"If you’ve been reading the blogs, you know that it has not just been heat. We’ve also been praised for being leaders."

It's interesting to note that as soon as a major sponsor like State Farm was on the record questioning the LPGA's speak-English-you-pesky-Koreans-or-its-안녕, they rescinded their proposed penalties. Before we get to some reaction and the major question here, consider these two interviews from the last couple of days.

Michael Bush of Ad Age talked to Libba Galloway who held firm even after the State Farm comments. That was yesterday.

Steve Eubanks, in a Yahoo interview with Commissioner Bivens dated Thursday at 12:14 p.m., gets some interesting responses considering Fridays rescintion.

Bivens: Well, I’ll start by saying that, if you’ve been reading the blogs, you know that it has not just been heat. We’ve also been praised for being leaders.

See all of you who supported the commissioner in previous posts here, you provided someone comfort.

Eubanks asked about why only Koreans were targeted:

We currently don’t have any Spanish-speaking players who don’t speak English. We don’t have any Swedish players who don’t speak English, and we didn’t have any Japanese players in the Portland event, which is where we talked.

A couple of times a year, when I meet with the Korean players, they ask that I meet with the parents and guardians or their agents. That’s a group that has a unique culture and unique needs, just as the Spanish speakers or others that we don’t happen to have right now.

And here's where you have to question why she gets paid the big bucks:

Question: Were you surprised by the negative reaction this has gotten?

Bivens: Sure, when the headline is that we’re mandating English only and we’re going to suspend players, people are going to react to that. That’s not the program. Ninety-five percent of the program is about education and focus; 5 percent deals with the penalty, and we don’t expect to ever have to apply it. We’re providing all of the resources. Based on the headline and misinformation, we shouldn’t have been surprised.

This was not an announcement. This was a work in progress, and it came third-hand from a private meeting.

And wouldn't you just expect that something so clearly controversial would get out?

In an ESPN.com piece, Ron Sirak says the LPGA should have seen this coming.

This entire mess, which is embarrassing for the LPGA at best and potentially damaging to its efforts to do business in Asia at worst, could have been avoided if that "valuable feedback" had been sought before the rule was unilaterally imposed at a meeting with the Korean players in Portland, Ore., in late August. The decision to rescind the penalty was the right one, but is it a large enough eraser to eliminate the memory of the original insult?

These are huge points I don't think has been mentioned anywhere else:

The tour's single biggest revenue stream is Korean TV money. What is to be gained by offending that community?

The ultimate silliness about this entire situation is the small number of players it really affected. A well-placed source within the LPGA hierarchy said there were "perhaps a dozen" Korean players on tour who did not possess the English skills the LPGA desired. A caddie who works for a Korean player placed the number at "about five to seven."

This all seems to go back to the same point: who at the LPGA Tour is thinking about the big picture and understanding how the world might react to new policies? Clearly not Bivens or anyone she has brought in. Consider what John Hawkins wrote before Friday's news:

Blog Nation has been serving up a ton of related opinions, many of which castigate commissioner Carolyn Bivens for her sloppy handling of the matter, as if anything this administration does is executed in tidy fashion or is universally well received.

You know what I like about Bivens? Neither do I. A vast majority of the story­lines coming out of women's golf in recent years have come with a built-in negative hook, and not because the media is guilty of piling on. The language-barrier issue is a classic head-vs.-heart argument: what's good for business as opposed to what's morally right. There are a bunch of reasons not to like the LPGA's demand that its players speak English and just one obvious reason to validate the cause—so a bunch of South Korean girls can chat in the pro-am with the guy who owns the local supermarket chain.

How does she keep her job?

Sadly, for the LPGA Tour, she's a blogger's dream.That should tell the LPGA board everything it needs to know.

LPGA Backs Down: "관심사를 들어서 후에, 우리는 각 투어 선수를 위한 사업 기회 지원하고 강화하는의 우리의 공동 목적을 달성하는 다른 방법이 다는 것을 믿는다."

According to the AP story, the death of the penalty provisions for not passing an English exam came two hours before a press conference and a day after a California lawmaker started raising serious questions.

Here's the statement from the Commish:

Statement credited to LPGA Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens regarding the LPGA's policy on effective communication in English

The LPGA has received valuable feedback from a variety of constituents regarding the recently announced penalties attached to our effective communications policy. We have decided to rescind those penalty provisions.

