Iain Carter, BBC 5 Live’s golf correspondent, posted some interesting thoughts yesterday on his blog on how the men’s and women’s golf tours could work together. Pro golfer (former Women’s British Open Champion) Karen Stupples shared her thoughts with him via twitter and I thought it was an intriguing idea:
There were some horrifying comments left by readers that illustrate how sexism is alive and well – not just in golf. This is an issue that never fails to ruffle my feathers, to say the least. I will be posting more about this after I talk to Ms. Stupples when she gets back in the states and perhaps some other pro golfers as well. I’d love to get some of your thoughts if you care to share them. Opinions are welcome – yes, even if they’re contrary to my own – but please keep it classy.
Meanwhile, here is a post of mine from awhile back with some of my thoughts on sexism in golf.
You can also follow Karen Stupples on twitter @KStupples , Iain Carter @IainCarterGolf , and me @TheGolfChick
December 21, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Hey Golf Chick,
As a Golf Dude, I wish I could apologize for my sexist brethren, but I’m sure they wouldn’t want me to. Personally, I would rather play with women who enjoy what they’re doing than with men who can’t believe they’re not as good as Tiger, and insist on telling me about it every 5 minutes. Hit the ball, find it, hit it again and have fun. That’s all I ask. The guys who spend a minute using their range finder or GPS and then leave the ball 30 yards short of the green drive me crazy. One time one of those guys pulled out his rangefinder at a par 3 where neither the pin nor the tee had been moved for the last three rounds. He proudly called out the yardage, which had been the same all week. I told him: “yeah, but it’s still an 8-iron.” Grrr!
Anyway, to get back to the topic. I don’t know if the single category will fly any time soon, but I think the tennis model is a good one. Two tournaments simultaneously at the same site. That way, no man would have to worry about “losing to a woman”. They should just get over it, but I the tennis model might be easier to sell. Either way, it would be nice a few times a year to get the best men and the best women golfers at the same event. How cool would it be to see Mickelson, Petterson, Woods, Kerr, Westwood, and Creamer in successive groups? I really do like the alternating groups idea.
We’re not all pigs!
December 21, 2010 at 5:20 pm
Hey Golf Dude,
Love your attitude! I know what you mean about the GPS obsessed. I see guys (and girls) doing that all the time too. Maybe they’re just turned on my tech but it can still get annoying.
Yes, the tennis model is another good way to get the tours out there together that would probably sell a lot of tickets and grow the popularity of the game. And it just might be the way this needs to start. Personally, I think even the players with the most sensitive (and/or sexist) male egos could still feel superior with a loss to a woman if they set up appropriate yardages for each gender. That way, they can be like “sure, if I played from there I’d have shot a 56.”
Thanks for the comment.
Kristen
(BTW, if they’re sexist, who cares what they want? Don’t let that stop you from apologizing for them (c;)
December 27, 2010 at 2:52 pm
I have a friend that runs a Kia dealership and got to go to Vegas for the unveiling of this commercial. Michelle Wie was there and he got to get a picture with her during the conference.
February 12, 2011 at 1:56 pm
I think that mixing it up between the boys and girls is a great idea!! There is no doubt that the best women in the world would perform neck and neck with the best men… The only difference is they don’t hit it as far. In fact why don’t we throw a nine year old girl in the mix just for fun and let her play from age appropriate distances… Karah Sanford, when playing from between 4500 -5000 yards can consistently break par… You can see her and her swing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7xhHsoD968 –
You can also see her going low in tournaments against the best in the world in her age group here:
http://sites.google.com/site/karahsanford/wins-tracker/major-championships
Watching this little champ mix it up with the best in the world would REALLY be a kick…
…for me anyway 
~caddie daddy