I must go on record as opposing the, as yet undrafted, policy of requiring its tour players to learn English. Of course, the announcement of the policy was clumsily handled, but it would have caused outrage no matter how the public was told.
It's a classic case where a defensible result is badly served by poor planning. Golf, by itself, is just a sport. But professional golf is also entertainment and marketing. I'm sure all of the players on the tour want to increase the League's profits, and get a larger share for themselves. In fact, reports say that many of the non-English speaking players approve of the policy. They know that their marketability for endorsements can be enhanced by speaking Englsh. Maria Sharapova is a prime example. And, to its credit, the League has been providing what seems to be voluntary language instruction for some time.
But the policy rankles, inevitably, because it imposes a discriminatory barrier to one's appreciation of the sport. It's supposed to be about excellence, not salesmanship. Why should the LPGA even hint that it may not have the best competitors on its tour just because they don't have the highest Q scores? Believe me, if the public loses its confidence in a sport's commitment to competitive achievement, at the highest level, the fans will disappear, and no amount of marketing razzle-dazzle, in English, Korean or any other language, will bring them back.
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