Playing golf with… a woman
LPGA Tour player goes undercover to see what men think about playing golf with women.
Occasionally, there are some must-read articles in golf magazines. Any golf magazine is a good magazine, but some stories should not be missed, including this one by Golf Digest writer, Peter Finch.
Finch and LPGA Tour player Kim Hall took part in an interesting social experiment. They wanted to see what men thought of playing a round of golf with a woman. They also wanted to know if appearances or playing ability, would alter their reactions at all.
Hall played five different golf courses in Chicago under very different guises. She played rounds with men who prior to the day, did not know they would be playing with a female in their group. The reactions were interesting, jaw-dropping and let’s face it, sexist.
Hall played the five rounds as five different characters; “Beginner golfer with an ugly duckling look”, “a golf-pro with the tomboy look”, “beginner golfer with that look of a damsel in distress”, “decent golfer with an average Jane look” and lastly, “a golf-pro with that golf-pro look”.
The details of each round are captivating reading but I was most amazed by the audacity of some guys to tee off as quickly as possible to avoid playing with a female.
I knew, going into this, that some guys would rather not play golf with women, but in Chicago I saw firsthand how brazen they can be about it. More than once, Kim and I encountered men who deliberately sped away from a woman to avoid playing golf with her.
This is their right, I suppose. But it’s also rude. And shameful. Can we really wonder why golf is struggling to attract women when they get this kind of treatment?
And after playing with that damsel in distress look, Hall had this to say about the treatment from the guys.
“I felt great!” Kim said after the round. “Everyone treated me so nicely. But the thing is, this is 2011. To get the starter to be nice, to have everyone in the golf shop be so sweet, do you have to be all done up in curls and makeup and false eyelashes? Why don’t all women get that treatment?”
It makes great reading. And everyone should read the full story at Golf Digest. Everyone.
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