LPGA Commissioner Provides Overview Of Language Policy

To: LPGA Constituents

From: LPGA Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens

Date: Sept. 2, 2008

Subj: LPGA overview regarding the effective communication in English policy

On behalf of the 478 LPGA Tour members, I would like to share with you the LPGA’s philosophy on the policy requiring effective communication in English on the part of all of our Tour members. By providing you with the facts and our objectives, we can have a more informed dialogue. The LPGA has also considered the comments and opinions many of you have shared about this topic, and I would like to address our course of action going forward.

First, let me be clear regarding our communication policy. For many years, the LPGA has committed substantial financial and personnel resources to help non-English speaking players improve their English skills. This has come in the form of tutors, translators and use of Rosetta Stone®, the official language-learning system of the LPGA. Today, this is part of the KOLON-LPGA Cross-Cultural Professional Development Program, which offers educational and cross-cultural communication training for all members. An important focus of the program is effective English-language communication skills including conversational, survival and “golf speak.”

As much as the LPGA has been committed to our players, the players have been committed to learning. Now we are formalizing this practice and including our communication policy in our 2009 LPGA Regulations. This is something most players want and fully support. We — and they – understand that in order for them and the LPGA to be most successful, players must be able to effectively communicate with fans, sponsors and media, the vast majority of whom speak English.

Unlike athletes in other sports, LPGA players must entertain and engage sponsors and their customers on a weekly basis; our business model does not rely on advertising and ticket sales as others do. Before these players tee it up for a tournament, they play in pro-ams spending 5-6 hours with the sponsors and guests. No other sport gives fans and sponsors this kind of direct access and experience. Not surprisingly, sponsors pay a lot of money to play with our pros. Sponsors also end up developing individual business relationships with the pros they play with. It is imperative for the future success of the LPGA as well as the success of each LPGA player that our members effectively communicate in English at tournaments inside the United States with those who provide for the existence of the tournaments and the opportunities for professional women golfers to make a living doing what they love.

This means that each individual plays a role in maintaining and gaining corporate sponsors for herself and the LPGA. It also means the LPGA must be more proactive in facilitating relationships between players and sponsors. We would be doing our players a disservice if we did not enforce our communication policy. In effect, we would be relegating them to secondary marketing and reduced earning potential.

We do not, nor will we ever, demand English fluency, or even proficiency, from our international players. To the contrary, we are asking that they demonstrate a basic level of communication in English at tournaments in the United States in situations that are essential to their job as a member of the LPGA Tour – media interviews, the pro-am environment and winner acceptance speeches. That’s it. We are not suggesting an “English only” policy, as we encourage players to speak to their caddies, friends, and fans in their native languages. All we are asking is that in the three designated situations that are very important to the success of the LPGA and its players – pro-ams, winner acceptance speeches and media interviews – the players must be able to communicate basic sentiments in English.

New members do not need to immediately possess the English-language skills in order to earn their way onto the LPGA; nor are they expected to gain the skills on their own. Instead, the LPGA provides and will continue to provide on-line learning along with tutors and translators over the course of two years in an effort to help them gain the functional communication ability needed to succeed on a U.S.-based tour.

To bring this to life and to showcase the potential for each player, the following is a real-life situation from a pro-am earlier this season, and is mirrored in each of our 36 weeks of competition.

- An LPGA Tour member was paired with a senior level executive of a global corporation. Neither had English as their first language. They were not from the same country. However, English was their common language, their common bond. They were able to effectively communicate in English throughout the entire 18-hole round, and to this day they are in discussions for a sponsorship opportunity. This would not have been possible if they could not effectively communicate in English. The player was equipped to harness this potential earnings opportunity. This is what the LPGA wants for its members. To be as prepared as possible to succeed both on and off the course.

Much of the criticism of our policy has centered around the LPGA’s penalty for players who do not meet the minimum language threshold. The penalty is meant to underscore the importance of this issue to the LPGA’s long-term business success. Moreover, given that suspensions would only be considered after the 2009 season, we are confident that our current members will meet the required level of communication by then. New members of the LPGA would not be required to take the evaluation until after the 2010 season. And, if any player does not pass an evaluation exam by the end of her second season on Tour, the LPGA will work with her to identify the areas that need improvement, and she will be provided the resources to improve in those areas. The player will be reevaluated at such time she believes she has achieved the necessary skills, and the suspension will end when she successfully completes the evaluation.

The focus of the program has been and continues to be education and assistance. The development of the program is on-going, and we will have the final details completed no later than the end of the year. During this process, we will carefully assess the thoughts and concerns expressed to us by all of you who share our passion for insuring that LPGA members achieve the success they deserve.

I hope this broad overview provides you with a clearer understanding of our intent and philosophy for taking this very, very seriously. Unfortunately, the facts and intent of our policy have been misrepresented these last few days. What I find most troubling are the baseless accusations that the LPGA is acting out of racist and intolerant motives. I could not disagree more vehemently. Quite the contrary, because of our incredible diversity, we have the most unique and informed perspective on how enforcing a communication policy will positively impact players from all countries.

As commissioner of the LPGA, I want the LPGA to showcase the best players in the world – wherever in the world they may come from and whatever language they may speak. Once those players earn membership into the LPGA, it is my responsibility to assist in giving them the best opportunity to make a living and maximize their earnings opportunities and those of the LPGA. While it is true that asking players to be accountable for their English-speaking skills may place more short-term responsibilities on them, I continue to pledge to all of our players that I support them 100%, every step of the way.