Golf Blog

Archive for the ‘Ladies Golf’ Category

Recently a reader wrote into Bunkered magazine to ask wether golf was returning to the elitism of the 20s and 30s. So is golf elitist?

Well; it can be. Same as any sport / environment. There are golf clubs where you are made to feel excluded if you are young, female, black, asian or even just middle / working class. There are also gyms where everyone is ripped, and wearing mankinis to exercise in; bars where everyone is wearing designer clothing, and drinking champagne; shops where the patrons and shop assistants give you affronted looks for daring to profane their doorstep.

Unfortunately, idiots abound everywhere, and you shouldn’t let them put you off the game.

Cost is another aspect that is reported to be problematic. Again, some golf courses will charge you upwards of £100 for a round of golf, and perhaps not even serve you in the clubhouse. Refuse to patronise these establishments. You can get a decent round of golf for under £20, often with a sandwich thrown in.

Again, golf equipment can be expensive, but it needn’t be. It’s like with cars; while a Porsche may be perfect, a Proton still gets you from A to B, with a certain amount of pleasure.  Likewise, a custom fitted set of monogrammed clubs may be the ideal, why not wait for a sale and pick up a great clearance set of irons, which will look great without bankrupting you or consigning the children to go barefoot.

Finally, remember that elitism is rather pathetic, very eighties and a little bit sad.

It’s interesting how in the 21st century (and under a Tory government) sexism still persists, in sport particularly. Google “male golfer” and you get profiles of famous male golfers, pictures of the game’s greats and awards given out. Google “female golfer” and you get so called ‘news’ articles called 9 women golfers we’d like to see naked plus a whole lot of photo-shopped porn. There’s a popular, PR 5 golf blog by a female called Golf Girl. Her profile pic has her in a bikini and she’s done a swimsuit calendar.

I had to search extremely hard to find a blog that wasn’t composed of gratuitous glamour photography, but came across a female golf blog called Real Women Golf, which challenges the stereotype of golf being purely male, punctuated by trophy wives and paid models (from companies like “Eye Candy Caddies” ick ick ick).

She’s a woman on a budget, who talks about how her golf shoes were the only shoes she bought that year, and how she had to drop caffiene because it made her hands shake during her game. Normal everyday stuff, which applies to lady golfers looking for a kindred spirit.

Gender should not be an issue in sport. Female golfers have to handle casual prejudice about their abilities (like female drivers), belittling and dismissive sexualisation, and the fact that women in golf at all is regarded as a joke.

Women golfers can – and do – challenge this unpleasant gender discrimination, but it also requires male golfers to adjust and improve their attitudes. Of course, it’s not all bad. The Leaderboard Golf company has banned the Eye Candy Caddies, saying “Exploiting outmoded notions of golf as a male bastion is not ‘just a bit of fun’—it damages the reputation of the sport as a whole as well as its appeal to members of the younger generation of either sex.”

(photo by Keith Allison)

I remember working in a golf club bar to pay for art materials at college. The majority of golfers were lovely people, who mainly favoured a lager top, with a whiskey chaser on special occasions. But there were a couple of times where my patience was tested and my ire was raised. And most of those times it was to do with the way the male golfers treated the lady golfers. On one particular occasion the men and ladies golf teams had a match against each other and the men’s team lost. They got in first and immediately proceeded to be patronising, rude and sexist about the ladies team, who had beaten them fair and square, on equal terms (perhaps because they used Taylormade Drivers).

Pam Swenson of the EWGA has pointed out that women face even more difficulties in terms of finding time for their golfing hobby; 70% of women in the UK now work full time, yet are still expected to do most of the housework and child rearing. Women are most likely to give up the game due to pressure from work, family and lack of time.

Yet I recall my father always had time for golf. Sometimes you have to put yourself first. I know it’s difficult; sometimes if you don’t do the task it simply doesn’t get done. But if you have kids they’re probably capable of learning how to do the washing; a husband or wife certainly is. Meals can be put on a rota; making time for yourself doesn’t make you a bad mother or partner, despite what the media might have you think. Golf provides a challenge, a sense of accomplishment and exercise; you will be walking several miles over possibly rough terrain. So make that time, and remember there are successful lady golfers out there, like Paula Creamer.

Order your Ladies VR Pro Cavity Irons set online today from the UK’s Premier Nike Internet Retailer and 360 Intelligent Custom Fit Centre – Golfbuyitonline.com.

For this month only you have the chance to win a signed TaylorMade Darren Clarke Tour Bag. All you have to do is buy any Men’s or Ladies TaylorMade Driver, Fairway or Iron Set. When you purchase any of them you will automatically be enetered into a prize draw.

Why buy TaylorMade?

As you would expect from one of the leading golfing manufacturers, TaylorMade have extended their expertise in to many areas of the golfing game and because of the enviable reputation, TaylorMade golf equipment is high on many golfers wish list.

TaylorMade golf equipment has benefited from their considerable golfing expertise and innovative design ideas and whether you are male or female with a high or low handicap, TaylorMade can assist you to  drive further, get out of trouble on the fairway or sink that elusive shot with their fantatsic range of golf equipment.

TaylorMade Golf Equipment, available from Golfbuyitonline, brings forgiveness, enhancement, improvement and accuracy to many golfers, of all levels. Why not join them and see what TaylorMade can do for your game?

Odyssey Putters are the Number One Putters in Golf and Golfbuyitonline supply the full range of men’s and ladies Odyssey Putters at incredible prices including Odyssey White Hot XG Putters, Odyssey White Hot tour Putters, Black series and many more. Below is the list of Odyssey putters that we stock.

Black Series Putters – Putt with confidence from all ranges with the new Black Series from Odyssey. The Black Series Odyssey Putters are available in the Black Series Tour Design and the Black Series IX design with white ice inset technology.

