A six-time Solheim Cup veteran recently addressed a topic involving forced equity pursued by the LPGA. The said former golfer previously has some history of getting involved in controversy involving the LPGA. The veteran’s recent opinions could be her latest war of words surrounding her home tour. 

The 17-time LPGA Tour winner recently expressed her hot perspective on the matter. She felt that women’s golf has a whole dilemma about what actually sells women’s golf as a sport to the audience. Does the quality of golf and the presence of great athletes contribute more?  Do low scores that look good on paper matter? 

Seasoned golfer’s opinion on the matter of forced equity

58-year-old Dottie Pepper recently spoke in the podcast “The Thing about Golf” about LPGA’s alleged alteration of par in golf courses. Commenting on the topic of discussion, she said “What I don’t love about the LPGA setup is that there is what I would I call forced equity.” 

She claimed that the committee urges to have the golf course set up in a way that allows each player to able to reach one of the par fives every day. Pepper sounded quite disappointed with the approach that involves messing with the pars. 

“When you start messing around with that, and with messing around with setups to make scores look good so that people catch it, so people tune in to it, to me, you’re doctoring the meritocracy.” 

This is not the first time Pepper has said controversial things though. Earlier in 2007, when she was in the commentary box, she accidentally called the American team ‘choking freakin dogs.’ Later she admitted guilt for what happened. Besides, information later surfaced that she was apparently on a break at the time, and not live. But the broadcast caught her comment on live. 

Read more: After Tipping the Scales in America’s Favor Once Again, Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang Take a Step Back

Coming back to the topic, let’s explore the essence of what the six-time Solheim Cup veteran is trying to explain.

An interpretation of Dottie Pepper’s accusation

What the 58-year-old former golfer means is that she is unhappy about how the scores may no longer truly reflect the talent of players. Altered scores might make the scoreboard more appealing, but her concerns lay with the overall quality of golf. 

In golf terms, a player being able to reach a par 5 means that they are able to finish the hole with an even par or a better score. When the player concedes a bogey they have failed ‘to reach’ the par. 

With modifications to the golf course setup, the scores can look better than they would otherwise be. This could, however, mess with the mechanics of the sport and might trigger unforeseen consequences, from what Pepper said. 

With the Solheim Cup grabbing the audience’s attention, discussions and comparisons about the PGA vs. LPGA are peeking their heads out. Let’s follow them up and see if these conversations bring some positive change in the golf scene overall!

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