Maybe GM should take a more active role in promoting the ladies game.

[Birchy]

I wonder how many of the GM readers would prefer to see a section on the female game rather than the club / amateur pages at the back of the magazine? I know I would. I'm much more interested in the Solheim cup than I am a small club somewhere a long way away from me celebrating their 100 year anniversary...

Trouble is you could put the Solheim cup in for an issue but what after that? There doesn't seem a great deal else major to talk about in the ladies game imo.

 

[FairwayDodger]

Trouble is you could put the Solheim cup in for an issue but what after that? There doesn't seem a great deal else major to talk about in the ladies game imo.

Inbee Park dominating the first three majors then blowing up after a good start at St Andrews
Carlota Ciganda - the new Seve?
Charley Hull LPGA debut
5th Major upcoming
Balance of power Asia/USA/Europe

....without putting ANY thought into it.

 

[One Planer]

All I would say is GM don't actually promote anyone, be it he mens tour or ladies tours.

They cover the news generated within the sport. Be that events, actions, equipment releases etc, it varies.

Now. It may be that the news is more heavily biased towards the mens game, but demographically, more men play the game so that's a bigger target audience.

IMO the game of golf should be covered as a sport as opposed to a 'His & Hers' mentality, but, unfortunately, like many other popular magazines, they aren't.

They cater for their target audience as this is what will keep the magazine sustainable.

 

[bladeplayer]

It could make a huge difference. Whenever this is discussed, the two magazines that get mentioned are "Lady Golfer" and "Women and Golf".

"Lady Golfer" is simply crap, sorry. I'm not going to buy it even though it purports to cover women's golf which I would love to be able to read more about. Some kind soul regularly leaves a copy in the locker room at the club so I often get to see it, it literally takes me about ten minutes to read it. Very poor, not a comparable product to GM.

Worse, I decided to follow them on twitter for a while. It became clear that it's just a bunch of lads that run it - their twitter feed is very male, very male-driven. I.e. much more chat on the men's game than women's.

"Women and Golf" have a much better (although not hugely active) twitter feed, I like it and would really like to see what the magazine is like. However I have NEVER seen a copy on sale ANYWHERE despite actively looking.

Another one I read after a suggestion from MikeH was "Golf International" which had a section devoted to the women's game. This really hit the spot for me - a good magazine with all round coverage of the men's game (which I am actually interested in as well) but with some features focussing on women. Unfortunately, the next issue I bought no longer had this coverage so I guess I was in the minority!

Could it make a huge difference tho ? how many women would contribute to or buy a magazine for 5/6 or even 10 pages of golf directed at them ? that a genuine question by the way

Lady Golfer, is it covering the wrong things or is it covering the right things but in a rubbish way ?

Women & golf .. pity its not readily available for you to check out to see what its like, i wonder if the fact its not readily available shows outlets probably dont see it as selling stock ?

Golf International , sounds a decent mag must try get a copy for a nosey , but the fact it wasnt in the next issue of that magazine does say alot about market share tho & even potential market share ..

 

[Birchy]

Inbee Park dominating the first three majors then blowing up after a good start at St Andrews
Carlota Ciganda - the new Seve?
Charley Hull LPGA debut
5th Major upcoming
Balance of power Asia/USA/Europe

....without putting ANY thought into it.

The trouble is most of the people that read the magazine will not be able to relate to any of that as there is hardly any tv coverage of it. That's where the catch 22 situation comes in, if they had more tv coverage maybe more would be interested but would I watch it over mens golf? No and that's why its not sustainable because theres not enough women playing golf to watch it.

They may be talking points for you as a female but the only other thing that would interest me as a male reader is the Charley Hull one and how she got on a club level as a woman in a mans world etc etc.

I cant see anybody ever buying a golf magazine who has never played the game and then thinking they will take it up off the back of it.

 

[Garush34]

It would be nice to see a page or two about the happening of the ladies game. It is call Golf monthly after all so should advise of golf generally not just mens or just womens. They had Mel Reid in an issue a couple months back, so they do take an interest but its just not often.

There would be plenty to fill the pages, whether it be player profile/interview, tournament review, or discussion point in womens game, ie. Inbee Park going for 4 majors in a row, or should the LPGA have 5 majors.

Not everyone would read the pages but im sure not everyone does now. I know theres sometimes articles that have no interest for me so just skip them. But im sure there are plenty of people that would read them, I know i would.

Its not up GM to promote ladies golf but they could further help get the general golfing public informed of the ladies game to try get more of an interest. There is no harm in them putting a could atricles in there, for the loss of a couple pages of either instruction, gear or travel pages.

