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Marsha Evans is keeping your seat warm for now, but once you (the permanent LPGA Commissioner) are hired there are going to be some things you’ll want to keep in mind so your tenure can hopefully be longer and more successful than your predecessors.  
 
Know who can get you fired: It’s not a long list so you should be able to learn all the names and faces pretty easily.  But get to know your top stars fast. Meet with them regularly and don’t be afraid to suck up to them a little. Oh and while you’re at it, get ready to start puckering up to the suits in corporate America.  It won’t matter if you’re male or female, the money bag holders in the corporate world are not going to be bullied and there are some fences that need mending – pronto.
 
Don’t think all PR is good PR: This David Higdon guy seems like he has some good sense. Listen to him. If he’s not your guy, ok, but find a seasoned PR counselor and give him/her a seat at the Commish’s table for every meeting. The PR debacle that was the infamous ’English only’ policy helped get your predecessor fired.  While you’re at it, don’t back away from the good things Bivens did with encouraging players to use twitter and other social media to connect with fans. 
 
Give to get: You’re going to have to sweeten the pot for your corporate sponsors.  Companies don’t have to drop a gajillion dollars on sponsoring big sporting events anymore to reach their customers. With the proliferation of online media companies can talk directly to their consumers. And, traditional media is providing more value than ever. As a result, the sports sponsorship is running the risk of becoming a dinosaur approach in marketing.  Oh, and because your predecessor seemed to not notice this – we’re in the worst recession since the GREAT DEPRESSION. Mmm’kay? Companies have a harder time rationalizing millions spent on an LPGA event when they’ve just had to fire hundreds of people. So the purses may need to be smaller for a while.  But isn’t a smaller pot of gold better than none at all?  Long term, if you can show the sponsors value in supporting LPGA events, you will be able to build the purses and long-term financial viability back up for tour events. 
 
Help your Korean stars: Give them a carrot vs. the stick to help them learn English.  Bivens was right, but wrong in her approach. These players deserve to be on the tour by their skill, but the tour deserves to have a product it can sell to the American public.  Why not make it worth their while via additional exemptions to tournaments, retirement saving contributions, or any number of other ideas that can incent players to continue what many of them have begun by learning a second language?  Top performing executives get bonuses (deserved or otherwise) based on performance. And, pro golf is basically a pay-for-performance sport — no long-term contracts here. If Korean players pass English exams then reward them. The same goes for any other player of any nationality if they were to learn another language and help promote the tour in others countries.  Both would help extend the personalities of the players to key audiences and thus help the game. 
 
Share the spotlight: There’s a good deal of speculation about Annika Sorenstam’s role moving forward, including whether she could be on the list to be a new commissioner.  Seems unlikely, and not terribly well advised if it were to become true. Regardless.  If there is a player who becomes commish do the right thing and make your first hire a top notch biz person. A dealmaker.  Someone from the corporate world who gets how to build long-term strategic partnerships.  If it’s a business person, get a big name player to work in some public facing role.  Perhaps a Player Czar, or LPGA Brand Ambassador. Whatever. But be willing to share some of the glory (and jabs) that will come your way with someone who complements the deficits in your own skill set.
 
Lastly…
 
Hope for a long tenure: If you are presumably hired before the end of the calendar year, you’ll make the 4th commissioner in roughly 10 years for the LPGA. Compare that to the steady leadership in other sports like the NFL, NBA and even the PGA Tour with Finchem creeping up on 16 years and counting.  Sometimes you do need to get rid of someone who isn’t working out. But the LPGA is starting to rotate commissioners like Al Davis changes head coaches.  Consistency will help with long-term success and hopefully you’ll live long and prosper.
 
It’s a tough job. You’ve got a lot on your mind and we hope you are successful.  You’re inheriting what is admittedly a mess, but also what is one of, if not the most, successful women’s sporting organizations in history. There’s a lot going for the LPGA such as:

• Tremendous amounts of youthful talent: Creamer, Lincicome, Pressel, the huge number of talented young foreign born players to mention just a few.  The future of the sport looks strong, you don’t have to worry about your star player retiring next year.
• Scandal-less?: Not a drug scandal, sex scandal or even cheating scandal to be found.  One less problem to worry about and the ability to focus on what is key – sponsorships.
• An intelligent, attractive, athletic product: There are exceptions as is the case in any sport, but by in large your product – the players – are a smart and positive set of role models for a much sought after demographic.  It’s not as though you’re trying to market something that is an acquired taste. 

Good luck.

Hack’s Father, Mr. Hack, always used to tell him that opinions are like…well, you probably know the rest of the saying.  This is just our humble opinion.  We’re quite sure that whoever the new LPGA Commissioner is they will be uber successful and come to the table with a number of great ideas on how to shore up the tour.  We truly are pulling for them.  You can follow Hack at http://twitter.com/NiceBallz and his collaborator Corey at http://twitter.com/GolferWriterGuy.