I’m a self-confessed golf addict. Singles, foursomes, greensomes, match-play, stroke-play, betterball, mixed competitions – you name it, I love it. There’s not a format of golf I don’t enjoy. I never turn down a game. But for many women, the thought of playing golf with men fills them with absolute dread.
They find it unsociable and annoying to be teeing off from different tees. They don’t enjoy being out-driven most of the time. The distance difference makes them uncomfortable, dare I say it, nervous. The feeling is often reciprocated by men. They cannot bear the thought of being outdriven by a woman, or on the other hand, they don’t like having to ‘wait’ for two or more shots from a short-hitting lady to be struck before they get to their tee shot. They find it frustrating. They lose their rhythm and flow.
The Dreaded ‘Mixed’ Foursome – Or Should I Say ‘Gruesome’?
For many couples, the thought of having to play in a mixed foursome competition is utterly unbearable! My parents are the perfect example. Married for over thirty years but nearly divorced a dozen times after a bad round of golf together. Despite being the worse player of the partnership, dad loves to coach my mum around the course, telling her what she’s doing wrong. It drives my mum mad! She gets frustrated when her advice to dad is to ‘play for position’ falls on deaf ears. Dad bends the ball like a banana into the woods (frequently) and pays no attention to the words ‘just swing smoothly’ uttered out of mum’s mouth. He comes from the generation of egotistical grip-it-and-rip-it guys who get the big stick out whatever the risk. As a consequence, they stopped playing in our club mixed foursomes knock-out together many years ago, or as my dad bluntly puts it, “Your mum found another man!” The funny thing is they’ve never actually done any better with their respective other golfing partners (yet!)
My good friend Anna and her husband Peter are the exact polar opposite. As a relatively new golfer whose handicap is slowly tumbling down, Anna…
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