Am I Part of the Problem?

I want to be honest. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Dunning. 

To be even more frank, I didn't know Hanwha International Crown even existed before they asked me to come out. I have never covered an LPGA event as a media member or been to an LPGA Monday Qualifier. In fact, last year I was invited to one that was just a few hours drive from Alpena, and I didn't go. 

I didn't consciously make this decision, but as I typed the start of this story, it is hard to argue that it wasn't. Yet, if you look back on my Twitter, there are tweets from me complaining about the lack of coverage of the women's game – the very definition of hypocrisy. I rationalized it because I sent out a few tweets about the women's game I was doing my part. The fact is that I'm not, and I need to be better. 

Mina Harigae has a great story. She is a former top-ranked amateur, a "can't-miss" prospect, and for years, she did exactly that – she missed. It got so bad that while in France for an LPGA event, she called her grandmother and told her she was done. She wasn't, of course, and a little over a year later, she was named to the Solheim Cup team. 

It was the kind of story that I live for, and she told it on the podcast. And no one listened. 

That episode got about one-third of the listeners I usually get. She was the last woman I have had on the podcast. 

Again it wasn't a conscious decision. I didn't see the download numbers for her pod and say to myself, "Ok, no more women on the pod." But each week, as I chased guests and downloads, female guests never made it on the pod. And I need to be better. 

I had a long talk with a reporter this week about the women's game and our place as the media in it. The major media companies don't dedicate the same resources they do to the men's game. And that is not a criticism – I haven't either, so I am not throwing stones from my glass house. The fact is that the stories, the pods, and the tweets get fewer clicks, listens, or retweets. 

But that brings up the old chicken and the egg. I can't speak for the other media companies, but I don't work as hard at finding stories on the women's side for the reasons mentioned above. What if I did? What if we all did? Would stories get more clicks, more listens, and more retweets? 

The answer is yes, though simple economics holds us all back. I have a business to run, and so do Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, and currently, women's golf doesn't "pay the bills." We need to all do a better job of covering it. The phrase "grow the game" might be the most overused set of three words in all of golf, but it is probably appropriate here. 

I was out watching the pro-am groups yesterday; and I was the only person watching. (To be fair, it was cold and raining.) And I ran into the No Laying Up guys. I had no idea they were even here, let alone playing in the pro-am. 

Tron, Big Randy (it's a well-earned nickname, he towered over me), and Cody were playing with rising Swedish star Maja Stark and LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux. I introduced myself to the commish, and she said she followed me (humblebrag) and immediately said, "I hope to see you at more events." She is right; I need to be. 

I walked with the group for a few holes and talked briefly with Tron. They are the company that puts the most resources into the women's game, and I asked what he liked about it. He told me they love their access, the ability to not be under strict rules of what can and cannot be used, and lastly, he pointed out that the LPGA Tour was open to ideas. As the group played, the commissioner laughed with them, mocked poor shots, and laughed. Maybe this is unfair to write, as I have never spent a second with him, but I don't see Jay Monahan doing that. 

The few days here have been fantastic, and I am so grateful I came. The players have been excellent, the play is superb, and the Tour has been more than accommodating. I knew I was hooked when I went to an LPGA media official and asked her about the rules of taking pictures and videos. "Basically, just don't tweet out live tweet matches (the event is on TV), but besides that, there aren't many." The smile on my face was noticeable. 

I was even able to cause a little controversy when I asked Bronte Law about Georgia Hall and Charley Hull withdrawing, and she gave an excellent, honest answer that made it very clear she was pissed. (The article about why the women's game needs more of this is for another day). 

The same stories I cover on the men's side exist on the women's side. Though women tend to not play professionally as long for many reasons, the main reason is the lack of money and developmental tours. 

That is the story, though, and I need to write it, not because I'm supposed to, or to check off an imaginary box to say that I cover women's golf, but because it is an interesting story that needs to be told and is my job. 

So thank you to Dunning for helping me to look in the mirror and realize that I can be better.