Is Golf the Ideal Women’s Sport?
June 11, 2012
Mary Queen of Scots played golf on the links at St Andrews.
BEN writes:
The prevalence of debilitating sports injuries among young women in my age range (25) is alarming. I suggest an alternative sport for young women: golf. It can be played without great risk of injury. It can be played well in attire becoming to a woman (obviously I am not referring to hat bands masquerading as skirts or shorts). The movements required are graceful and dignified. Golf is very challenging, especially from a psychological perspective. Integrity is demanded, the player is also the referee. There is no physical contact or violence, as the game is peaceful and serene.
Furthermore, you can play it for a lifetime. I have a female relative in her 80s who still plays. She and her late husband played golf together throughout their marriage, which lasted over 50 years. I also have a cousin in her mid-teens who is turning into an excellent golfer. She plays so well she may go to college on a scholarship.
I should also mention that the only professional women’s sport I ever watch is golf. I can learn and get new ideas from the putting, and even the swing, of an expert lady golfer.
— Comments —
Kevin writes:
“Is Golf the Ideal Women’s Sport?”
Maybe, but considering how few Ideal Women there are in this country, you might have a hard time scratching up a plausible foursome.
I know. I’m evil.
Laura writes:
It will take massive social change to create the kind of women golfers Ben envisions.
Fred Owens writes:
Women cannot compete against men in most sports, but I have often thought they might play golf as well as men. Playing golf well does not depend on superior upper body strength except driving off the tee. Surely a woman could putt or play the short game as well as a man.
Maybe, even given a less physically demanding game as golf, women might not have an equal athletic ability.
I do not golf, but I would like to hear from those who do.
Laura writes:
In general, women cannot compete against men in golf. It is best if they play with other women. Men are stronger and have significantly more eye-to-hand coordination.
A Grateful Reader writes:
Golf seemed to me to be an ideal sport for gentlemen (and ladies). I asked my husband, who has golfed since the 1960’s, to teach our homeschooled children to golf. He said that he would teach them the skills in the nearby fields, but he would not take them to a contemporary golf course. He would not like to expose the children to the four-letter words and tantrums that he now hears regularly from the adult foursomes around him. Alas, to make it a sport fit for ladies (and gentlemen) one would have to find a golf course which caters to patrons with good manners. Perhaps they still exist.
Ben writes:
I play regularly on some of the suburban Denver area courses and have never observed any obnoxious or rude behavior, save for minor dress code violations and slow play. Perhaps this is because I usually play on weekday evenings. I am single and usually play by myself, but the groups I’ve been put into have always been well-mannered. Generally the people at the more expensive clubs are dressed correctly, but that’s the only difference I can find. The players I’m around may not speak like people at a homeschool convention, but they don’t speak gutter language either. I hear far more offensive language in college and at a much greater frequency. Some individuals cannot get through a sentence without firing off an expletive.
(P.S. I was homeschooled K-12)