After hearing the concerns, we believe there are other ways to achieve our shared objective of supporting and enhancing the business opportunities for every Tour player. In that spirit, we will continue communicating with our diverse Tour players to develop a better alternative. The LPGA will announce a revised approach, absent playing penalties, by the end of 2008.

During that time we will continue to provide support under the three-year-old Kolon-LPGA Cross Cultural Program. This popular program provides all LPGA members with the best cross-cultural training in the form of tutors, translators, Rosetta Stone®, the official language-learning system of the LPGA, as well as assistance from LPGA staff and consultants.

And for our Korean-speaking readers...

계산서는 LPGA 감독관에게 Carolyn F. 신용했다. 영어로 효과적인 커뮤니케이션에 LPGA의 정책에 대하여 Bivens는

 우리의 효과적인 커뮤니케이션 정책에 붙어 있던 최근에 알려진 형벌에 대하여 다양한 성분에서 LPGA 귀중한 의견을 받았다. 우리는 그 형벌 지급을 폐지하는 것을 결정했다.

관심사를 들어서 후에, 우리는 각 투어 선수를 위한 사업 기회 지원하고 강화하는의 우리의 공동 목적을 달성하는 다른 방법이 다는 것을 믿는다. 저 정신에서는, 우리는 우리의 다양한 투어 선수에 더 나은 대안을 개발하기 위하여 교통 계속되. LPGA는 2008년 말까지 수정한 접근, 결석한 노는 형벌을, 알릴 것이다.

그동안 우리는 Kolon-LPGA 3 년 오래된 교차하는 문화적인 프로그램의 밑에 지원을 제공하는 것을 계속할 것이다. 이 보급 프로그램은 LPGA 직원과 고문에게서 원조 뿐만 아니라 가정교사, 통역, Rosetta Stone® 의 LPGA의 공식적인 언어 배우는 체계의 모양으로 제일 cross-cultural 훈련을 모든 LPGA 일원에게, 제공한다.

Update on 2008-09-05 18:02 by Geoff

I wonder if the LPGA's change of course means Jan Stephenson has not been de-vindicated. Gary Van Sickle reported earlier this week:

The rule, clearly aimed at the growing number of Asian players dominating the tour, seemed to confirm that Stephenson, a Hall of Fame golfer, was not alone in the sentiments that got her in trouble five years ago. She drew a firestorm of criticism for saying in a 2003 GOLF Magazine interview that the influx of Asian players was "killing" the tour and that the LPGA should consider quotas on foreign players. Stephenson was accused of making racially insensitive remarks and was criticized by then-LPGA commissioner Ty Votaw. She apologized but was still ostracized.

"I talked to the LPGA this morning, and now they're saying, yes, it [foreign players] is an issue," Stephenson said by phone from her Florida office Tuesday. "I said, I've finally been vindicated."

"LPGA 투어 일원은 세계적인 기업의 고위급 행정관과 한 쌍이 되었다. 어느 쪽도 아니에는 그들의 첫번째 언어로 영어가 없었다. 그들은 동일한 국가에서 이지 않았다."

The great branding never stops when it comes to the LPGA Tour's desire to penalize Korean players who can't tell their pro-am partners the difference between a Pro V1x and Platinum One, with Lorena Ochoa calling the new policy "a little drastic.”

Evan Rothman at Golfweek.com offers an excellent day-by-day primer on the key phrases Korean players will want to learn. Here's his Wednesday pro-am round list:

Wednesday: Pro-am round(to male pro-am partners)

“You’re in the [insert partner’s profession here] business? How fascinating.”“Nice drive. . . . Does your husband play golf?”

"Hit it, Alice.”

"You got all of that one!”

“A swing tip? You’re standing too close to the ball . . . after your shot.”

“Yes, Lorena really is as nice as everyone says. . . . No, I haven’t met Tiger Woods.”

“Another tip? Take two weeks off, then quit.”

“I don’t understand why Michelle Wie isn’t playing out here, either. I guess you’d have to ask her.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get it back on the next hole.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. You’re a tremendous slouch.”

(at round’s end)            

“Hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort?”

“Sorry, I don’t give out my phone number.”

And finally, because I always feel the need to give back, I offer this Korean translation for the SAT like-example provided by the Commissioner for learning English. To refresh your memory, here's the brilliance in English and Korean:

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.

