Golf: The Language of the Elite

Aside from occasional flurries of Golden Tee dominance, I rarely watch golf unless Tiger Woods is prominently involved. This makes me just like everybody else, a fact that the L.P.G.A has apparently noticed.
After unsuccessful attempts to woo Tiger into a sex-change operation, the L.P.G.A has a new marketing strategy: English-speaking golfers!
Starting in 2009, the ladies’ professional tour will suspend golfers who are not conversant in English.
Lest you think the ability to speak English has little to do with the entertainment value of hitting a ball and then walking after it, think again. Lisa Galloway, deputy commissioner of the tour, thinks that speaking English will help the sport attract sponsors and fans:

For an athlete to be successful today in the sports entertainment world we live in, they need to be great performers on and off the course, and being able to communicate effectively with sponsors and fans is a big part of this.

The lawyers weigh in after the jump.


The L.P.G.A would be the first sport to place a language requirement on their athletes. I can imagine John Rocker nodding silently as he hops back on the garbage truck to continue his morning rounds.
The Times quoted New York Law School professor Arthur S. Leonard saying that the tour could be subject to human rights violations in New York State. But Leonard adds that the L.P.G.A would be within their rights, if they can show that English language proficiency is a relevant qualification for competing in a professional golf tournament.
However, it does not appear that the ladies’ tour is making a “competition” argument. Instead the new rule is clearly aimed at marketing their sport.
The key word is likely to be “conversant.” What does that mean? I still can’t understand half the things that come out of Charles Barkley’s mouth, and he’s on television. Is Yao Ming conversant? You can’t understand Manny Ramirez unless you’ve been to Xanadu.
Maybe the new rule is simply aimed at getting English speakers to acknowledge the existence of the L.P.G.A. To that extent, it has already been a smashing success.
Golf Tour’s Rule: Speak English to Stay in Play [New York Times]

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