April 2012: Golf Digest Woman: Golf Digest

Norwegian golf club cleared of discrimination

Monday, April 30, 2012

Is offering free golf to women once a week a discriminatory practice? Odds are we'll never get a chance to make that call in this country, but a Norwegian court just cleared a par-3 course in Oslo of any wrongdoing in a case of this peculiar premise.

The idyllic Groruddalen Golfklubb landed in hot water for trying to entice more women to play its course. (Photo courtesy of grorudgk.no)

As first reported by Karin Klarstrom of Swedish website Golf.se, last June Groruddalen Golfklubb and co-sponsor Hyundai Motor Norway started a promotion to help draw more women to the game. On Fridays, all female golfers were invited to play for free, while men still had to pay the 200-kroner ($35 USD) green fee. The club was swiftly reported to the government for breech of the country's equality laws, and the state asked the club to shut down the program.

The club appealed the decision, and a verdict was delivered last week: Goruddalen's promotion did not violate any part of the Norwegian equality regulations. A message on the club's website titled "We don't discriminate!" expresses the board's delight in the news and says, "It wouldn't surprise anyone if we brought back the same offer this season."

What do you think, would the "women play free" promo qualify as discrimination in the U.S.? Leave a comment below.

--Stina Sternberg

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Creamer: Augusta National should host LPGA events

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Augusta National hasn't (at least publicly) invited a female member yet, but some LPGA players still wouldn't mind playing an event there.

When asked about it yesterday by the Alabama Mobile-Register ahead of the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic, Paula Creamer emphatically said "of course" she'd be in favor of a Ladies Masters, or a similar event.

"Are you kidding me? Of course that would be something [I'd be interested in]," Creamer told the paper. "That's when we'd know we had really made it, if something like that happened."

Paula Creamer, seen here during Friday of the Masters in 2011, has been to multiple tournaments, and even has even been invited to play twice. But she'd like to be playing the course with her fellow LPGA players, too. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

The paper spoke to a handful of LPGA pros, who were somewhat divided on the subject.

Brittany Lincicome agreed with Creamer:

"Even just to get an invite to go play a practice round or to go and play that golf course would be amazing."

Angela Stanford referenced Augusta's membership policy issue, which re-surfaced before this year's Masters when IBM named its first female CEO, when saying she's content with the LPGA's first major of the year:

Augusta National: Missing the point

Saturday, April 14, 2012

As one of only a small group of women in the national golf media, I've been inundated with questions and comments about the revived debate over Augusta National Golf Club's exclusionary membership policies since last week's Masters. Non-golfers are bemused and shocked that such old-fashioned rules still exist, and many golfers are outraged that the issue is back on the table. Whether they agree with it or not, all eventually cite Augusta's right as a private club to do, essentially, whatever it wants.

In my opinion, almost everyone is missing the point.

As a congenital liberal who grew up in Sweden, a country where gender equality is as obvious a right as that to breathe air, I consider the Augusta debate bizarre. It's as if the green jackets have reached a level of silliness that can only be compared to that of obstinate children. Would it kill them to admit a woman member? Certainly not. Would it bust their bank to have to add a couple of ladies' rooms in the clubhouse? Heck no. But just like when my 3-year-old won't finish his dinner simply because I told him to, it's become a game of wills. My insightful colleague (and Golf Digest senior editor) Mike Stachura put it this way: "The Augusta National members don't want what the place has always been about to change, and they certainly don't want to be told to change. They are wrong and they know they're wrong, but like most men, they can't bear doing the right thing when it's somebody else's idea. It's no different than stopping and asking for directions."

Augusta National has been hosting the Masters Tournament since 1934. (Photo by Getty Images)

The whole thing would be humorous if it wasn't so damaging to the game. That said, my main beef is not with Augusta National, but with the PGA Tour and the decision makers behind the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). Private clubs in America are free to do whatever they want, there's no argument there. Augusta isn't alone in choosing to exclude female members -- other famous male-only country clubs include Pine Valley and Butler National, and Canada has its own all-female club (The Ladies' Golf Club of Toronto). But Augusta hosts the most prestigious and visible major championship in golf while the other single-gender clubs remain painstakingly private. Butler National is rumored to be in the process of opening up their membership to women because they want to host a future U.S. Open, and they know the USGA would never entertain a bid from a club that excludes women in 2012. But since nobody's forcing Augusta National to change, why should it?

