Why Do Asian Women Dominate the LPGA?

After Inbee Park won her third consecutive major at the U.S. Open last week, I began thinking about a trend that doesn’t get talked about that much in certain circles but is painstakingly obvious–that being the overwhelming dominance of Asian women players on the LPGA tour.

Asked a question about that very trend after winning the Kraft Nabisco Championship, three-time consecutive major championship winner Inbee Park responded “It’s in our blood.” Given Asian women players’ collective success, Inbee’s point is hard to argue; however,  I find it hard to believe that Asian women have any sort of genetic advantage over other other female players. As ubiquitously dominant as Asian female golfers are (60+ in the top 100 of LPGA ranking) their male counterparts pale by comparison as they have failed to distinguish themselves in US events and major championships. So let’s just go ahead and throw genetics out of the equation (one interesting caveat is that Tiger Woods’ mother is Asian, even though pop culture predominately identifies Tiger as black).

I’ve watched a decent amount of women’s golf over the years, and I’m always amazed at how low women score at LPGA tournaments. Of course women play significantly shorter courses than men do (1000 yards less than a men’s PGA tour event is rough way to think about it), and the pins at LPGA events are generally not set up in comparatively severe locations as one would experience on the PGA tour. Where Asian women differentiate themselves–in my humble opinion–is by putting in more effort in PERFECTING their swing and games and having incredibly reliable swings that hold up under pressure. But that still doesn’t suffice for an answer as to why Asian women dominate, because hypothetically Asian men would or should do the same, and their lack of success on the PGA Tour suggest otherwise.

So here it is – LPGA courses are shorter and favor less of a power-game than PGA courses, and Asian women are the most “precise” golfers in the world. Because length is comparatively less important on the women’s tour than men’s, Asian LPGA players thrive with their consistent swings and pressure-tested games.

Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look at Michelle Wie who at age 14 was trying her hand on the PGA Tour and shot several rounds at even and under par, a phenomenal accomplishment for any 14 year old, not to mention that fact that Michelle was a teenage girl competing against seasoned PGA Tour vets. So one would naturally think that if Michelle could hover around the cut line as she did in several PGA Tour events as a youngster, that she would go on to DOMINATE the LPGA tour right? Nope, wrong again. Fast forward 9 years and at age 23 Michelle has won an unimpressive two times on the LPGA Tour. One must factor in some injuries and her decision to attend Stanford, but to drive home my point precision matters more in women’s golf than raw power, and that is where Asian women differentiate themselves.

But don’t take my word for it, below you’ll notice that ONLY ONE PLAYER IN THE TOP 10 IN SCORING AVERAGE IS IN THE TOP 10 IN DRIVING DISTANCE.

SCORING AVERAGE

Inbee Park 69.672

Stacy Lewis 70.093

Na Yeon Choi 70.434

Suzann Pettersen 70.465

Jiyai Shin 70.586

I.K.Kim 70.637

So Yeon Ryu 70.668

Jessica Korda 70.709

Lizette Salas 70.7110

Karrie Webb 70.72

DRIVING DISTANCE

Nicole Smith 274.92 

Brittany Lincicome 271.54 

Lexi Thompson 270.05 

Marina Stuetz 269.26 

Gerina Piller 268.87 

Daniela Iacobelli 267.68 

Jessica Korda 267.49 

Yani Tseng 265.710 

Karin Sjodin 264.5

Lee Trevino once said “There is no such thing as a natural touch. Touch is something you create by hitting millions of golf balls.”  Asians are known for having intense work ethics, and because golf may requires a phenomenal amount of practice to achieve relative perfection (nobody is perfect in golf), their culture promotes an certain level of excellence within women’s golf. Furthermore, many Asian families make significant monetary investments in their daughters with a specific ROI in mind. This may be the case for some American girl golfers, but by and large, golf is far more of a luxury sport than a means to a livelihood (second caveat–Title 9 has increased the amount of women’s golf teams relative to men’s–so significant opportunities currently exist for girls to earn collegiate scholarship, a wonderful opportunity that more girls should seek out).

I hope nothing I’ve written offends anyone (doubtful given the gross generalizations I’ve been making), but these are my thoughts on a trend I’ve seen developing for so long. The true answer as to why Asian women golfers succeed lies in cultural norms that have developed over time, thanks in large part to the pioneer for all Asian women golfers–the iconic Se-Ri Pak who won 25 times on the LPGA tour before Asian dominance was the norm. Pak has a relentless work ethic which has become the standard for so many talented and driven Asian women players.

Taken from HERE.


Korean golfers: The magic formula

On January 29th (2012), Lydia Ko (pictured) became the youngest woman ever to win a professional golf tournament. At 14 years old, she's not yet old enough to drive a car. But she can drive (and putt) a golf ball well enough to beat a pack of adult pros. This staggering achievement provokes a question: Why are Korean women so good at golf?

South Korea is a small, crowded country. It has only 0.7% of the world's population, and hardly any room for golf courses. Yet four of the top 10 female golfers in the world are Korean, as are 38 of the top 100 and 144 of the top 500. And these extraordinary numbers do not include women of Korean ancestry, such as Ms Ko herself, whose parents moved to New Zealand when she was six.

One theory is that modern Korean society is so competitive—think of the effort Korean kids put into passing exams—that it breeds champions. There may be something in this. I once played with a Korean friend on a course near Seoul. A few holes from the end, lightning started stabbing the hillsides around us. I suggested abandoning the match—who wants to walk around in an electric storm waving a long piece of metal in the air? But my Korean opponent would have none of it. He'd fought in Vietnam, and wasn't scared by the mere threat of electrocution. He insisted on finishing. Naturally, he won.

Another theory is that Korean fathers push their daughters harder than dads elsewhere. The father of Se-Ri Pak, who has won five major tournaments and 25 LPGA tournaments overall, made her get up at 5.30 every morning and run up and down the 15 flights of stairs in their apartment block to build up her strength. He made her practise in the cold until icicles formed in her hair. And to overcome her nerves, he made her sleep all night in a cemetery. Small wonder Ms Pak has been so successful—and was hospitalised for exhaustion in 1998. (Biographies of Ms Pak and other Korean women golfers can be found at Seoul Sisters, a fan website.)

My theory, for what it's worth, is that three forces are at work. First, Korea's lack of space means that golfers start off hitting balls at a driving range instead of playing a proper course. This means they hit a heck of a lot of balls. (A proper round of golf consists mostly of walking between shots, which is not good practice for anything.)

Second, Korean culture stresses constant repetition in pursuit of perfection. That's how calligraphers and taekwondo masters train. It's also a good way to develop a reliable golf swing.

Third, Koreans have a tendency to follow trends. Before 1998, when Ms Pak won the US Women's Open and became a national heroine, not many Korean women played golf. Immediately afterwards, legions of Korean girls took up the game. Within a decade, they were dominating it.

Taken from HERE.


More articles:

Dominant Asian women golfers credit 'pushy' parents

Why Shouldn't Asian Women Dominate Golf?

Why are the Asians especially South Koreans dominating the LPGA?

Strong work ethic key to rise of Asian golfers