and should take advantage of being able to access not just shorter courses, but smaller properties as well. 

The real issue is that many of the memberships of the private courses that you would put in the same category as NGLA and Merion are likely to turn down a run of the mill PGA event let alone a LPGA event.  This becomes even more likely in areas that have a short playing season. 

[Benjamin Litman]

The real issue is that many of the memberships of the private courses that you would put in the same category as NGLA and Merion are likely to turn down a run of the mill PGA event let alone a LPGA event.  This becomes even more likely in areas that have a short playing season.  

I agree, K, those are certainly the biggest obstacles. The reason the U.S. Women's Open has been able to get on some prized private courses is because, as you note, that is the most prestigious LPGA event. Even for that tournament, though, there are many great private-course options out there that haven't been explored.

Also, separately, I just noticed that Kingsbarns will host the Women's British Open in 2017, the first time the course has hosted a major (it co-hosts the Dunhill Links on the European Tour).