I must say that being a woman in a male dominated sport is not easy. Aside from the usual frustrations every golfer has, women still has to deal with other annoyances from the mild to the extreme. Below are some reasons why golf frustrates me.
Woman is NOT equal to Pink - Last year, I went to a local golf store to get my Odyssey Sabertooth putter regripped. I was looking at their putter grips section when I was approached by one of their store attendants offering help. I told him that I am looking for a putter grip that is slightly thicker than normal and that I have narrowed down my selection to 2 grips, the Odyssey Tempest and the Odyssey Taboo, and asked him what he thought looked better. Ignoring the 2 grips I was holding, he grabbed a Winn Medallist Pistol grip in pink from the rack and said, "Oooooh... Pink!", as he dangled the grip in front of me. What the hell was that for!? No thanks for the "help" buddy! I picked the Odyssey tempest and bought a matching headcover with it.
Your Par 4 should NOT equal my Par 5 - We are playing the same hole, yet the scorecard says that this hole is a Par 4 for you and a Par 5 for me... What's up with this? Though it is an advantage on my part, I don't see why my par should be any different than yours. Why not make me a teeing ground further up so we can all play a Par 4 hole? This only validates the fact that golf is a male dominated sport and the extra time and money(?) creating another teeing ground further up is a waste of effort.
I am not SLOW - I know, some of you may not say it to my face but you are thinking it. I had one experience with a golfer who was part of the group behind us about this. It was one weekend and the course was packed. My foursome had to wait several times for our time to tee off in most holes. While waiting for the group ahead of us to clear the fairway so we can hit our tee shots, I was approached by one of the golfers from the group behind us and said, "To speed things up, you should tee ahead of your group since your shots are shorter so you can go ahead and hit again while they make their way to their balls which would be farther up." Excuse me!? I may hit shorter drives than the boys but at least I don't slice it all the way to the other fairway to the right. That "piece of advice" is uncalled for! I am not slow, it's the pace of the entire course that is and if you still haven't figured it out, we are only as fast as the group ahead of us.
Unsolicited advice at the range - Once in a while, usually after work, I would go to a driving range that is on the way from my office to my house and hit a mid-sized bucket. I use this time to relieve stress, unwind and yeah sure, practice. I know I am not a good golfer and think of my self as a recreational golfer. I have no ambition playing golf competitively. What I hate most about going to the range on my own are the men who give me unsolicited advice. First of all, did I ever give you the impression that I needed YOUR help? Stop bothering me. And if you are to give me advice, I better see you hit great shots... but you do not. So stop it. Don't make me come to a point where I stop being polite. *Cringe*
Sexist Remarks - Chauvinist Golfer, "We are playing this weekend and we need a 4th person, wanna play?" "Sure, I can play with you guys as long as you don't mind playing with a newbie," I say. "No problem, will you wear a short golf skirt?" Enough said, sorry, I am not available this weekend, find yourself another 4th person!
Limited equipment choices - I walk in a golf store and ask for ladies equipment, the attendant points to a tiny area at the back where the Ladies' equipment are located. I walk all the way there only to find a few choices and they are all in pink if not baby blue with flowery designs. What's up with that? Can't a woman have blacks, silvers and reds? What I ended up doing is buying men's irons, buy seniors/ladies flex shafts and cut them down to my length. Viola! Kick-ass looking clubs! But why does it have to be so difficult?
LPGA Coverage - Sure, the LPGA is not as fun to watch as the PGA but I think that one of the reasons why this is so is because when watching the LPGA, we don't know half of the field. Why not give more airtime to LPGA tournaments? It is frustrating when I want to watch an LPGA tournament and nobody is covering it. If networks give LPGA players a little bit more exposure, then maybe it will get a bigger following. As people familiarize themselves with the LPGA, the more it will interest them. Plain and simple!
The Red Tee Box is NOT a Joke - Yes, we've heard the jokes... Go tee at the ladies you old fart. Why do you think that the red tee boxes are for the ladies and old people? FYI, the tee boxes are not based on gender, age or how big your biceps are. It is based on your skill level, dimwit! I hate it when I play (and wait) behind a fousome of young men who tee off at the black/professional tees and they can't even drive the ball past the "Ladies" teeing ground! Are you kidding me!? Go tee off at the red and make this fun for all of us!
I am not stupid - Ahhh... let's go back to that local golf store I used to go to. So, earlier this year, I've upgraded my irons from Callaway to Epon. Yes, as previously mentioned, I bought men's irons. With my iron heads neatly packed in a bag, I went to this local golf store and asked for advice as to what kind of shafts they would recommend I should purchase for these babies! After looking at my new Epon heads, the manager busted out his catalog and pointed out shafts that costs $70 each! EACH! 4-PW = 7 shafts x $70 + labor + grips. Are you kidding me? Why would you recommend such expensive shafts to a newbie. You haven't even seen me swing a club or asked me about my personal preferences and you tell me to buy those!? FYI, I want my graphite iron shafts to be around 75 grams, this brings me to the swing weight I feel comfortable with. I also want it cut down half an inch shorter than ladies standard and I feel comfortable with senior flex. Don't even get me started with kickpoint and torque. And just so you know, when you saw that my irons are made in Japan, you were wrong in assuming that it is tapered tip... It's parallel Mr. Know It All! Of course, I didn't say any of these things, I was too disappointed to even make an effort. I told him that I will think about it and left. That was the last time I went to that store. From then on, I started going to their local competition... 4 miles farther but worth the longer drive.
I am sure that in time, this list will get longer. However, I also think that as time passes by, I will have 10 new reasons why I should love golf even more for every 1 that frustrates me. That's the beauty of golf. There are highs and lows. The lows could be maddening but 1 high is enough to erase all the lows away and make you love the game even more.
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