LPGA 투어 일원은 세계적인 기업의 고위급 행정관과 한 쌍이 되었다. 어느 쪽도 아니에는 그들의 첫번째 언어로 영어가 없었다. 그들은 동일한 국가에서 이지 않았다. 그러나, 영어는 그들의 공통 언어, 그들의 일반적인 유대이었다. 그들은 효과적으로 둥근 전체 18 구멍을 통하여 영어로 교통할 수 있고, 후원 기회를 위한 면담에 현재까지 있다. 이것은 그들이 영어로 효과적으로 교통할 수 없던 경우에 가능하지 않ㄹ을. 선수는 이 잠재적인 수입 기회를 마구를 채우기 위하여 갖춰졌다. 이것은 LPGA가 그것의 일원을 위해 원하는 무슨이다. 둘 다 이따금 성공하게 가능한 한 준비되는 이기 위하여 과정.

See how easy it is to deal with the two languages.

Brand Lady Memo: "We do not view this as punitive but rather as underscoring the importance of a core value on which the LPGA was founded: engaging and entertaining our customers and fans."

Thanks to the reader who passed this along, and do make sure you hit the link for the "background" on the policy.

To:         LPGA Constituents
From:    LPGA Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens
Date:     Sept. 2, 2008
Subj:     LPGA overview regarding the effective communication in English policy

A great deal has been written this past week about the LPGA’s initiative to help members attain minimal English language skills. For those of you who want more details and background, please go to http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?pid=17137&mid=4 where you will find an extensive overview. Please feel free to respond and offer comments.

Let's start with a key point of clarity: we are not suggesting, nor will we implement, an “English only” policy. The LPGA does not, nor will we ever, require English fluency, or even proficiency, from our international players.

As a U.S.-based tour, more than 65% of our events are held in our home country. For those events, we need our members to attain a level of communication in English so they can:

A.     deliver an enjoyable experience in the pro-am events at tournaments,
         which are the lifeblood of the LPGA business model;
B.     conduct their post-round interviews in English for the media; and

Sounds like English-only to me!

C.     deliver a short acceptance speech after winning an event.

None of this is new. The LPGA has had a program for more than three years whereby we dedicate substantial resources for the transition and education of our international members. This program includes an on-line learning program, tutors and translators with the expressed goal being a functional ability to communicate in English within two years after an international member has joined the LPGA.

The aspect which is new and received the vast majority of coverage last week is the penalty, which would be assessed after two years if a player didn’t achieve the minimal ability to communicate in English. We do not view this as punitive but rather as underscoring the importance of a core value on which the LPGA was founded: engaging and entertaining our customers and fans.

And here I thought it was to allow women to display their incredible golfing skills! What was I thinking!

Without this most basic ability to entertain our customers, we will not maintain the current levels of events much less grow. Nor will our international members have the skills necessary to maximize their individual earnings potential by being able to communicate with prospective sponsors.

I’d like to offer a brief word about our events outside the United States.

Here's the part where we let it be known that Paula Creamer had better learn to say vachchuneta!

As part of our Board-approved strategic plan, we are producing cultural briefings for each tournament beginning this fall. Among items shared with members will be key phrases for communicating in the native language of the country in which the event is held. Additionally, we have a number of members already using our on-line language services to learn other languages.

I believe, as do the majority of our domestic and international members, the program we have implemented will benefit the LPGA and every Tour member individually.

Please feel free to send us your thoughts and comments.

 Best regards,

Carolyn F. Bivens

"How good is Carolyn Bivens' grasp of the game and business she is charged with running?"

An unbylined commentary from The Golf Wire became the first to focus on the role of Commissioner Carolyn Bivens in the LPGA's speak English brouhaha:

After all, this is a woman with an allegedly strong media background who managed to achieve near media blackout of the first event under her care in 2006, the Fields Open, because she thought it was a good idea to flout a century of accepted media business practice and attempt to appropriate ownership of stories and photos produced by media outlets at LPGA events. Despite the presence of Michelle Wie, who was still a media darling back then, both Honolulu newspapers, The Associated Press, Sports Illustrated and Golf World magazine were among those who did not cover the first round on Oahu.

Eventually, she had to relent. You know how testy people can get when they take on all the expense and risk, and then someone else wants to reap the benefits.

Clearly, she's gearing up next for a government job.