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Yani Tseng visits Charlie Rose

Friday, April 13, 2012

In a week when Bubba Watson got all the publicity a golfer could ever ask for -- and rightfully so -- it was nice to see Charlie Rose interview Yani Tseng on PBS last night. Rose was clearly smitten with the charming world No. 1, telling her she was a pleasure to talk to and that she could have a career in stand-up comedy if she wants to.

The interview revealed an interesting nugget that perfectly exemplifies the competitive spirit of Yani Tseng: After watching the final round of the Masters, she went out to the driving range to see if she could copy the 90-degree hook wedge Watson used to win the tournament. It's not clear whether she perfected it or not, but odds are she kept trying till she had it down pat.

Here's a video of the interview:

--Stina Sternberg

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Gear Spotlight: Nike VR_S Women's woods and irons

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Nike Golf is ratcheting up its equipment offerings for women with the VR_S Women's woods and irons. In my opinion, this is a line of clubs that works best for the mid- to low-handicap woman who has an average to fast swing speed; if you're a new player with a slower swing, stay tuned for what's coming from Nike in 2013.

The VR_S driver is adjustable, giving users eight different face-angle settings across a four-degree range. That means you -- or even better, your fitter -- can dial in the face angle and loft that gives you the best results, and if you change your swing, you can re-set your driver to accommodate you. The club's face is designed to help improve ball speed on off-center hits and the ultra-lightweight shaft helps you swing the club faster. ($300; nikegolf.com)

Moving into the VR-S fairway woods ($200 ea.) and hybrids ($160 ea.), the Nike designers utilized the same "NexCOR" face technology as the driver, meant to help add springlike effect. The Nike-specific Fubuki K women's shaft only weighs 48 grams in the fairway wood and 51 in the hybrid -- that translates to increased clubhead speed, which equals distance. The fairway woods come in three lofts and the hybrids in another three (all are higher lofts than the equivalent men's versions). This means you don't need to start your iron set with anything longer than a 7-iron if you don't want to.

Last but not least, the VR_S irons ($700 for eight clubs with graphite shafts) are designed with a face that performs especially well on shots hit low and toward the toe -- which, let's face it, is where most of us average Janes miss the ball. Much of the clubhead's weight is positioned in the "powerbow" behind the face to help you launch the ball higher.

--Stina Sternberg

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Sophie's speech

Friday, April 6, 2012

LPGA star Sophie Gustafson brought down the house at the Golf Writers Association of America's Annual Awards dinner in Augusta on Wednesday night, and she didn't even say a word. Gustafson was there to accept the Ben Hogan Award, which is given to a player who remains active in the game despite a physical handicap or serious illness. Instead of giving a speech, Gustafson, who suffers from a severe stutter, played a videotaped message.

"When Ron [Sirak] told me that I had won this award, I was absolutely thrilled," the video began, "until I realized that I have to give some sort of speech. I hope we can all agree that this is the best way of doing this, if you want to get out of this room before the first tee time tomorrow."

In the six-minute taped speech -- done all in one take without any cuts or edits -- Gustafson managed to showcase the warmth and sense of humor that has made her one of the most popular players on the LPGA Tour. She shot the video at home by herself on March 6, and it wasn't easy. "I'm trying to video record my speech for the Golf Writers dinner," she wrote in a tweet that afternoon, "I can tell u being a stutterer and a perfectionist doesn't mix AT ALL!!"

Twitter has become a wonderful medium for Gustafson to reach her fans and showcase her no-holds-barred sense of humor. (For instance, after the second round of last week's Kraft Nabisco Championship, she tweeted, "Putted like my dead grandmother today, and she didn't even play golf.")

Gustafson's acceptance speech wasn't only humorous. She acknowledged that she's become more comfortable in her role as an inspiration to others with speech impediments, and she admitted that while her stutter is sometimes difficult to deal with, she doesn't consider it a handicap. Those in attendance were clear on one thing: There is nothing wrong with Sophie Gustafson.

Watch the taped acceptance speech here:

--Stina Sternberg

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Tseng underwhelming, but was she overhyped, too?

Sunday, April 1, 2012

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- The deification of Yani Tseng was put on hold here when the Kraft Nabisco Championship benevolently abandoned the script on Sunday and opened itself up to all comers. The winner was Sun Young Yoo, who emerged from a group of four tied for the lead late in the round. Yoo won in a playoff with I.K Kim, who missed a one-foot par putt to win on the last hole of regulation.

