This Week at TravelGolf.com: Feb. 14, 2007

Sorry, Annika - Golfers are too sexist for a female course designer to be big time

Name the top female golf course architect.

Take all the time that you need. Mull it over, discuss it with friends, hold a séance, phone Alex Trebek. What did you come up with? Amy Alcott maybe, if you're really a golf geek.

Annika Sorenstam is looking to change that. In an exclusive interview with TravelGolf.com, Annika spoke with 20 times the passion you usually get from Annika - who makes even Tiger Woods look like a bold talker - about blowing down doors for women in golf course design.

It all sounds great. Until you take reality into account. And the truth outside the Pollyanna world of characters like Martha Burk is that golfers are simply too sexist to allow this to ever happen.

Not just male golfers, but female golfers too. Think that ever-growing percentage of the game will automatically flock to courses if they have Annika Sorenstam's name on them?

Wrong. No one supports women's sports ventures less than women. Look at everything from the WNBA, to the women's pro soccer league with a shorter run than that Joey sitcom, to the LPGA's near-test pattern ratings. All of these progressive entities shouted from press-conference podiums that they would succeed because women were dying to watch other women in competition.

It turns out this impulse doesn't last past age 12 with most women.

Chicks shun the WNBA to watch the NFL just like guys do.

This attitude carries over into course design too. Everyone wants to play the big name course that impresses their buddies - the Fazio, the Jack Nicklaus, the Dye.

It's sad to say but it's hard to imagine any female architect gaining this cache. Too many women golfers take their cue from men on what's impressive in golf. They may think they wear the pants in the family, but they still defer big time on the fairways.

And can you imagine any guy boasting to his friends about having played the new Sorenstam?

There's a reason Sorenstam turned to China for her first big design chance. In America, no average women golfers have her back.

As always, TravelGolf.com welcomes your comments.

All Ritz, no rough at Norman's
Tiburon courses in Naples, FL

Each winter, as thoughts to turn to spring break, college students ponder a timeless riddle: Cancun, the Bahamas, Acapulco or Vegas? But before you're blinded by thoughts of booze cruises and string bikinis, consider greener pastures: Namely, golf in St. Andrews. Long before it was a golf Mecca, this was a college town. The streets stay alive here long after sunset and University of St. Andrews co-eds promenade and hang out in the bars on North and South streets.

Also: Podcast spotlights high-end Naples golf

Sorenstam aims to knock down
doors for women in course design

Speaking with TravelGolf.com, Annika Sorenstam reveals her desire to become a groundbreaking force in golf course design. Forget just following in Tiger Woods' and Phil Mickelson's footprints. She wants to annihilate some golf-architect stereotypes. "I don't know why there aren't more women course designers. That's a good question, one of those things in golf that doesn't make a lot of sense," she said. "Women are the fastest-growing segment in golf. You would think that some courses would want to take advantage of that."

Also: Are celebrity architects good for golf?

Get the most from your Myrtle
Beach golf trip; and breaking
down the Golf Digest Hot List

National Golf Editor Tim McDonald talks with host Dave Berner about getting the most from your trip to Myrtle Beach without feeling stressed. McDonald says multi-course resorts can make for an easier golf vacation. Meanwhile, Kiel Christianson talks about Golf Digest's Annual Hot list of equipment and wonders if the magazine is biased toward big golf companies. And Bill Wolfrum got his brother-in-law golfing - and created a monster in the process.

Also: Subscribe to the podcast via RSS