June 2, 2009 -- In celebration of American Express Women's Golf Month, PGA.com convened a panel of the some of the most illustrious and influential women in the golf industry to discuss, dissect and celebrate the state of women's golf. Though each member of the panel brings a lifetime of insight and experience, the unique perspectives from each -- aggregated in one forum -- creates a conversation that cannot be replicated anywhere else, and will provide the readers of PGA.com a perspective and enjoyment of women's golf that can only benefit the entire golf industry.

The lively talk lasted over an hour and touched on a myriad of topics including how women benefit from playing golf, why men should want more women to golf, the influence of women in the golf world, the growth of the LPGA, if it's okay for women to market their appearance in an effort to attract an audience for women's golf, if the influx of Asian golfers is good or bad for the LPGA and how men can often mess up a woman's golf game before the first tee is put in the ground. The fascinating conversation will be presented in four parts, with each new portion published each Tuesday during June. Their words will excite, provoke, educate and entertain. And hopefully, the lasting impression will be that they will inspire you to rethink your responsibility -- as a man or a woman -- to be more proactive in growing and promoting this great game among all women.

PGA.com Women's Panel: (from left to right) Carol Mann, Sandy Labauve, Suzy Whaley, Dr. Renee Powell and Pam Swensen. (bios below)

Part I: What is American Express Women's Golf Month and why do we need it? Why should men care if women play golf?

PGA.com: "Ladies thank you again so much for taking part. Quick question kind of for the group here: American Express Women's Golf Month is here. What is it? Anybody?

Suzy: "I'll take it since I'm a National spokesperson. American Express Women's Golf Month has been going - this is our fifth year. We are working towards increasing female participation amongst new golfers, golfers that started the game long ago -- perhaps before children or career, and want to get them back into the game; and for current golfers to enjoy golf networking opportunities, instruction, on-course opportunities; just to get women back to the course and using it more.

PGA.com: "And how has the program been received by the public?"

Pam: "Well, this is Pam, and I would just say that the participation each year with American Express Women's Golf month has grown exponentially. And from a chapter perspective, the Executive Women's Golf Association, we really encourage our individual chapters in all the communities to align with the facilities that are offered by Women's Golf Month programs, because it is a natural fit for our organization to cultivate relationships with these women who are coming out and testing the waters.

PGA.com: "Anyone: Is there a danger in isolating one month as Women in Golf Month (WGM), that the other eleven means Not Women's Golf Month?"

Suzy: "We deserve at least a month. (laughs) Are you kidding me? We have to have some month that's for us."

Carol: "Excuse me guys, I'd like to say a couple things: 1. When I've been involved in it, it's been kind of a combination of all of what's been said, but also a celebration; of the camaraderie, the celebration of women enjoying golf. And I think that's important. And so if it's just a cocktail party or a fashion show, it's a celebration of sharing golf together. Now, the second thing I'm going to say is not positive. And that is this: I've done inventories among many PGA of America sections of how many WGM activities are going on, or American Express WGM activities are going on, and I'm very disappointed, in the fact that a lot of the grass roots professionals and headquarters for grass roots golf are not doing things. So, John, you wanted a call to action; I'm going to say: We've still really got to get the PGA of America to hype this up some more among the chapters and their sections.

PGA.com: "That brings up a very interesting point. Carol, according to the numbers that I've seen, and certainly the ones that you aggregated for us; well certainly the one thing that I found, the National Golf Foundation (NGF) study in 2007, said that women make up about 23% of the golfing population. And to me, just anecdotally, that number seems pretty inflated, because I guarantee you, I don't recall going to a golf course and seeing one out of four golfers being women. But now with that being said, and based on what you just said, why should I, as a male golfer, as certainly the predominant gender out on the golf course, why should I want more women to play?"

Sandy: "I would say that for women to get out on the golf course and play, and for men to want them out there, one of the reasons is purely for company, and a little bit just to get over the guilt factor. I think that a lot of the men that I teach bring their wives or significant others into the game because they would like to have something they can do with them, and they don't want to feel guilty about going to the golf course on Saturday or Sunday and playing, they just the same be playing with them.

Renee: "And I think another thing too, is that as they encourage women to go out, the women understand a lot better as to why they are so enthusiastic about the game. They understand why they spend all those hours on the golf course. And two, also, it helps I think you can encourage them, and encourage it to be done as a family also.

Pam: "As a viable business model, when you look at what's happening in the country today, across all businesses, you want to perpetuate the longevity of having golf as a sport.

PGA.com: "And that was then question no. 2. Why as a golf course, do I want to recruit women? And again, I'm taking the chauvinistic perspective here, and well, let me back up for just a moment. Let's just talk about golf as it is. As we can all agree the three basic barriers is: golf is hard, it's time consuming, and it can be expensive. So with that in mind, why should any woman want to play golf?

