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Maybe it's because Lorie Kane is a Canadian who had trouble learning French when she attended university, or maybe she's simply more compassionate than many of her fellow LPGA English-speaking players.

Whatever the reason, Kane continues to believe that the LPGA's new policy by which it will force international players to speak English to a standard yet to be decided upon is needlessly draconian.

"The story has exploded, hasn't it?" Kane said yesterday from the airport in St. Louis, where she was in transit, of the interest the news has generated. (More than 300 readers have weighed in at globesports.com.)

"I understand the importance of players speaking better English, but by no means should it determine whether they should be able to play our events."

Kane was referring to the fact the LPGA has tied the ability of players to speak English to a possible suspension from tournament play. Kane understands how difficult it can be to learn a language.

"I had to pass French to move on in university," the Charlottetown native said. "It was hard for me. Everybody learns differently. It bothers me that we'll put pressure on some players and then they might not be able to play."

The LPGA Tour is a business, and golf is unique in that it affords opportunities for interaction that other sports by their natures do not allow.

Sponsors invite clients to play in pro-am events. Individuals not associated with sponsors often ante up thousands of dollars to play in pro-ams. They anticipate a few hours of socializing with players, but the experience loses something for many of them when communication is reduced to body rather than spoken language.

"As long as the vast amount of the television revenues and business sponsorships are generated in North America it is only natural that the tour needs to be able to showcase the product in English," one globesports.com reader wrote. "Imagine if Tiger, Vijay and Sergio spoke no English and made no effort to do so. Yes, they would be recognized as good golfers, but would the fans turn their TVs on to watch and would the corporations put up millions to sponsor the tour - I would think not. The LPGA is protecting the future of their tour before they lose it due to lack of interest and lack of sponsors who cannot relate to the players."

But the LPGA could have found - and one hopes might still find - a more reasonable way of addressing the problem than threatening players with possible suspension.

But even beyond the business side, there's the question as to whether tournament golf should be about anything other than performance.

"Golf is about score," Kane said. "I'm also surprised that the LPGA didn't think it would be such a big deal with people."

There's another way of looking at the matter. Perhaps the LPGA Tour should be considering ways of engaging international players, and perhaps it should study what's making them so successful. Perhaps the organization should look beyond its own struggling self.

"I can't think of a worse PR move, a less effective way to get to where everyone wants to be," a reader in Seoul, who has lived in Toronto, Hong Kong and Tokyo, wrote. "Not everyone thinks the same way - customs and cultures are very different, even amongst Asian countries where I've lived. To understand how to reach these people, you have to be in their shoes."

Kane, for one, has been trying to learn to say hello in the language of every country in which the LPGA plays. That includes South Korea, Japan and China. Most international players try to do the same thing. But should she have to learn to speak Chinese to play in China?

"I'm proud that Lorie took the stance she did," Bob Rae, the Liberal MP for Toronto Centre, and a keen golfer, said this week.

As for Kane, she said this story won't go away, nor should it.

"An awful lot of international players are upset," Kane said.

Of course they are. The language of golf is expressed by one's swing and score, not by one's language.

Speaking a foreign language has never been nor should it ever be part of the job description. The LPGA Tour appears to have forgotten this.

English only?

Is the LPGA right or wrong to require its players to learn to speak English?

Right: 36% (352 votes)

Wrong: 64% (628 votes)

THE GLOBE AND MAIL