This is what it’s like being a lady golfer

Sarah Forrest
By Sarah Forrest September 13, 2017 10:18

Most female golfers enjoy playing with men, but that doesn’t mean every male golfer gets everything right. Here, Sarah Forrest, an amateur golfer who runs a golf events and travel company that particularly targets women, details the nine bugbears she has experienced when playing with men

Is there really any difference when playing golf with ladies? It is just the same as playing with men, right?

In many respects, yes it is exactly the same. But still, here are my insights, experiences and observations when playing golf with men.

1. You chaps have all driven your ball, the lady is waiting to take her turn, if she is smart and the distance isn’t too far ahead, she will walk to her forward tees, tee up and take her shot. In this time her partners walk back to their bag, put the head cover on and join her at the forward tees. Great, if it happens like this.

I wonder how many times the lady has been about to take her tee shot and been distracted by the voices on the tee behind her, or the waving and jumping around looking for the lost (plastic!) tee, or to exclamations of ‘good (or bad) shot’, or simply the chaps walking up to her tee chatting away whilst she is mid-swing?

Or I have waited on the tee for what seems like an age as the chap wanders down the fairway totally oblivious to me waiting to take my first shot, when the penny drops I might then be faced with a tee shot with a person in the way!

Just because the tee is in front, it doesn’t have an invisible screen around it that eliminates noise.

2. Any combination of men and ladies playing together could think sensibly and allow the ladies’ buggy or trolley to be in front of all the bags to allow her to get to her tee shot whilst the men do their walking back to their bags. Much better than trying to navigate around the scattered bags or waiting until her driving partner has returned, and it keeps the game going too.

3. Using a buggy: If the lady plays a tee which is way forward, it might be more time effective to wait until her playing partner and buggy buddy return once he has played. If this is the case, chatting and hanging around with your mates isn’t a great thing to do when there is still a player left to take their shot. Quick haste springs to mind, unless of course it has been agreed the man will walk forward to enable the lady to get to her tee and keep playing.

4. Let’s be sensible, if the group is made up of two male and two female, with the men playing the back and the ladies the forward tees, let’s have the ladies in one buggy and the chaps in another? This might not work in a match situation but for social golf, then why not?

5. Women CAN drive. I’m not talking the one wood, I’m talking the buggy. He has taken his shot and the lady is behind the wheel ready to take them to the next shot. Jump in and let her drive! You can then replace your club while she is getting her club out and lining up ready to take her shot. You don’t need to bundle us ladies across to the passenger seat so you can drive; we can drive you and save a few more minutes, so enjoy the ride! Oh, and when the man does drive, it isn’t easy launching yourself from a moving buggy as the buggy comes to a grinding halt with a bashful male apologetically looking on as the golf ball is left behind unplayed.

6. The old jokes are good, but they are quite well worn now: ‘If I wear a skirt can I play from the ladies tees?’ ‘No wonder you got the longest drive, you’re 100 yards down the fairway’. I’m the first to have a bit of a laugh on the golf course, but I have heard these jokes so many times now, so let’s think of some new ones please.

7. One that I have experienced so many times, it is slightly embarrassing. We ladies don’t want your help, we can read the putt, but we can also make mistakes, either way we don’t want a lesson on the course from you, unless we ask for it. That sounds ungrateful, but believe me, I don’t know if it is because I am a woman, and the desire to impart greater knowledge on me about my golf, but it has happened so many times, and the sting in the tail, often by men who are a worse handicap than I am!

I am certainly not saying women are much better than men on the course, just maybe think differently! Whilst the above may seem like only seconds it is about perception, how many times have you looked down the fairway at the group in front and thought, ‘get on with it’? Why? Because they are wandering around looking for lost balls and don’t appear to be achieving much – the perception is they are taking too long. Golfers are not the most patient of animals, and the lady in this respect, is no different! All of the points are aimed at male golfers and based on my observations, however, they apply to pretty much all golfers. And especially my final two points:

8. Buggy sharing is great fun, use it sensibly and the pair can have a good laugh between shots, however, when it’s a hot day there is one further consideration for the pair – try to park the buggy so that both seats are not in the sun – only a small gesture, but saves any embarrassing ‘ooohh arrgghhs’ as the players leap onto a hot seat. Often the sun is side on, so one of the seats will be in the sunshine. Lovely when travelling along with the wind in your hair, but not so nice when the buggy has been parked for a few minutes while the group putt away their balls. Use the roof, the sun’s angle or the shade of trees to make sure that both seats are comfortable when jumping back in, especially if wearing shorts!

9. Leave it off! You take your shot and return to your bags. At this stage jump in the buggy, keep your club with you and leave your head cover off the club you have just used. It is only seconds but it is time taken away from moving forward with the game.

Sarah Forrest is a qualified project manager in new product business development.

She owns golf businesses that enable her to share her skills both on and off the golf course through a series of successful events, international travel and journalism.

Her forte is about the lady golfer – using her knowledge she can help retain, and grow lady golfer memberships as well as improve relations between existing lady members and golf clubs.

Couple this with extensive travel, and her diverse contacts within the business go above and beyond that of other golf personnel.

A published golf writer, Sarah’s views are her own and are usually based on first hand experience as a club member, a female and being ‘in the industry’.

Sarah can be reached on sarah@golfgurugroup.com

 

Sarah Forrest
By Sarah Forrest September 13, 2017 10:18
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3 Comments

  1. Golfer September 14, 14:27

    Just stop cheating from the forward tee’s and it will all be fine 🙂

    Reply to this comment
  2. ivan September 14, 10:49

    It’s just like being a man, except the male seniors often have larger breasts and don’t talk nearly so much as the women.

    Reply to this comment
  3. Kerry September 13, 11:11

    A great read! Especially point 7, every guy I’ve played golf with almost assumes I’m playing golf to be ‘taught by them’ it’s soooooooo annoying and can actually make you play worse!

    Reply to this comment
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