USA Today and Washington Post reported on Monday that the LPGA Tour will test out using the caddies bibs to promote players Twitter handles.  This is going to take place at the LPGA Championship at Locust Hill Country Club next month.

We have already seen this happen in Lacrosse and football but it is the first time golf has attempted to go down this route.  It actually makes sense for players to go down this route and would be interesting to find out how much of it is the players pushing for it and how much it is a gimmick to gain the Tour some press.

Golfers have long been on Twitter.  Watching the Ryder Cup back in 2010 whilst having a twitter list made up of players from both teams made for great entertainment and gave the tournament an added depth that had been missing before.

The opportunity for the women’s players to gain more followers and have added exposure is one that will be welcomed.  Many players struggle to make their enjoyment of the game raise a good enough income.  Much of their needs are met by sponsors who require exposure to potential customers via TV, press and digital.

Platforms such as Twitter are great for players to show their personalities and increase their sponsorship earning potential.  The men’s game has been reaping the benefits for a while with the likes of Ian Poulter, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood gaining huge followings here in the UK.

The greater exposure the women’s players can gain and more fans they can gain then this will only be good news for their sponsors (and potential sponsors) in the future.  Whether this will be a one-off or something that we will see on a regular basis will be interesting.

The LPGA has 113 players on Twitter and much of the success will be whether the players actually use their accounts whilst promoting them.  Is there much point in a caddy having the name on the back if the player has not tweeted for a year or two?

For those who haven’t put finger to keyboard (or phone) for a while then restarting just before the event would certainly be advisable!

We’ll try to get a quote or two from the LPGA and update the page if and when this happens.  What do you think of the news……the future of golf in social or a PR gimmick?