Yani Tseng's quest to become the youngest golfer in history to win six majors fell short on a lackluster Sunday. (Photo by Getty Images)

The loser, however, emphatically was Tseng, the Taiwanese superstar who in the process of rewriting history improbably imploded. Two straight victories, three in her last four starts, six in her last 12, and tied for the lead heading into the first major championship of the season stacked the odds prohibitively in her favor. Throw in the fact that she already has won 15 times on the LPGA, including five major championships, and is closing in on fulfilling the performance requirements for LPGA Hall of Fame enshrinement, all before her 24th birthday, and this one seemed over before it began. But, as is often said, there's a reason they play it out rather than identify the winner by proclamation.

Tseng bogeyed the first hole on Sunday, disturbing an equilibrium that was never really recovered. Was she a victim of hype? This was the explanation offered by Stacy Lewis, who a year ago surgically removed the trophy from Tseng's hands, overcoming a two-stroke deficit to win by three. "I think Yani's got a ton of pressure on her," Lewis said. "The media, from all the writings and everything, they basically gave Yani the tournament, and they did that last year, too. That's a lot of pressure for somebody, because she's still got to go out there and play and play a hard golf course. I can't say that I'm not surprised. I couldn't imagine having that pressure." Another player in the field, Kristy McPherson, voiced a similar view on Twitter. "According to media everyone shud just take the rest of the week off and give the win to Yani," she wrote on Friday. "Said just give her the $. I take the field!"

"It is pressure," Tseng said. "I just try to turn that pressure into motivation. I don't want to think too much. After two wins, everybody is kind of looking at you. I know that. But the things I can focus on is to play my own game." In defense of those who were inclined to concede her the victory, none of the potential challengers, those trailing her in the top 10 in the Rolex Ranking, seemed up to the task of impeding her assault on history. Meanwhile, the highest ranked of the four who were sharing the lead was Kim, 12th. The others -- Yoo (37th), Seo (38th) and Karin Sjodin (216th) -- would not have been considered a threat pre-tournament. None of the four had won a major championship (though Seo was runner-up in the U.S. Women's Open last year), suggesting that had Tseng applied any pressure at all, she might have won in a rout. Instead, she stumbled along, failing to make a birdie until the 12th hole. A second birdie on 17 provided her an opportunity to join Seo and Kim in a playoff, but she hit an indifferent approach to the 18th green, then narrowly missed a downhill 30-foot birdie putt.

"I feel I'm improving," Tseng said, clinging to having come up one, rather than three, strokes short. "I was happy, smiling, enjoying the crowd, enjoying the walkway at 18. I still have a chance on the last hole, still very happy about that.

"Maybe God just wanted another player to win it," she said.

--John Strege

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Who is Karin Sjodin?

Sunday, April 1, 2012

There's something... strange going on in the final round of the year's first major, the LPGA's Kraft Nabisco Championship. World No. 1 Yani Tseng is struggling, and little-known Swedish journeywoman Karin Sjodin -- who's currently ranked 216th in the world -- seems in charge of the tournament with nine holes left to play. So who exactly is this six-year LPGA Tour veteran who's wowed LPGA fans this week with her ever-present grin and powerful swing? Here are a few facts about the likeable bomber.

Karin Sjodin's charming personality and fearless play has earned her thousands of new fans at this year's Kraft Nabisco Championship. (Photo by Getty Images)

The 28-year-old Sjodin grew up in Gothenburg, Sweden -- the same town Helen Alfredsson, Catrin Nilsmark, Carin Koch and Fredrik Jacobson are from. Her European amateur career included a Swedish Junior Amateur title and a European Team Championship title.
Sjodin played college golf at Oklahoma State University, where she won three events and was awarded the 2005 Dinah Shore Trophy and Edith Cummings Munson Golf Award (both given to a student who's excelled academically as well as with her game). She was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, Second-Team All-Big 12 in 2003, First-Team Academic All-American from 2003-05, NCAA individual runner-up in 2004 and First-Team All-Big 12 in 2004 and 2005.
Distance has always been Sjodin's strength; she won the LPGA driving-average stats her first two years on tour (2006 and 2007, with averages of 284 and 275 yards respectively). A wrist injury and subsequent surgery curbed her bombing abilities slightly, but she is back to averaging 284 yards off the tee this week.
Sjodin has only managed four top-10 finishes in her six years on the LPGA Tour, and she's never before made the cut at the Kraft Nabisco.
She studied physics at Oklahoma State, and she's an ace ping-pong player.
After admittedly "living off her long drives" as a youngster (she was invited to the World Long Drive Championship in 2006, where she finished 7th) and consequently struggling once she turned pro and found that many of her competitors were just as long, Sjodin now leads the 2012 LPGA Tour in greens in regulation.

Will the Cinderella story continue? On pace for a six-hour round, we should (hopefully) know before the sun goes down.

--Stina Sternberg

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