I recently read a golf book that said, “Women are better golfers than Men”. Now, now, don’t get all huffy, puffy from that statement – hear me out. There were several things that this author, (I won’t mention the name of the book or author), that I did agree with and things that I did not agree with. It did make me think about how women get a bad rap when out on the golf course and the stereotypical sayings that go along with us.

First:  Women are the reason for slow play
I don’t think there is a stereotype that makes me madder than that one. Recently, on a trip to Myrtle Beach, there were three of us – all girls. Now, all of us played in college and play from the tees that range from 6,000 – 6,400 yards. We can beat the majority of guys who play the game, but when they saw the three of us come up to the tee, the thoughts that went through their minds were not thoughts of joy. They were, “Oh great, we’re going to be behind a group of women,” or “This is going to be a long day”, etc. You can add your own thoughts to this, but their thoughts couldn’t be further from the truth. Women are more self conscious about this aspect of the game than any other group of golfers. Most women will play ready golf and know that on a par 5 it will take them 3 shots to get to the green, unlike some men who will wait until the green is clear only to hit their shot 180 yards instead of the 225 that was needed. 

The groups behind us never saw us once we hit our tee shots on the first tee, but when we made the turn, it was a different story. This course did a double tee in the morning and when we made the turn, we ended up waiting on every shot. We weren’t upset that we had to wait on every shot, but what really got us was my next stereotype:

Second:  The red tees are for women only
The foursome of guys that we ended up behind were all beginners. We could easily tell this as they continued trying to get the ball off the ground with each swing they took. That’s not even what we were upset with – it was the fact that they were playing from the blue tees! The red tees are known as the forward tees, not the women’s tees. There is a reason for this and that is because even men should play those tees, especially when they are just beginning the game of golf. 

I was recently up in Sedona playing and there were a bunch of couples playing and 2 groups ahead of us were men and women and they were both playing from the same tees – the forward tees. The couple in front of us mentioned something about this when we caught up to them, but I told them that it was a good thing because you could tell he was just a beginner. This gentleman did not have any ego whatsoever about playing from the forward tees and enjoying the game of golf. I can tell you there is no way the guys that we were behind in Myrtle Beach had any fun hacking away at the ball at 6,700 yards. At least for me, that would not be what I consider a fun day on the golf course.

These are just a few, but I want you to know that I did not write this to make men mad; I wrote it because I see it on the course all the time. Just think about what I said and look for it next time you’re on the course. Once you see it, you’ll become aware and notice…it’s not just women.

Tiffany Nelson is Director Business Development at TPC Scottsdale/ PGA TOUR located at 17020 North Hayden Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85255. You can reach her at 480.585.4334, ext. 226. Follow TPC Scottsdale on Facebook (The TPC Scottsdale) and on Twitter www.twitter.com/tpcscottsdale and keep up with all the action!