Her latest brainstorm attempts to nullify talent and hard work - also known as "merit" - in exchange for a better marketing and communications platform. And here we thought a commissioner's job was to create MORE opportunities for her constituents - you know, the players - and not fewer.

Speaking of the Commissioner, Doug Ferguson notes:

Strangely absent during this debate is LPGA Tour commissioner Carolyn Bivens. According to Golfweek, Bivens held a meeting with only the South Koreans last week in Portland, which led some to believe they were being singled out.

Galloway said Bivens was returning from the West Coast on Monday and Tuesday, and “I drew the long straw” to handle media inquiries.

The New York Times editorial board even weighed in, calling the new policy offensive and self-destructive.

"The LPGA wants Koreans to speak passable English but the Tour's own leadership can't communicate that fact to the players with anything approaching clarity. How's that for irony?"

Impressive coverage and diverse views continue to dominate the LPGA's English-only rule coverage, which appears widespread and mostly not positive: Dan Barnes writes:

It should be noted that the message from commissioner Carolyn Bivens was delivered to the Korean players in spoken English. There was nothing presented to them on paper or, heaven forbid, in their own language. How much got lost in translation? Plenty. Some Korean players told Golfweek, the website that broke the story, they believe they will lose their cards permanently if they can't pass the test.

And...

It's all about sponsorship, something Korean golfer Jeong Jang figured out a while ago. She told Golfweek about Cristie Kerr's acceptance speech after she won the 2005 Michelob Ultra Open.

"First thing she said to the camera was, 'I need a beer.' I still remember that. Sponsors must be proud."

Oh yeah, that was a proud Kodak moment, all right. And there could be so many more, if the LPGA's dialectal directive has its desired effect on the international membership. When Soo-Yun Kang wins the McDonald's LPGA Championship in 2009, provided she has taken all her English lessons, she can step in front of the camera and say, "I need a massive influx of fat and calories, so hand me a Big Mac.''

Now that would be a mouthful in any language.The LPGA wants Koreans to speak passable English but the Tour's own leadership can't communicate that fact to the players with anything approaching clarity. How's that for irony?

Leonard Shapiro calls the English-only rule "draconian, xenophobic and seemingly discriminatory." He also writes:

What if the tables were turned and you were sent to a foreign country to conduct your own business, only to be told that unless you learned Korean, or Japanese or Spanish you'd be out of a job? Could you do it in two years, while also putting in 50-hour or longer work weeks? Five years? Ever?

There is more than a little irony here as well. Women golfers around the globe, and particularly in the U.S., have been discriminated against for years. They've been unable to join certain clubs as full members, prohibited from teeing off on weekends until 1 p.m., told that the men's grill was truly boys only and totally off limits and totally excluded from any membership at all in places like Augusta National, Pine Valley and Burning Tree.

And now one of the most powerful women's sports organizations in the world is actually going to discriminate against some of its very own international female members because they're not proficient in English? It's absurd, it's dead wrong and clearly contrary to the Olympic ideal that rewards only the fastest and the strongest, not the athlete who gives the best press conference for the American media.

Ron Sirak shares this from an LPGA player agent:

"Next year there will be LPGA events in Thailand, Singapore, China, Korea and Japan and the tour has said it has its eye on India and the Middle East as well," notes another agent who also asked that his name not be used. "Will Americans who win in those countries be expected to give their speech in the local language?"

Jay Coffin says "good idea, poor execution" but also writes that "Suspension is too harsh a penalty. An LPGA card is earned from talent, now that status can be taken away for a reason other than talent. There’s something fundamentally wrong with this concept."

Alan Shipnuck considers the legality of the rule.

So-called English-only rules in the workplace are an emerging body of law; the Supreme Court has yet to weigh in. One high-profile recent case, still pending, centered on a Connecticut sheet-metal factory that made English compulsory. The attorney for the workers, Steven D. Jacobs, tells GOLF.com: "Over the last 10 years, there have been a number of decisions in this area, and the courts have consistently decreed that it is permissible for an employer to mandate English-only for two narrow reasons: safety" — air-traffic control being an obvious example — "and efficiency" — such as telephone customer service.

"And that's it," Jacobs continued. "With regards to the LPGA, safety is obviously a non-factor. So the issue becomes, is the language a player speaks fundamental to the competition? I would not want to be the one who has to make that case."

