Pepper to LPGA: Adjust Business Practices

by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 15, 2009 12:37 PM EST

It is not a secret in the golf world that Dottie Pepper is not a fan of LPGA Tour Commissioner Carolyn Bivens. Pepper is one of the more outspoken players in the Tour's history. ("Choking freaking dogs!") So, it comes as no surprise that Dottie has a response to the LPGA's reorganization.

First, Dottie seems peeved that Chris Higgs is out.

Caught in the crossfire was COO Chris Higgs, which means there's only one member of senior management left from the pre-Carolyn Bivens era. That could be problematic because, to me, the only way for the LPGA (and golf in general) to survive the economic crisis is to get back to what it does best — offer sponsors hands-on involvement and support, provide a wonderful vehicle for companies to advertise their products and give charities a chance to do their work.

Makes sense as to what Dottie feels that Higgs represented, but does that mean that there is no one at the LPGA Tour that can sustain those relationships and provide those types of experiences for sponsors? I am not a LPGA insider, so I cannot say.

Here are Dottie's other complaints:

It's time to back off the inflexible escalation of rights fees by granting struggling tournaments some relief from the strict letter of contractual purse increases.

The tour needs to use players in this manner [of building and saving relationships] and be thankful for their commitment.

I agree with both of those vehemently. But the one that I most agree with is this (and it goes for anyone that goes to the Tim Finchem School of Business Speak):

And while we're on a roll, how about losing the cryptic jargon. For example, the LPGA's announcement said that it hoped to create "economic empowerment opportunities" and "to establish executional excellence as standard." How about "provide our members with as many business opportunities as possible" and "do the very best job we can"? Putting a human touch on the sport starts with the way you talk about it.

What would you have the LPGA Tour change if you were the Commissioner?

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Comments

if i were commish?

I’d hire Dotty Pepper to be my successor, then I’d quit.

Truth has a well-known liberal bias.

by dianemarie on Jan 15, 2009 1:00 PM EST reply actions

now there's an idea for a post

Nice question, Ryan! Let me think about it this weekend….

by The Constructivist on Jan 15, 2009 2:17 PM EST reply actions

Dottie Oba...nah...better not say that :-) (J/K)

Geez – now Dottie knows all ? She seems to have a terrific grip on the obvious. Get more flexible with tournament fees – wow – where was this genius idea when the Tour was increasing purses before the economic downturn ? get rid of the jargon – have you stopped to listen to tapes of yourself on TV ?

These are all good ideas – but taking shots at Higgs is ridiculous – he’s just getting into the job.

D – you’re exactly right. Bivens doesn’t get everything right, but Pepper only knows things from one side of the fence. If the LPGA turned the asylum over to the inmates, the LPGA would fold before they knew what happened.

Kurt Vonnegut wrote a bizarre essay about how wunnerful socialism is – then illustrated his support of it with the story of Powers Hapgood. The Hapgood family built a successful cannery business in Indianapolis. When Powers inherited the business, he lived up to his socialist ideals and turned the company over to the employees, who knew nothing about running a business. They ruined the business in short order. (I know – kind of a strange illustration of how great socialism is supposed to be)

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 15, 2009 3:14 PM EST reply actions

Clarifications

Higgs is not a new hire. Higgs just got fired, but was a hold out from the Votaw Administration.

Pepper’s comments definitely were very obvious suggestions. But, did you expect serious analysis?

I must say that’s a poor example of socialism. If anything, that’s commentary of the potential ills of total democracy as opposed to representative democracy.

by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 15, 2009 4:13 PM EST up reply actions

actually...

…it was communism, but the same thing could happen in a democracy. when it was run by the family, it was in a representative republic.

You are SO RIGHT !! What did I expect from Dottie ? Whew.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 15, 2009 4:24 PM EST up reply actions

We're on the same page

I think :)

by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 15, 2009 5:05 PM EST up reply actions

we are...

…I just knew which system fit because I knew the story. (I know – cheating again) :-D

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 15, 2009 5:39 PM EST up reply actions

If I were commissioner...

I would hire the best spin person in the world to make my ideas look great and to get people on my bandwagon. The thing about Bivens, and the LPGA, is that they’ve got some decent policies and ideas but they don’t seem to be expressing them in the best ways…they get beat up in the media and don’t know how to respond or recover.

Dottie’s ideas are far from original or insightful, but maybe starting the conversation can evoke some change.

Sometimes people/organizations need to have thing be “their” idea before they actually change anything, so it wouldn’t surprise me if, after awhile, we see something vaguely similar coming from the LPGA HQ as their ideas for change and improvements.

by red tees on Jan 16, 2009 3:42 PM EST reply actions