I’m feeling very cross.
This is 2018 and we’re in the middle of Major season in golf. Three weeks ago the first US Senior Women’s Open was held at Chicago Golf Club and Dame Laura Davies put on a peerless display winning by ten shots. A couple of weeks ago we were enthralled by Francesco Molinari at Carnoustie. Last week we saw Tom Watson shooting his age round the Old Course at St Andrews in the men’s Senior British Open and this week I’m at Royal Lytham & St Annes for the Ricoh Women’s British Open, the fourth of the women’s five majors in the game. So, why am I cross?
It was impossible to see any coverage of Laura’s win – I certainly didn’t find any – and if you cannot come to Lytham, and do not have a Sky Sports package, the only sight you will have of the world’s best women golfers this week is a paltry hour on the BBC, squeezed in either side of midnight. Disappointed doesn’t begin to cover it.
With la grande dame of golf, Laura Davies, the first US Senior Women’s Open champion. [Thanks to Sarah Bennett for the pic.]
Defending Women’s British Open champion, I.K. Kim. Not worth a mention in Golf World magazine.
All this is taking place at a time when the R&A have announced a Women in Golf Charter, stating their joint ambition with other members of the golf industry is to increase the numbers of women playing and working in the game. Quite how that fits in with having no golf on terrestrial television is a puzzle to me. Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A, is driving the initiative and promises “measures designed to achieve positive change”. They are planning to increase “overall investment in women’s, girls’ and mixed golf to £80 million over the next ten years”.
Then, last week, a Gender Equality Summit kicked off proceedings at the Ladies’ Scottish Open and Martin Gilbert, CEO Aberdeen Standard Investments and title sponsor of the tournament, was fulsome in his support, saying his company was “keen to see as much equality in sport as we can”.
Can Martin Slumbers drive equality in golf as successfully as he can the ball on the golf course?
This is all good news and hopefully not just all talk, yet when I look around me at our golf clubs, our TV coverage, our print journalism, I feel discouraged. Golf is so heavily stacked towards a white male demography and does not for one moment reflect the world we live in. The women’s game is not boring, it’s not inferior to the men’s and it is at least as entertaining. It is bursting with fabulous role models for us all.
On the plus side I was hugely cheered to learn this week about initiatives from England Golf and Irish Ladies’ Golf entitled Women and Girls’ Golf Week 2018 which celebrates females of all ages and their involvement in the sport. We can read inspiring stories of career women and volunteers and each day a new topic is covered culminating with a round-up on Sunday, the day the next Ricoh Women’s British Open Champion will be crowned. Go to the respective websites – englandgolf.org, golfnet.ie, ricohwomensbritishopen.com – and be inspired.
All this makes me realise how imperative it is for women’s golf to have more support from within the industry. We need more of the shakers and movers within the game shining a light on women in golf and giving our professional athletes the platform they deserve. More exposure will generate more interest and subsequent increased female participation at grass roots level can guide our sport to being more family friendly with all the attendant social and health benefits. The game needs to be grown from the top down as well as from the bottom up. These decision makers who are ignoring women’s golf and keeping our profile virtually non-existent wouldn’t get away with this behaviour in the boardroom nowadays.
I learned ten days ago that a three-time Solheim Cup player recently received a request from a club manufacturer to return the product that she wasn’t using. I could scarcely believe my ears! Could you imagine that request going to a three-time Ryder Cupper? Of course not! There really should be no place for these discriminatory practices that are still all around us. Women are no longer willing to be second-class citizens and that goes for us golfers too.
There’s still a huge mountain to climb, I’m afraid, but, crampons on, ice picks in hand, we’ll keep on going.
Maureen – As a mere male, I am cross too! Women’s golf IS badly covered by the national media but you could say the same about amateur golf in general, both male and female. It wasn’t always so. Back in the 1950s/60s and 70s – amateur golf received enormous coverage and pro golf was the ‘poor relation.’ When I was researching the early years of women’s golf in Ireland for the ILGU, there were ‘miles’ of column inches available to me and the problem I had was what to leave out? In this IT age of blogging there is too much information but finding it is the problem. The R&A, GUI and ILGU websites are problematical to navigate, to say the least. Keep up the good work! The WBO may have been ‘on BBC’ for only an hour last night but I was watching it and listening to you and the peerless, Ken Brown. Why is it that the Orientals are so dominant in women’s golf? They are an increasing factor in the male sphere also. I wonder why?
Could not agree with you more, Mo. I trawl the press and if I find a mention of any women’s golf at all I cheer in relief. It is a shameful situation given, as you mention, the new Charter and other noises coming out of our governing body – the R&A (and in smaller adjacent logo, the LGU). Add in the lack of golf (and cricket) on terrestrial TV and it is going to be an uphill struggle to get the game grow! CS
TOTALLY agree with your post Maureen — Trying to keep up with action in ladies golf is so poor — I Just love your monthly blog and videos – Thanks
As stated in Animal Farm
We are all equal but some are more equal than others.
Thank YOU for bothering to read them!
Maureen, couldn’t agree more with your blog. Having attended the practice days at The Open – Carnoustie, Seniors – St Andrews, Ladies – Gullane and Ricoh Ladies – Royal Lytham & St Annes and been on the putting green for all, it is so so obvious on the pecking order. Yet I hear so many people say how they really enjoy watching ladies golf as it is not just a blurr and a real joy to watch.
Really sad when watching breakfast TV and the sports report didn’t even mention, until prompted the great achievement from Richard McEvoy on winning his third Challange Tour event and then the Porche European Open on the European Tour. There is too much focus on football from terrestrial TV, even when there are other great events on the go. A balance is required and as a licence fee payer think it should start with the BBC and be more inclusive of all sports across all genders.
You are SO right Maureen. I prefer watching the lady professionals to their male counterparts WHEN events are televised on terrestrial TV. I love their graceful and rhytmic swings. I particularly enjoy seeing boys and girls playing our game which gives hope to the future. My six year old grandson- he has been playing under the expert guidance of Rob Ashbrook at Hill Valley Golf Club, for more than 3 years, and just loves golf.
Totally agree whoever is in charge of women’s golf needs to get a grip. I was looking forward to watch the golf from Lytham this week it really should be on the BBC and the administrators of women’s golf need to make this happen. Hiding it away on sky sports red button, or wherever it is, is very poor.
Totally agree too!! Having spent 4 days watching the ladies golf at Lytham and been on the 18th Green to see Georgia Hall win in such a composed yet exciting way why was her picture put on page 17 of our newspaper next day. We went to Carnoustie to see the Men’s open for 2 days (at a cost of £70 per day whereas the Ladies cost us £50 for 4 days) and were able to come home and watch the highlights on TV and see the weekend finish. Whereas there was no ladies golf on TV. Also the Loos were much more posh at Carnoustie than Lytham so no comparison!!