Suzy: "Well, I'd take out 'golf is hard.' I think that's a perception across the board that needs to be wiped clean. I think that people, especially female golfers, they hear that over and over and over, and you're right. Why would you then try to take on the challenge if you said it's going to take all this time, and it's hard, and I'm not going to be able to do it? With the population that I have and trying to grow the women's sport, golf and any sport to learn, when you first begin it, is a challenge. However, you don't have to be great at this sport to enjoy it. So for me, I'm not going to tell my students 'I know its hard, and I know it's going to take you forever to learn.' I think that's just a huge distraction. Instead, we go to something like putting or chipping. Let's do this first, and look at that...look at you do it, and look how easy that is, and let's go out to the golf course and get it in the air. And are you going to shoot 83 the first time out? Of course not, but I think that's what Get Golf Ready is about; it's not about get golf perfect. It's about 'Let's just get out there and play some golf.

Sandy: "I would also say the same thing along Suzy's line. I think from an instruction stand point, we're doing everything and anything we can do to make this game easier to learn. So, I'm always coming from 'This is not rocket science.' There's a lot of fun that can be had, and I keep trying to let some of these women know the average handicap of a woman in the world is around 36. Their score is 108. It doesn't take that much for a woman to get in the game and get to where she's playing right along with everybody else. If she wants to play better than that it certainly takes more, but as soon as they start seeing the realistic expectations, all of a sudden it's like 'This is doable.'

Renee: "And the thing is I think if you can encourage them to set little goals for themselves; If they get one ball airborne, they can continue on and get more airborne. Encourage them that they're not going to go out and shoot par. But also, it's the same thing if you're learning a musical instrument or learning a language. It takes a little bit of time, but you set little goals for yourself, and you can continue to improve at your own pace, because golf is an individual sport.

Carol: "I'd like to throw in there that we tend to think in terms of, many of us, men especially, think in terms of a traditional model of playing golf on the course, and I get my beginner students, and especially I tell their husbands, 'Let them tee off from the 150 yard marker, and let them play golf from there for the first two or three months, or until they begin to show more advancement.' So there is a sense of accomplishment, and a sense of being able to keep up. So there's not this big emphasis on power, or carrying over the ravines, and the water and all that stuff.

Suzy: "I even take it one step further than that. My beginners start at 150, and they can move back as they start to make double par. So if they can make a double par from 150, they can move back to 200, and they can make double pars from there, then they can move back from there when they can make double pars. So there are ways to make this game fun for everyone, and I would love to get the phrase 'golf is hard' out of our language.

PGA.com: "Isn't that though, Suzy, in a sense, part of the beauty and enjoyment of golf; that it is difficult at times, and thus, when you are able to overcome that difficulty and make your first par or make your first birdie....

Suzy: "Well I think that speaks to what Renee said. Absolutely, that it is an individual sport, that people can chart their progress as such, individually. And sure it is. If you've made a bogey for the first time, you think 'Yea, now I want to make a par.' If you've made a double par for the first time, 'Yea, now I want to make a 7 instead of an 8.' Absolutely that's the beauty of golf, and the fact you can do it on your own and in your own time."

Sandy: "I think also we're trying to look at the game, like the mechanics and techniques of how to hit shots, is certainly important, and a necessary thing to learn. The game itself is about strategy, it's creative, it's artistic, it's fun and I think we can paint that picture that this is way more than just learning how to hit a 7 iron. And I'm all in favor of starting at 150 and moving back; that's the same model that we use in the LPGA and USGA girl's golf programs. And I think it's a very effective way for people to learn how to play and to have success at shorter distances and grow the game back. But in that arena, what happens is they get to see some of the strategy right up front and they get to learn what they're working toward, as opposed to getting stuck on a driving range trying to hit a 7 iron.

PGA.com: "What's the proper percentage of golfers that should be female? Should it mirror the general male population 50/50?

Suzy: "60/40" [laughter]

Sandy: "My guess is 35%"

PGA.com: "So if one in three golfers is female, would you say the programs and the initiatives have been a success?"

Sandy: "I'd say we're moving in the right direction."

Renee: "Correct."

Carol: "I'm going to add this: is that for traditional golf, 18 holes over a regulation course; or are we talking about the possibility of banding the nontraditional, and including them to 35%? Par three golf, executive links golf, nine-hole golfers, pick your own tees golf, I put that out as a question."

PGA.com: "I think that's valid. In my mind it would just be people who identify themselves as golfers. Actually I hadn't segmented them out further than that, but that's a good point.

In part two of this exclusive PGA.com Women's Panel Discussion, read what our esteemed panel has to say about chauvinism in the golf world, explicit and implicit, and how the industry needs to address it.

PGA.com Women's Panel:
Carol Mann: LPGA Hall of Fame member. 36 LPGA wins. Former President of the LPGA. 2008 PGA First Lady of Golf. PGA Professional.
Sandy LaBauve: PGA Professional, Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher
Suzy Whaley: PGA Professional. First female in 58 years to qualify to play in a PGA Tour event. Two-time Connecticut PGA Teacher of the Year. National Spokeswoman for American Express Women's Golf Month.
Dr. Renee Powell: Former LPGA player. PGA Professional. Awarded Honorary Doctorate from famed St. Andrews University in Scotland.
Pam Swensen: CEO of Executive Women's Golf Association.