For years now I’ve taught women who are constantly down about their golf games. The round feels like an uphill struggle. They’re maybe a touch gloomy. They want more distance and can’t understand why they are so rubbish at golf.
Women who hit the ball a long way and play off a lower handicap can often be less skilled than those women who take more shots to get to the green and then get up and down. Yet those women who have exquisite short games feel like they are the poorer golfers.
Ladies, you are better than you think you are at this game. Unless you hit the ball 180-210 yards off the tee, you are likely to need some of your handicap shots just to reach the green. The fundamental problem lies in the length of the golf course that you are playing.
For so many women the shortest tees are still too long and often not in a great position. Women are not getting the same experience from the course that the men are. There is a massive imbalance in the length of courses compared to the average distance a woman hits her driver, for example 130-150 yards.
Encouraged and supported by initiatives at their home clubs, Fiona Womack, member at Bishop’s Stortford Golf Club and Sharon Eales from Royal Birkdale Golf Club, have been working hard to raise awareness about the inequitable experience currently offered to shorter hitters and how best to close the gap.
Sharon and Fiona walk the course at Royal Birkdale
(Image credit: Womack and Eales)
Both women have a passion for trying to increase the dismal 15% of golfers who are female. “Golfers live on average 5 years longer, and there is mounting evidence to show that golf delivers a myriad of benefits, which we want to be available to all. We believe that for the sport to thrive it needs to maximise its unique position as a family sport which is played by multiple generations, which means it has to offer an enjoyable and equitable experience for everyone,” says Sharon.
“Fiona found me on Facebook’s Women’s Golf Lounge where I’d replied to something about shorter tees. She was particularly intrigued as I had used mathematical terminology and made the comparison that Dustin Johnson would need to play a course that was 12,000yards long to experience what most women and shorter hitting golfers were experiencing.’
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