GOLF - The very word is an acronym for inequality, well at least if you believe the old wives tale that our beloved sport’s name is merely an abbreviation for the phrase ‘Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden.’
It certainly wasn’t that long ago that I was refused entry to a Top 100 golf course clubhouse for being a woman. Thankfully the modern game has moved with the times and most of these antiquated gender barriers have been broken down to the point where the majority of golf clubs have embraced equality and women share the same status and access to the course as men.
Nevertheless, there is definitely still segregation when it comes to competition play at clubs. I experience this first-hand at my home club Parkstone where there are two very separate stand alone men’s and ladies’ competition days.
The women play their competitions on a Tuesday and the men always play theirs on a Saturday. This is a tradition dating back to the club’s formative days in a bygone era when it was the men who went out to work and the women who stayed at home.
I’m laughing out loud even writing that statement - how old-fashioned! It definitely belongs to a yesteryear when men wore long socks with a pair of shorts and women only had use of a ‘corner’ of the clubhouse and a restriction on the days that they could play.
Interestingly, the last time mixed competitions were discussed in a club committee meeting, the women were as much in favour of maintaining their own independent competition day as the men.
Besides, the big problem we have is the number of active playing members. A number so high that it is simply not feasible to accommodate both genders on an already over-subscribed tee sheet and allow men and women to sign up. There would be too many disgruntled players who would miss out on a tee time altogether.
However, it is my opinion that clubs with smaller sections should embrace mixed golf and have competitions open to all, male or female, several days a week. This requires a different club culture, a mindset shift and a refreshingly modern approach.
It’s one that several clubs I know have successfully adopted and I certainly believe that it would encourage the younger generation to participate in more competitions, making golf more sociable and ultimately giving them more enjoyment from the game.
As juniors, we learn together in mixed participation groups, boys and girls. We play in competitions together. So why does this have to change when we become adults? As a working woman I spent the majority of my younger years and early career playing in an alternative day competition on a Sunday. But there were only ever two or three women who played the competition on this day. Nothing has changed.
There still isn’t the opportunity for our young working women to play weekend competitions with the men. A Saturday or Sunday competition open to all would be far more sociable. It’s a shame that they have to play with the same faces week-in, week-out.
I know that some women find playing golf with a group of guys intimidating. I’ve witnessed it at corporate golf days where women not used to playing mixed golf walk onto the first tee shaking with anxiety. They feel fearful of playing poorly and embarrassed that they can’t keep up with the men in the distance stakes, harbouring a deeply rooted inadequacy complex.
It’s more common than you think to have these feelings, but let me tell you, if you do get the opportunity to join a group of men to play golf, especially if you are not used to it, and it pushes you out of your comfort zone, then you should seize it. There are great benefits to playing mixed golf.
One of the biggest ones for me, growing up in my teens as one of the only girls in our junior section, was my ability to keep up with the boys. I often played off the back tees with them and it encouraged me to hit out and become a more powerful player.
Conversely, I’ve really noticed a difference to my swing speed and a drop off in my driving distance in the last decade, which I believe is because I now play the majority of my golf with slower swinging shorter hitting women. Who you play golf with definitely influences your standard of play. So pick your playing partners wisely. Embrace mixed golf and step up to the challenge if your club lets you.
