What level what a LPGA player be in the men's game?

[Hendy]

As above. This is on the back of watching a John McEnroe vid from a number of years ago were he said Williams wouldn't be in the top 50 in the men's gsnrp

And following on from that depending on your answer you give I guess determine your answer here..

Once these restrictions with how far the ball will travel come in. Do you see men and women playing the same tournaments ie golf balls won't hit pass 250 so therefore the women will hit the ball just as far as men.

 

[Orikoru]

As above. This is on the back of watching a John McEnroe vid from a number of years ago were he said Williams wouldn't be in the top 50 in the men's gsnrp

And following on from that depending on your answer you give I guess determine your answer here..

Once these restrictions with how far the ball will travel come in. Do you see men and women playing the same tournaments ie golf balls won't hit pass 250 so therefore the women will hit the ball just as far as men.

I'm pretty sure it's not gonna work like that.

 

[Neilds]

Even with restrictions on the ball, a long hitter will still out drive a short hitter so your theory is flawed from the outset

 

[Lord Tyrion]

The comment about Williams relates to top 200, not perhaps made by McEnroe. She ended up playing the number 203 in the world and was trounced. If you google it you can see more.

I'm not sure any good can come from this but here goes. If the ball is reined back for pro's then it will be for men and women. You can't have a genuine tournament that is effectively a handicap tournament at that level. They do have the mixed in Sweden but that is a one off. No way will the mens game agree to that, why would they?

I'm not sure how far down the pyramid you would have to go before the elite ladies can compete. I suppose Korn Ferry is the starting point and take it from there. I'm not seeing an appetite for it so far so anyone trying is not imminent.

 

[r0wly86]

In 1998 so not at her peak, the Williams sisters lost 6-1 6-2 the the 203rd ranked male player, who had played a round of golf and had a couple of beers in the morning.

Serena has said that she would lose 6-0 6-0 wothin 10 minutes to Murray, saying mens and womens tennis are so far a part of be different sports.

In golf if they were to play off the same tees, then no woman would make the PGA tour, and I doubt any serious tour if competing for places directly with men. The men not only hit it further, but also put more spin on the ball etc

 

[IanM]

I saw that interview with Serena. Fair play to her. The usual suspects had to keep quiet !

But, why the need for comparison? Womens golf is worth watching in its own right. (I think)

It wouldn't take much to work out the average distances with every club in the bag and divise where the ladies tee would need to be to hold a joint event.

That I'd like to see! If a woman won, good for her.

 

[peld]

I extremely doubt they can compete, but the top Women wouldnt be embarrassed. Distance is a major issue nowadays but I remember Michelle Wie playing on the PGA tour and she wasnt out of place (she shot 68 on the second day).

Remember the Minjee Lee stat from last year? She is statistically the best iron player in the world - +2.02 SG: Approach season.+2 happened once in PGA Tour ShotLink era (Tiger '06)100-125 in the fairway, she hit to 12 feet on average.125-150 = 16.4 feet150-175 = 20 feet175-200 = 22.5 feet. Better than EVERY man on the PGA Tour in EVERY distance.

If driver distance was taken out the equation it'd be a close game - (though the strength in depth in the mens game is majorly more significnt)

 

[Barking_Mad]

Some of the best/longest women would hold a card on the PGA Tour for sure. Anne Van Dam's average driving distance is 293 yards. The tour PGA average this year is 298 yards.

There's 30 players on the ladies European Tour who are longer than the shortest hitter on the PGA Tour, Brian Stuard (just 270 yards average driving distance!)

I suspect as the ladies game gets stronger there will be some easily bombing it over 300 yards and it wouldn't susprise me to see them competing with the men off the same tees.

 

[Wabinez]

It wouldn't take much to work out the average distances with every club in the bag and divise where the ladies tee would need to be to hold a joint event.

That I'd like to see! If a woman won, good for her.

It's already been done. And won by Linn Grant in Scandinavia last year.


Then this forum was littered with comments that it was unfair and everyone should all be made to play off the same tee. Which is complete nonsense due to the physiological differences.

I believe Annika played a mens PGA Tour event, and just kept having to hit woods into every green. She missed the cut by 4 shots.

 

[IanM]

I believe Annika played a mens PGA Tour event, and just kept having to hit woods into every green. She missed the cut by 4 shots.

Off the men's tees of course she would have.

 

[r0wly86]

It's already been done. And won by Linn Grant in Scandinavia last year.


Then this forum was littered with comments that it was unfair and everyone should all be made to play off the same tee. Which is complete nonsense due to the physiological differences.

