Ladies' Day--Uh, Weekend

     It has been a busy weekend for me.  I don't know if that is good or bad, but the weekend did surround itself around our great game of golf.  No, I didn't get to play.  As a matter of fact, my wife and I have a tee time for this afternoon but we are going to have to cancel it. That's the kind of weekend it has been for both of us. She was busy with her job and a couple of family events and I helped out in a golf tournament as well as had my "Course Assistant" training yesterday.
     The tournament was a twenty-seven hole scramble event benefiting a local crisis pregnancy center. Included in the small field were two wonderful ladies. Both of these ladies were new to golf, and of course it showed so I had to stop and take some time to chat. What they had to say was pretty telling as to attitudes of golfers toward women on the golf course. Both said that they very much like the game and would play more, but felt very intimidated especially when they were around experienced golfers.  Both would like to take up the game more seriously, but did not feel welcomed because of their "newbie" status and the mere fact that they were women.  Why is that and should that attitude exist?  I think not.
      If our game is to grow, a lot of attitudes need to change. Women are one of the largest growth segments in the golf industry today.  Walls need to be torn down and the welcome mat needs to be rolled out. We can't tolerate attitudes of "this is MY course, and THEY are not welcomed" can't be tolerated. That is a fairly general statement, I know but it is true and exists very strongly. I hate to say this fellas, but golf is a co-educational sport. Women are here, they are here to play golf and spend money.
      As a guy, I know some of the reasons why we as men don't want women alowed into our kingdom. They talk a lot and play slow, don't they?  They just don't hit the ball as far as we men, do they? I understand that, but have you played behind Clyde Doublebogey's foursome before?  How about Nathan Fourhandicapper?  All four golfers in their groups are men, and they talk a lot as well as play slow.  The one thing about golf that people forget is that it is an egalitarian sport with a lot of men as talky and slow playing as women. I think that there was a major historical figure that said, "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone."
       I very much enjoy playing golf with my wife and also my daughter. They are both women and play quite well I might add. I have been paired up with some ladies that facilitated my parting with a good amount of money in wagers. The bottom line is, how do we get more women into the game of golf and how do we change attitudes toward women playing golf. I'll visit that subject tomorrow.

Dang, Angie could hit the ball a long way.  She was fun on the course as well. She cleaned all our clocks.