Jon Show at Sports Business Daily counters with this:

LPGA Deputy Commissioner Libba Galloway said the policy was vetted with attorneys familiar with workplace laws. “Legal businesses and membership organizations have the right to make certain requirements that are fundamental to their businesses,” Galloway said. A formal copy of the policy was not available, said Galloway, because it will not be finalized until the end of this year.

Can't wait for the day that's leaked!

Larry Dorman says the "policy has touched an international nerve" and writes:

Because of the manner in which the information seeped out, and because the L.P.G.A. tour has not finished drafting a written version of the policy, the organization has been both pilloried and praised around the globe.

If the L.P.G.A. hoped to use this as a trial balloon, it has plenty of material to wade through before a final document is forged. Harrington, for example, raised many questions those in the L.P.G.A.’s headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla., might want to consider.

“Do you have to pass an exam?” said Harrington, an Irishman who has won three of the last six major championships. “Surely if you can say hello, that’s English. Is that good enough? Who draws the line about how many words you’ve got to know in English?

“Obviously some people are natural talkers and some people aren’t. What if you have a person who genuinely struggles with learning new language, they have a learning disability? That’s tough to ask somebody with a learning disability who might have found golf as the saving grace in their life, to ask them to learn a different language or else you can’t play.”

And it didn't take long for the satirical columns to start. Bill Nichols in the Dallas Morning News:

As a public service, here are five more requirements for LPGA consideration:
•Minimum score of 1,350 on the SAT or 31 on the ACT
•2,000-word essay on character construction in Finnegan's Wake
•Minimum height of 5-3, maximum height of 5-10
•Change a flat tire in 20 minutes (using an American car, of course)
•Look like Natalie Gulbis

Brand Lady: Learn English Or It's Sayonara!

This story has the potential to explode into one of those Jimmy The Greek, Ben Wright-style clashes where the PC police take on the perpetrator, in this case, the LPGA Tour. Frankly, I might actually not blame the PC police on this one. Beth Ann Baldry reports:

At a mandatory South Korean player meeting Aug. 20 at the Safeway Classic, the tour informed its largest international contingent that beginning in 2009, all players who have been on tour for two years must pass an oral evaluation of their English skills. Failure would result in a suspended membership.

“Hopefully what we’re talking about is something that will not happen,” said Libba Galloway, the tour’s deputy commissioner, of possible suspensions. “If it does, we wouldn’t just say, ‘Come back next year.’ What we would do is work with them on where they fell short, provide them the resources they need, the tutoring . . . and when we feel like they need to be evaluated again, we would evaluate.”

Galloway said the policy takes effect immediately, but the “measurement time will be at the end of 2009.” There are 121 international players from 26 countries on tour; 45 are South Koreans.

Hilary Lunke, president of the Player Executive Committee, said much of this initiative stems from the importance of being able to entertain pro-am partners. Players already are fined if the LPGA receives complaints from their pro-am partners. Now the tour is taking it one step further.

“The bottom line is, we don’t have a job if we don’t entertain,” Lunke said. “In my mind, that’s as big a part of the job as shooting under par.”

Okay, so they learn some rudimentary English, which actually gives them a leg up on the Commissioner.

Is the pro-am conversation really going to get beyond "good shot" and "left edge" and "nice meeting you"? Unbelievable.

This, is going to get ugly.

"It's a travesty that the LPGA would allow this happen"

Thanks to reader Jim for this Michael McGarry story where he gets in touch with the former ShopRite Classic folks to see if they'll be getting the band back together now that the Ginn event has folded.

"It's a travesty that the LPGA would allow this happen," former Classic executive director Ruth Harrison said Friday. "We were there for 21 years, and (the LPGA) trashes our event for one with no track record."

At the time the decision was made, Classic officials questioned how long the Ginn Tribute would last.

"I would never wish for the LPGA to be unsuccessful," former Classic director of communications Rodger Gottlieb said Friday. "That wouldn't give us any degree of satisfaction. But this (the demise of the Ginn Tribute) validates a view we've had all along."

Bivens issued a written statement about Ginn on Friday. It did not mention the Classic.

"The AP did neither, it contends, but that's not the main thrust here."

In last week's "message from headquarters," LPGA Commish Carolyn Bivens made a big fuss about the AP running a corrected story, when, as was pointed out here, there wasn't much to correct.

