The well-known phrase ‘Men are from Venus, women are from Mars’ is applicable to many scenarios in life, golf included. There are just certain things that men (no offence meant) simply don’t understand or appreciate that we women have to deal with. We’ve put together a list of the most obvious issues we face, there are undoubtedly a dozen more!
Golf Lesson Phobia
Speaking to beginners there is a common theme that taking your first golf lesson or series of golf lessons as a woman is daunting. No matter how much the women’s game is on the rise, this is still a male dominated sport and the women who brave that first hit of a club say that it’s often the hardest thing to accept.
Golf coaches are predominantly male, and while anyone decent will adapt to their style to be sympathetic to the anxieties and nerves felt by newbies to golf, others shrug it off as not relevant and frankly stupid.
Our GM Top 50 panel of coaches contains some fabulous female PGA professionals who are spearheading the rise and success of women playing the game by making those first few interactions with golf fun and sociable. Group sessions with fellow women learning are a great way to begin in golf and conquer those initial nerves together.
Fashion Dilemmas
Golf fashion has undergone a complete transformation in the last decade, we now have more choice than ever before when it comes to fairway attire. But as a result of the increase in choice, women face so many more dilemmas in this department than men!
Should we wear a skort, or shorts, or a dress? What length is appropriate and not too revealing? Do the clothes we wear look flattering while still being functional? Tight or loose fitting? What about dressing for the clubhouse and beyond - where are you heading straight after play? Is it acceptable to wear something a little shorter and more revealing if you belong to a traditional club?
Men, on the other hand, have far fewer choices and decisions to make. Aside from a plain or patterned shirt, collared or round neck, the only other real decision for them to make is whether to wear trousers or shorts. Wardrobe planning is much easier.
The Call Of Nature
Not all golf courses are adequately equipped with on-course toilet facilities. When women get caught short this can be quite an embarrassing problem to deal with, especially if there is nowhere easy or obvious to spend a penny.
Men, on the other hand, don’t fear this problem, therefore it’s understandable why women constantly petition for on-course washrooms to make a round of golf a more pleasant and respectable experience.
Menstrual Mood Swings
Along with the obvious embarrassment of having nowhere to change your sanitary products mid-round, what women have to deal with during menstruation are massive hormone surges. This can have a huge effect on the timing and rhythm of your golf swing.
Some of the world’s top female professionals have been outspoken about how this issue has affected them mid-tournament or simply round-to-round, week-in, week-out. It explains why ‘form’ in the women’s game can be a lot more transient than the men’s. Men simply don’t have this excuse or burden.
The other consideration women have is what to wear when their period is due. Appropriate outfits provide privacy and white is a big no-no. I once played in a tournament with a young junior whose period unexpectedly came on mid-round. She was wearing white cut-offs and had to make a dash into the trees and chase into her black waterproof trousers as we were nowhere near the clubhouse or an on-course toilet. Poor thing!
First Tee Nerves
The very nature of the teeing ground set-up means that the majority of women choose to play from the shorter forward tees and subsequently have to tee off last. This can feel overwhelming, especially if you are playing in a fourball with three men teeing off first behind you, eyes boring into the back of your head, glued on your golf swing. Some women also dread the first tee if it is positioned right outside the clubhouse and the prospect of there being a whole patio of spectators watching their swing and that first strike.
Clubhouse Politics
Although in their minority these days, there are still golf clubs within the Top 100 Courses of the world that have strict gender rules. For a long time Augusta National in Georgia USA did not permit female members and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews was a gentleman’s establishment. Times have changed and these institutions are like the dinosaurs of the golf world, nevertheless step foot inside some old clubhouses and women are definitely still treated like second-class citizens.
It’s the subtleties that make a difference, like the feeling of inferiority at the bar getting served when the room is full of men is something only women can relate to. Just feeling like you’re not welcome and stand out.
Tee Box Confusion
Up until very recently, the majority of golf that women played was off the forward tees, known formerly as the red tees. When the new WHS came into effect many golf courses decided to abolish coloured tees in favour of numbered markers, taking out the sexism and giving every golfer a choice.
Some of the women I play golf with say that they now feel confused about what tee to play from. They don’t want to choose the wrong tee now that there are different length courses to select. How do they know whether to go further forward or attempt to play one or two tees back? This new level of confusion doesn’t seem to be as prevalent among men, whose pride somehow keeps them playing from the backs!
