Monday, February 9, 2009

Best Blogs on Women's Golf: Waggle Room

Waggle Room is only a couple of weeks older than Mostly Harmless, but under the able leadership of Mulligan Stu (from December '06 to July '08) and blogger/podcaster Ryan Ballengee of Golf News Net (from last August to the present), they've built up a much larger readership than ours. Where we're happy to break 100 visits a day, their good days are about breaking 1,000. That helps account for why so many lo-fi golf bloggers like me can be found in the comment, fanshot, and fanpost areas on the site--and why Ryan has been getting such high-quality guests on his GNN Show--but it's not the whole story, particularly when it comes to blogging on women's golf.

Even though MS and RB have different strengths--I would say that MS has a better grasp of the competitive side of the world of women's golf (anyone who can outpredict Hound Dog and I has my respect!), both professional and amateur, while RB has more of an interest in the business, media, and organizational side of the professional tours--what they both have brought to Waggle Room is a commitment to giving the women equal billing with the men. Unlike, say, Geoff Shackelford, who only seems to discuss the LPGA when names like Bivens, Wie, Gulbis, or Rawson are involved or when there's a controversy to cover or a joke to crack--or Daniel Wexler, who takes a global approach to the game but is much better informed about the men than the women--the Waggle Room hosts cover a wide range of players and stories, primarily from the LPGA. Even more important, they engage their readers, dialogue with their fellow bloggers, highlight the most interesting stories from the golfy media, and offer cogent and provocative commentary on important issues in and around the world of women's (and men's) golf.

That's why I'm visiting Waggle Room every day--and why you should, too.

6 comments:

The Florida Masochist said...

Ryan does great work on the LPGA but you and Hound Dog got him beat.

So you did a post on Hound Dog and Waggle Room. I suppose next up is some blogger who writes at around 8 blogs on a full or part-time basis.

The Constructivist said...

How'd you know you're on deck?

(BTW, I also did Happy Fan's new Seoul Sisters blog.)

The Armchair Golfer said...

I think there's well-deserved love for all of you (MH and WR). Thank goodness the ladies have dedicated bloggers to cover their game.

The Constructivist said...

Absolutely--a huge part of my purpose in this series is to inspire/motivate others to find their own niche/voice when it comes to writing/blogging on women's golf.

Waggle Room Ryan said...

TC, thanks so much for the love. I've definitely noticed that the women's game's particulars is not one of my strengths. And you definitely verified what I've been noticing - that I'm talking a lot of business and media and economy lately. I want to get out of that rut and get more into golf day to day. It's people like you, and Bill, and HD, and ACG that make WR so much better. Keep up the good work here!

The Constructivist said...

I don't see it as a rut, at all. But with the LPGA season about to start, at least we'll have something else to focus on!