I believe Annika played a mens PGA Tour event, and just kept having to hit woods into every green. She missed the cut by 4 shots.

that wasn't the question though, it was with everything being equal and the bifurcation of the ball, how would women fair on the men's tour. Of course if you change the tees to negate the distance advantage then women will be able to compete

 

[D-S]

It's already been done. And won by Linn Grant in Scandinavia last year.


Then this forum was littered with comments that it was unfair and everyone should all be made to play off the same tee. Which is complete nonsense due to the physiological differences.

This year, the Scandinavian Mixed , it was held a couple of weeks ago. 3 women made the top 10, including, Anne van Damme, who averaged 295 yards off the tee last year. It is a great watch and seemingly really enjoyed by both the DPWT players and the LET players.

 

[Wabinez]

that wasn't the question though, it was with everything being equal and the bifurcation of the ball, how would women fair on the men's tour. Of course if you change the tees to negate the distance advantage then women will be able to compete

I was responding to Ian with comments about a mixed event.

The bifurcation of the ball won't make a difference for ladies being able to compete on the PGA Tour, imo

 

[peld]

Something was suspect about the Scandi mixed event this year. On day 1 the women were nowhere near the leaderboard, then they appeared on day 2. Reckon they must have brought the tees up significantly

 

[sunshine]

When I’ve been to women’s events, the tees used are usually the yellows with a few holes red.

It’s crazy that I go and play courses like Woburn or Birkdale off the whites but the best women in the world, with much better ball striking than me, are playing a significantly shorter course.

Also crazy when you stand on the white tees and turn around to see how far back the championship tees are.

My point is you can’t compare the two games, they are just different.

 

[Backache]

Remember the Minjee Lee stat from last year? She is statistically the best iron player in the world - +2.02 SG: Approach season.+2 happened once in PGA Tour ShotLink era (Tiger '06)100-125 in the fairway, she hit to 12 feet on average.125-150 = 16.4 feet150-175 = 20 feet175-200 = 22.5 feet. Better than EVERY man on the PGA Tour in EVERY distance.

I'm not sure how comparable proximity to the flag is.
On the PGA tour a lot of flags are very close to the edge of the green and a lot of pros are not aiming directly at the flag to avoid short siding themselves if they miss the green.

 

[rulefan]

A rough estimate suggests that a 6500 yard course for a male scratch would be about 71. For a female scratch it would be 82. Goodness knows what the difference for the pros would be.

 

[Hobbit]

Distance is the biggest factor, and reigning in the ball won’t change that. For arguments sake, assume that it’s reigned in by 15%. That’ll bring the men down by around 50yds and the ladies down 35-40yds. If they’re off the same tees, and on a 7200+ yard course, I still can’t any ladies getting into the top 10 on a regular basis.

But going to watch an LPGA comp is well worth doing. On a shorter course you get to see some excellent golf.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

A few observations from a match last week that placed our head pro in essentially a head2head match against his pupil…our 19yr old elite amateur young lady (today currently played last round of the Amateur Ladies European Open in Sweden…though not having her best tournament)

He plays very little competitive golf…she is immersed in it.
They played off the gents back tees.
They both hit our 504 yd par 5 1st in two.
He hit our par 5 550yd stroke 1 hole with a 300 yd drive (against wind iinto a rising fairway) and a 250yd 5wood that pitched on the green. She cannot do that. Yet.
He made a couple of bad mistakes; she made no bad mistakes
He hit 6 birdies, she hit 4
They both finished 3 under gross. He admitted to being well chuffed having seriously exceeded his expectations, not exactly sure how well his young pupil felt she played.

Make of that what you will.

 

[Sports_Fanatic]

Some of the best/longest women would hold a card on the PGA Tour for sure. Anne Van Dam's average driving distance is 293 yards. The tour PGA average this year is 298 yards.

There's 30 players on the ladies European Tour who are longer than the shortest hitter on the PGA Tour, Brian Stuard (just 270 yards average driving distance!)

I suspect as the ladies game gets stronger there will be some easily bombing it over 300 yards and it wouldn't susprise me to see them competing with the men off the same tees.

I like women's golf, and Anne Van Dam has a very aesthetic swing, but i struggle to see any logic in this statement given she's 127 in the women's rankings and a very poor major record to assume she is then going to effectively improve ranking on the main tour to keep a PGA tour card. That's fine though, that's the importance of having them separate and any sport is fantastic personally when you get a closeness, uncertainty of result and drama created which the women's game has underlined by Solheim.

I think there are a few that could make the cut these days at a tournament, people like Nelly or Lexi when playing their very best, but over a season then the distance, the height etc would just be too much to make another to retain a card. The strength in depth of the men's game is also huge so i think it would be Korn Ferry at best for the top professionals. Again though, that's why we have the split to create a place for women's sport.