 

[FairwayDodger]

Could it make a huge difference tho ? how many women would contribute to or buy a magazine for 5/6 or even 10 pages of golf directed at them ? that a genuine question by the way .

Well no but that's not the point. I had a GM subscription despite the lack of coverage of the women's game. I'd have enjoyed the mag to a greater extent if they had more (they do have some articles from time to time) and would maybe still be a subscriber. I'd say that all women who are interested in golf are interested in the men's game as well as the women's. We don't necessarily see them as separate entities.

Birchy is right, it's a vicious circle really - needs more/better coverage to gain popularity - needs to be more popular to attain that coverage.

 

[dufferman]

Could it make a huge difference tho ? how many women would contribute to or buy a magazine for 5/6 or even 10 pages of golf directed at them ? that a genuine question by the way

Lady Golfer, is it covering the wrong things or is it covering the right things but in a rubbish way ?

Women & golf .. pity its not readily available for you to check out to see what its like, i wonder if the fact its not readily available shows outlets probably dont see it as selling stock ?

Golf International , sounds a decent mag must try get a copy for a nosey , but the fact it wasnt in the next issue of that magazine does say alot about market share tho & even potential market share ..

Does it matter what the female demographic will or won't buy? Surely the question is will ALL readers care about the female game? I would have liked to see a bit about the Solheim Cup in previous mags (haven't started this months one yet) and certainly the Inbee Park grand slam attempt before last months Open. And I'm a bloke!

EDIT: Fairway got there first!!!

 

[bladeplayer]

Does it matter what the female demographic will or won't buy? Surely the question is will ALL readers care about the female game? !

EDIT: Fairway got there first!!!

Question is will enough readers care and the companies think not ..

P.S i agree with you and FD , i dont read alot of the course reviews etc but do read articles & enjoyed the Mel Reid Q&A thingy

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I never knew their were actual women's golf magazines and have never seen any on display or even advertised! My reference to Lady Golfer was off the cuff, unless I have seen it mentioned somewhere and subconsciously it stayed somewhere in the back of the mind!

We get complementary copies of Lady Golfer at my club and I always will read it - or at least look at the pictures. But it's pretty 'thin' reading. That said I have not read a copy since the Solheim - I will do that next time I have a chance and see if my perception has indeed changed or not.

Wouldn't do any harm surely for GM to have a regular 'profiles' of key players on the Ladies Tours - so we can all get to know them a bit better. Also I'm sure I don't understand the differences between the ladies game and the gents game; the way ladies play it and are taught it - the thought processes and course management tactics used by top ladies. The latter especially could well give us med-high h/cap blokes some useful insight into improving our own game,

 

[Fish]

We get complementary copies of Lady Golfer at my club and I always will read it - or at least look at the pictures. But it's pretty 'thin' reading. That said I have not read a copy since the Solheim - I will do that next time I have a chance and see if my perception has indeed changed or not.

Can or could it maintain interest though?

The Solheim was a great achievement and captured a wide audience so the next issue of a women's golf magazine will be full to the brim of facts, stats and loads of images, interviews etc but, can it sustain it afterwards? I understand that Karen can reel off lots of others comps and potential titles for articles that could be interesting, but, would they appeal across the genders? I'm not sure, maybe if the women had some "characters" amongst them which we could learn about from profiles being printed that could be a start as you would start to look out for them, no different to how I look and follow certain male players but if I'm honest, I find/found watching any women's golf a bit samey, just my personal opinion, nothing against them what-so-ever.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Can or could it maintain interest though?

The Solheim was a great achievement and captured a wide audience so the next issue of a women's golf magazine will be full to the brim of facts, stats and loads of images, interviews etc but, can it sustain it afterwards? I understand that Karen can reel off lots of others comps and potential titles for articles that could be interesting, but, would they appeal across the genders? I'm not sure, maybe if the women had some "characters" amongst them which we could learn about from profiles being printed that could be a start as you would start to look out for them, no different to how I look and follow certain male players but if I'm honest, I find/found watching any women's golf a bit samey, just my personal opinion, nothing against them what-so-ever.

I'm afraid I find watching SK lady golfers a bit dull - as they seem to be a pretty stern and focussed lot - and many have rather drilled and often quite idiosyncratic swings. But I think I could take to watching ladies tour golf if I understood ladies golf better, how they play it and their thought processes - and got to know the ladies themselves a little better.

 

[HickoryShaft]

I would be all for articles about women's golf regularly in the mag and would read them every time.

My thinking is that there needs to be something to base it around - a look ahead to a major comming up or new players from the amatuer ranks starting on tour etc rather than a womens section in isolation. That way it will start to integrate and the names will become more familiar.

