What It’s Like To Play Golf When You Have A Period

There’s no doubt about it, being a woman is tough. Being a woman in golf is super tough. Physically we are playing a golf course that proportionately doesn’t match up to our difference in power compared to men. Add into this a monthly hormonal rollercoaster and it becomes a real challenge. Women are hormonally wired in a far more complex manner to men and this is only exasperated as we age and enter a peri-menopausal and menopausal phase.

It’s not until you know about how phases in your menstrual cycle affect you – both mentally and physically – that you can understand and give utter respect to those women out there on the tours winning against the odds. I wonder what the guys would do if faced with cramps, lack of focus and heavy blood flow midway through a competitive week?

When you read about, or watch golf on various platforms, periods are still a taboo subject and few people talk about these challenges. Only one woman in golf has made headlines in the last year and that is World No 3 Lydia Ko. She talked about how her physio helps her when she has her period, as she gets twisted and it affects her performance. Interviewer Jerry Foltz was lost for words. Journalists interviewing these super women should perhaps ask them how do their periods affect their performance and how do they manage this? Ladies European Tour winner Liz Young says, “We have to deal with so much more than men. Monthly cycles, motherhood etc. It’s tougher. Much tougher.”