Women in Golf

Along with the new century has come a noticeable surge in the popularity of womens golf. The number of both professional and amateur female golfers has risen sharply. That means the perception of golf is changing in dramatic fashion, as golf is rapidly losing its reputation as an “old boys’ game.”

Though it may surprise some, women have played professional golf for hundreds of years. But traditionally, golf has been an overwhelmingly male-dominated sport, with many golf establishments not even permitting female golfers to set foot inside their doors. The journey to playing golf has not been an easy road for the female contingent.

Typically, it takes some kind of spark to ignite an explosive rise in popularity for a particular sport. For men's golf, that spark was Tiger Woods, whose unbelievable achievements over the past decade or so spurred the popularity of golf to unprecedented levels. It is quite interesting to note that, as a small boy, Woods was denied entry into a golfing club simply because of the color of his skin, a club which now welcomes the golfing star with open arms.

In the world of women's golf, teenage sensation Michelle Wie has without doubt been a catalyst in bringing great attention to the sport of women's golf in general, as she has endeavored to utilize her impressive golfing abilities to challenge male golfers directly. Similarly to Woods, maybe her efforts will help remove the last barriers standing in the way of female golfers, including those few remaining clubs that still discriminate based on gender.

Regardless of Wie’s actual level of success in her quest to play with the men, in the past five years, women's golf has seen a massive rise in popularity partly thanks to her efforts as well as the inspired play of many other great female golfers such as Annika Sorenstam. And that popularity is predicted to increase. Women are taking up the sport at a record pace, with the fastest growing demographic being women in their 20s and younger.

It is interesting to note, however, there is a slight difference in the way men and women approach the game of golf. Women tend to view golf primarily as a social activity with competitive undertones, while men see golf primarily as a competitive activity with social undertones. So, while male golfers are obsessing over their score, female golfers are just trying to have a good time.

But despite the ultimate reasons, women have unquestioningly embraced golf in the new millennium, and the result has been a great boon for golf.

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Columnist Thomas Haney regularly writes about issues related to golf. Visit www.dealsunlimited.biz to get great deals on golf equipment as well as learn more about women and golf, including useful subjects such as ladies golf clubs. You are allowed to utilize this article for your own website provided you leave all links working and do not edit the article or credits in any way. Copyright 2007 Thomas Haney. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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