LPGA Language Ruling - is is right?

[Dave3498]

The LPGA are going to suspend all players who dont have good command of the English language. This will of course mainly effect tha Asian players who are taking all the silverware at the moment. The LPGA are claiming that because some of them cannot communicate with their Pro/Am players, they, the amateurs, are not getting value for their entrance fees. This may be one aspect of it, but there is a suspicion that the LPGA and some of the American players dont like the Asians winning all the time.

I hope this sort of thing doesn't migrate into the PGA. I seem to remember a non-English speaker winning the US Open recently.

 

[viscount17]

Totally and utterly wrong!

Nowhere in the Rules of Golf does it say you should speak English - I doubt that those shepherds who 'invented' the game did. (and since the Dutch also claim that they invented it, they certainly didn't)

Would the LPGA have a leg to stand on if they were taken to a US court on grounds of discrimination? (and considering who is sponsoring some of these players and how much they stand to lose that's certainly on the cards!)

 

[Vincent]

Maybe "the powers that be" should invite all the non-English speaking players to come on to the Ladies European Tour. It would be a real boost for that tour.

 

[muttleee]

Se Ri Pak thinks it's a good idea...as she says, "We play so good overall. When you win, you should give your speech in English."

 

[USER1999]

I am not sure about this. Part of the sponsors deal is getting their brand accross, and this is best accomplished by someone with a grasp of English (well, american anyway), both in terms of the pro am, and also the winners speech.
Also, since the tour is based in the US, and the players effectively live in the US, I don't think asking for basic english is a big ask.

The time scale is a bit short though.

 

[viscount17]

Se Ri Pak thinks it's a good idea...as she says, "We play so good overall. When you win, you should give your speech in English."

but then she speaks English, and that's a lot of opposition out of the way.

will the USPGA follow suit, that's KJ out - his English isn't that good

 

[USER1999]

If you want to emigrate to this country there is a basic English test, and so, if you come here to play on the tour, why not demand basic English?

 

[theeaglehunter]

Why should it matter what language you speak? If you can go round and play the game with a sufficient understanding of the rules of golf to avoid any potential problems when talking to a rules official then where can the problem be? Speeches at the end of tournaments don't matter either, Andres Romero for one quite often has an interpreter due to his sub standard English. This doesn't make him any less of a great golfer or decent person. As for the Pro am argument as an amateur I would be more than happy to play with a pro who didn't say one word to me just so I could experience their game first hand as that is what the real 'prize' in a pro am is, not the gossip you get out of the player. I can't see this happening at all!

 

[cm_qs]

Nowhere in the Rules of Golf does it say you should speak English - I doubt that those shepherds who 'invented' the game did.

What language did these shepherds speak then?

Should we insist that anyone who plays the game speaks as we do north of the border?

The ultimate extension of this idea will surely result in Tiger Woods being interviewed on TV and being forced to speak in a really bad Glaswegian accent (in the style of Mel Gibson off of Braveheart)

Picture the scene.........................

Hazel Irvine: "We'll Tiger, how did you feel that went today?"

Tiger : "Jings Hazel, it was pure dead brilliant the day! I jist kept oan banjoin' ma baw' fur miles and then ah wuz chippin' oot ma skin. Ah' was proper tearin' the arse oot this course and makin' aw these other dobbers look like diddies. Ya dancer!"

Hazel: " Thanks Tiger, gon yersel big man! Ony chance o' a lumber?"


This would be way more entertaining than the actual golf.

 

[RGuk]

Tiger : "Jings Hazel, it was pure dead brilliant the day! I jist kept oan banjoin' ma baw' fur miles and then ah wuz chippin' oot ma skin. Ah' was proper tearin' the arse oot this course and makin' aw these other dobbers look like diddies. Ya dancer!"

Hazel: " Thanks Tiger, gon yersel big man! Ony chance o' a lumber?"


This would be way more entertaining than the actual golf.

 

[mackenzie]

Some good reaction on Golf.com to what is IMHO a pathetic measure from the LPGA:

Golf.com

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Can't see it standing up under a restriction of trade suit. If there is nothing already in place to prevent players getting a tour card without English I can't see how they will be able to cut retrospectively those Asians already on the tour and in the top 120 (or wherever their cut line is) who do enough to reating their playing status.

I can understand them bringing in some ruling for players coming through from other tours that makes basic English a pre-requisite but even then in "laywerville USA" I'm sure someone will bring a law suit.

Can't see it migrating to the mens tour either here or the PGA. The European Tour in particular would be on dodgy ground especially when it co-hosts several events with the Asian tour. I know in the US the mens tour is really keen to tap into the Asian market so again I can't see them wanting to offend potential investors

 

[TonyN]

Pathetic in my eyes.

Does anybody expect any english speaking footballers to speak russian when they play in Moscow, French in paris, German in Munich? No!

Same goes for Rugby and every other sport. If countries want to host tournaments and open the doors to foreign players then they shouldn't be moaning about them not speakingf there own language.

I can't help but wonder how it would go down having to learn arabic for the race to dubai!

 

[Imurg]

I don't think this is quite as bad as it seems as, according to reports, something like 98% speak acceptable English anyway. Its probably more focussed on new players rather than current ones. Is it necessary. Absolutely not.

 

[John_Findlay]

Oh my Lord. This is a new one on me. Can't quite imagine the yanks not suing the arse off any organisation over restraint of trade if the highest paying tour required all players to speak Korean.

 

[Boabski]

wouldn't it be a crime against someones human rights that because you can't speak english you are not allowed to compete in a sporting competition

 

[teetime72]

It would be an insult to the player,denying him the right to speak the language of the country of his birth.

 

[shanker]

If you want to emigrate to this country there is a basic English test, and so, if you come here to play on the tour, why not demand basic English?

There's an English test for immigrants? News to me .

 

[cm_qs]

If you want to emigrate to this country there is a basic English test, and so, if you come here to play on the tour, why not demand basic English?

There's an English test for immigrants? News to me .

Yeah! You need to take it in a caravan on the hard shoulder of the M6 north of Carlisle. They also exchange foreign currency for notes with the Queen on 'em!

 

[Dave3498]

Thanks for all your responses. Good discussion, great exchange of views. My own view is that they should not insist on English language as a pre-requisite for playing on the LPGA tour. We would all miss out on seeing some really talented lady golfers.