Seems, the AP did not correct the story, as Thomas Bonk writes in his LATimes.com column:

Four days later, in a two-page memo from Commissioner Carolyn Bivens to LPGA members (but leaked to news agencies all over the place), Bivens explains the incident, defends the rules official and says the Associated Press misquoted the official and ran a correction.

The AP did neither, it contends, but that's not the main thrust here. Why such a memo was necessary in the first place is an issue, but then so is a potentially greater after-effect, such as, why give the impression that you're picking on Wie again when the thing is already done?

Brand Lady Strikes Back With Series Of Bruising Rhetorical Questions

Smarting from that new 3-year contract extension, LPGA Commish Carolyn Bivens announced a de-branding of the LPGA Championship and a likely move to a summer date in the Northeast U.S. Naturally, she was quite humble in announcing the move, as reported by Ron Sirak.

"The LPGA has been surviving for 58 years," Bivens told Golf World. "Now is the time to move into the world of major sports." She said that while the tournament will have no title sponsor (other than the LPGA), it will seek presenting sponsors to help with the cost of running the event -- and hope to be part of a television package that will generate revenue.

And she seems to have really mastered the rhetorical question.

"Could the proceeds from the LPGA Championship be the beginning of a real retirement fund?" Bivens asked rhetorically. "Could it grow into an LPGA version of the Masters? Could it contribute two, three, four, five million dollars a year to the pension fund? The business plan we have for 2010 can take this tour to a new level of financial stability."

Blackberrying From Lausanne

We learned last week that Tim Finchem let USGA-Executive-Director-in-hiding David Fay and LPGA Commish Carolyn Bivens inside his PGA Tour jet for the low cost, minimal upside trip to Europe to pitch the IOC on the ridiculous notion of golf in the Olympics. I'm sure the PGA Tour's rank and file would be thrilled to see the price tag for this pricey little excursion. 

The jet took on extra weight with PGA Tour's Ed Moorhouse and after a stop in London, Euro Tour headman George O'Grady, who joined the braintrust for the final leg to Lausanne, Switzerland. 

My NSA sources were able to intercept Blackberry messages sent by three of the passengers after stepping down in Lausanne, starting with Bivens writing to top lieutenant Jane Geddes.

Jane,

Greetings from Lausanne by way of London by way of Daytona and Teeterboro!!! We just touched down in the tour jet. What a cool ride. Thankfully we had George O'Grady to liven things up on the flight from London to Lausanne. It was just Tim, Fay and Ed Moorhouse on the first leg of the journey. Tim and Ed pretended to fall asleep about an hour into the flight, but I know they were awake because Ed kept kicking Tim's seat every time Fay mentioned the Yankees. Which reminds me, could you look up who this Joba guy is that Fay kept talking about needing to come off the DL? Is this a Star Wars reference I didn't understand?

CB

PS - how did Corning go, are they going to bump up their purse or are we going to have find another sponsor willing to pay full market value? 

PGA Tour Commish Finchem wrote to VP of International Affairs, Ty Votaw.

Ty,
Be grateful you didn't make this trip, even though the bottle of PGA TOUR cab we opened is just stunning. Nice sunny, smoky flavor, probably from the California wildfires? And please thank Chef for the cheese production, very appropriate selection with the cab. Hope the Corning HOF induction ceremony went well. Ed and I got some much needed rest on the flight over. Not much in the way of coterminous interfacing with our guests. Bivens and Fay looked lost when I suggested ways of monetizing and value modulating the Olympic movement. I finally had to take a nap when Fay kept reminding me that he'd love to run the Olympic golf federation if we are successful. I explained that we need to get golf in the games first, then we would codify the resource structuring.
Ed sends his best,
TF

And David Fay wrote to USGA CBO Pete Bevacqua, who apparently has created some fascinating new rules for staff.

Pete,

Just arrived in Lausanne. Even though this wasn't an official USGA function, I only had two drinks on the flight over from Teeterboro per the new company policy. That okay? Or does the two drink max not apply to me and the XC? Either way it was fine, Tim opened a bottle of the PGA Tour's new cab and it tasted like the fire hydrant runoff from a building fire on the upper eastside. I had to talk to Bivens most of the way. She tried to convince me we needed to hire her branding firm for this Olympic golf movement. She talks about branding more than you do. As I explained to you, President Rogge would not be interested in that at his point. Let's hope she doesn't bring it up at the meeting. Well, that's my update, I look forward to your response in less than two hours, again, per your new policy.

DBF