I really really enjoyed the Solheim cup but am embarrassed to say that I didn't recognise half the players (I was away for the womens open so didnt get to see some of them in the few weeks before as other might have). The golfing talent was so impressive I think it (and they) should be recognised.

I mentioned in another thread that it would be great if we could follow an up and coming amateur in the mag - why not an up and coming women golfer

The other thing I always think is that as a male club golfer I can kind of relate to the womens game more than the pro mens game. I am not trying to say I could play as well as them or have a 1/00th of their talent but I can (sometimes) hit the ball as far in many cases so watching what club they played and their course management and awesome putting makes me think I should be able to improve. With the mens game I am in awe but never sit there thinking I could emulate them at all - I know some forumers can hit their 8 iron 220 yards like Dustin Johnson but I can't!.

For that reason - I am in!!

 

[dufferman]

Can or could it maintain interest though?

The Solheim was a great achievement and captured a wide audience so the next issue of a women's golf magazine will be full to the brim of facts, stats and loads of images, interviews etc but, can it sustain it afterwards? I understand that Karen can reel off lots of others comps and potential titles for articles that could be interesting, but, would they appeal across the genders? I'm not sure, maybe if the women had some "characters" amongst them which we could learn about from profiles being printed that could be a start as you would start to look out for them, no different to how I look and follow certain male players but if I'm honest, I find/found watching any women's golf a bit samey, just my personal opinion, nothing against them what-so-ever.

Well they have 4 (or is it 5 now officially?) majors a year, so there's 4 / 5 month's worth of content for the magazine. A major is a major, even if you think the men would wipe the floor with the ladies, it's still the best of the bunch 5 times a year. Personalities like Paula Creamer and some of the other Solheim Cup US team could make for a good interview, and with the likes of Charlie Hull & Jodi Ewart-Shadoff coming up the ranks they'll always be an interview to be had.

Hull is in the Candian open this week as a 17 year old on invite, even though the age for LPGA is 18... that would be a great story, especially if she makes an impact on the scoreboard.

I think if the commitment from GM or any other mag is there, you can find stories. I probably read less than 50% of GM, I don't go for the self help section as it does more harm than good IMO, and some of the interviews can be a bit drawn out, as well as there being the few club / amateur pages I skip. A 2 page spread about the final ladies major next month wouldn't be too difficult to squeeze in?

EDIT: I use 'you' as in the royal 'you' - not you specifically Fish. I can see how people get angry in this forum... my post makes me sound moany! I'm not a swear!

 

[Fish]

I know some forumers can hit their 8 iron 220 yards like Dustin Johnson but I can't!.

I'm yet to see this still and I've been on plenty of meets, most don't get their driver that far

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Well they have 4 (or is it 5 now officially?) majors a year, so there's 4 / 5 month's worth of content for the magazine. A major is a major, even if you think the men would wipe the floor with the ladies, it's still the best of the bunch 5 times a year. Personalities like Paula Creamer and some of the other Solheim Cup US team could make for a good interview, and with the likes of Charlie Hull & Jodi Ewart-Shadoff coming up the ranks they'll always be an interview to be had.

Hull is in the Candian open this week as a 17 year old on invite, even though the age for LPGA is 18... that would be a great story, especially if she makes an impact on the scoreboard.

I think if the commitment from GM or any other mag is there, you can find stories. I probably read less than 50% of GM, I don't go for the self help section as it does more harm than good IMO, and some of the interviews can be a bit drawn out, as well as there being the few club / amateur pages I skip. A 2 page spread about the final ladies major next month wouldn't be too difficult to squeeze in?

GM could engage Charley Hull (say) to write a weekly diary on her life as an up-and-coming contender for ladies titles - publish that diary monthly - give us all a proper insight into ladies golf and the life and times of a young lady golf pro.

 

[North Mimms]

I wouldn't be surprised if GM have contacted charley's management asking to do a feature about her, but they may have to join a long queue.

 

[Fish]

To help bridge the gap, why not a GM prize of a round with Charley :thup:

 

[palindromicbob]

This has all started to focus very much on the magazine. My proposition is about a little more promotion/focus on website. Things like separating tour news so that each tour has it's own section. This would evn help being more attention to feeder tours because the new from them also get buried.

 

[Hacker Khan]

Surely there must have been a women golfer on the front of GM at some point?!!!!!!

Can anyone remember when/if there has been a female golfer on the cover of one of the major golf magazines (GM, Todays Golfer and Golf World) in the UK?

And Bunker Babes on the cover of the old Golf Punk print edition do not count.......