I recently received a message from a woman who I taught about two years ago as a beginner golfer. She was asking how she should navigate a dilemma, so let me provide some background information…
This woman recently joined her first golf club, she loves being part of club life and is fully embracing the challenges that playing on a big golf course brings. One of the things she enjoys most is practicing and I mean really practicing. We are not talking about ten quick hits in the net or some panicked putts before playing. She loves nothing more than being out on her own hitting balls, working on her swing, or going out on the course by herself, where she can focus and try different shots.
However, some women at the club have made comments to her along the lines of, “You need to get out and play more with other women,” and she feels she’s been labelled as odd for choosing to practice so much. Is she odd? Is it the done thing to stick to your dedicated practice sessions over playing with others? What is considered to be the norm? These are the questions she wanted answered.
(Image credit: Kevin Murray)
As always, I was my straight-talking self and answered along the lines of, “Yes, you are odd and will have been marked as such because from my experience a lot of women don’t often practice. This could be said for amateurs in general, with the main priority for playing golf being to socialise, meet new people and enjoy the game with others.
You, however, are on your own journey with golf, you love the pursuit of improvement. Everyone has their own reasons for playing and none are less or more valid, so be bold enough to pursue your own goals and purpose for playing and practicing. It can be all too easy to try and follow the crowd, but do not sacrifice your own enjoyment by prioritising others, we do enough of that in life already!
As someone fairly new to golf and club life, she appreciated the encouragement to do her own thing and to keep practicing, which is great, but I was left saddened that these types of comments had even been made. It is not the first time in my career I’ve heard female golfers speak disparagingly about other women for being ‘too serious’ and when I’ve asked what makes them serious, it’s simply because they have golf lessons, practice, and try hard on the course.
(Image credit: Katie Dawkins)
Oh, how awful of them to try and improve at the sport they invest time and money in. I have only tended to see these types of…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Latest from Golf Monthly in Features…