Odyssey White Ice Putters – The new Odyssey White ice putter range is now out with a new black nickel finish to reduce glare combined with the already famous white stronmic insert for soft touch and consistent roll, these new Odyssey putters are the perfect weapon to lower your scores.
White Hot Tour – The White Hot Tour range from Odyssey offers a wide range of putter designs to fit the needs of the any golfer.

White Hot XG and XG 2.0 Range – Odysseys heritage is rooted in their amazing designs that are geared for both the weekend golfer and the seasoned pro. There are a variety of head shapes so golfers will be sure to find a great feeling putter that will give them the confidence to up their game.

Divine Line – The Divine Line was created exclusively for women who want to dominate the game on the green. While the Divine Line was inspired by Odysseys most popular models, each feature was developed with the female putting stroke and playing style in mind.

Marxman – Odyssey Marxman Putters are aligned and specially weighted to calibrate your putts to perfection. Simply take your pick of mallet or blade to suit your playing style and achieve total green control.

As one of the leading Independant Odyssey internet retailers, in the UK today, Golfbuyitonline.com is the perfect place to purchase any model of Odyssey putter from black series to White hot, from the unique sabretooth to the fang models at low internet prices and fast delivery to the UK and Europe.We give a two year warranty on all Odyssey putters so you have piece of mind too.

Its your last day to get this those last minute Christmas gifts from Golfbuyitonline, orders received before 2:30pm will be sent on next day delivery if you choose express delivery so you should get them before Christmas (terms and conditions apply, see delivery).

So if you have that last minute Christmas shopping to do make sure you place your order with us before 2:30pm today.

Golfbuyitonline stock and supply a huge range of golf equipment and golf accessories that make perfect Christmas golf gifts for that special golfer in your life as well as your golfing buddies.

Christmas Gift Vouchers

Looking for that perfect golf gift this Christmas but are unsure as to what to buy? Let us do the work with these Golfbuyitonline Christmas Gift Vouchers ranging from five pounds to five hundred pounds. Guaranteed not to disappoint! We can post the voucher or simply send it via email to the person you want to receive it and the recipient simply adds the voucher code to the gift certificate box in their shopping cart once they have chosen their goods to purchase them to redeem the voucher. Easy and simple.

Golf Gloves

Golf gloves are an ideal Christmas stocking filler. They help you get a better grip on your golf clubs, therefore providing better control over your game. There are various types of golf glove to choose from which include the top end premium leather glove, the middleweight leather/synthetic combination glove as well as all weather gloves which are the cheapest and the best glove to wear in wetter weather.

Christmas Mystery Gift Boxes

They are a great present to get any friend or family member that is into golf and you don’t know what to get them. We will take the stress out of choosing a Christmas gift for you. All you simply have to do is choose how much you want to pay for the gift box and select who the gift is for either male, female or a junior golfer.

Merry Christmas from the Golfbuyitonline team.

You may or may not be aware that there is another golf event starting today. The RICOH Women’s British Open is now in it’s 33rd year, but it’s only the 9th year of it being a Major LPGA event. Before that it was an LPGA tournament for seven years.

Despite this being the 32nd Women’s British Open (there wasn’t one in 1983), women’s golf is desperately in need of a boost. But if this event has a conclusion that is half as good as the men’s Open at Turnberry two weeks ago, women’s golf will be all right.

With the LPGA tour in the US losing seven events since 2007, its commissioner being sacked two weeks ago, and Annika Sorenstam, the greatest female player for a generation, retiring last year, the women’s game is in turmoil.

Step forward Michelle Wie, who is playing her last major championship as a teenager. Wie has for some time been the gifted child of the LPGA tour, but let’s see if she has what it takes to help women’s golf out of the brink.

She may have had trouble in the past when she was allowed to play in the men’s events, but she’s about to turn 20. Older? Wiser? This tournament’s the decider.

First Minister Alex Salmond is at loggerheads with the world’s most prestigious golf club after urging it to break more than 250 years of tradition and accept its first female member.

The First Minister said St Andrews’ Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) should address its failure so far to invite Dr Louise Richardson to join.

Dr Richardson, an award-winning political scientist, became St Andrews University’s first female principal almost a month ago.

But she had yet to be offered the gift of membership to the club, an honour that has been bestowed on her two immediate predecessors in the post.

Unlike Mr Salmond, Dr Richardson is not thought to be a keen golfer, but he argued the R&A should treat her equally by giving her the opportunity to join.

The First Minister, said: “The Royal and Ancient Golf Club should follow their long-standing practice of offering membership to the Principal of St Andrews University, and I am sure that after due consideration they will continue with that honourable tradition.”

A native of Ireland, Dr Richardson has taught and written extensively on terrorism, international relations and foreign and defence policy.

When she was appointed last June, the question was raised whether the R&A would admit its first female member since the club was formed in 1754.

One of the last all-male bastions in sport, the club had extended honorary membership to the two previous incumbents, Dr Brian Lang and Prof Struther Arnott.

The R&A said at the time it would “continue to consider such invitations in the future”. A club spokesman said no decision has been made since and declined to comment further.

Claire Baker, a Labour MSP for Fife, said: “The Principal of St Andrew’s University is at the top of her profession and should be accorded the same courtesy and privileges as her male predecessors.

“It’s more than 500 years since Mary Queen of Scots become the first woman to tee off at the home of golf, but it seems that the Royal and Ancient is still stuck in the middle ages.

“It is high time the fuddy-duddies who run the club put their chauvinist attitudes to one side and joined the 21st century.”

What are your thoughts on this?  Are some rules unbreakable, or would you like to see a female member join the R&A?