Thoughts from this lady golfer

I took up golf about 9 years ago when I had been divorced and sought a way to stay active in sports while meeting new people -- especially nice single, professional men.  I invested in a few lessons so that I could learn the basics and then it was out to play.  At first I golfed on a pretty basic wide-open course (really a cow pasture) and played in a ladies league.  It was a fun way to learn and little pressure and my game grew.   As a lifelong athlete who had played very competitive soccer for many, years I wanted a sport I could play by myself.  I enjoy the challenge of constantly trying to improve my game and the camaraderie of playing with others.

I soon found, however, that playing in a ladies league was not really what interested me.  Now I met some very nice ladies and they are all great folks, however, women tend to want to provide group therapy when they play.  Even the most AWFUL of shots are praised in some way; I mean a dribbler that goes 10 feet is said to at least still be in play!  I prefer the ribbing that one gets when playing with guys -- they razz each other mercilessly but all in jest.  OR ladies become uber-competitive and turn the sport into a pseudo-job traveling to win tournaments.  In addition, I am a college professor whose major area of study is military history and international relations; I am also a sports fanatic who LOVES football ( I could watch college football games all day on a Saturday).  I often have little in common in terms of conversation with other ladies who usually talk of kids and husbands -- of which I have neither.  I have always gravitated towards men when in groups so that I can join the conversations on sports and politics.  I also don't mind a good joke including a little off color.  Plus I found that when I played in the ladies league, I had little chance to meet single male golfers -- we were always separated!

So I have proudly set out to golf on my own. Little did I realize how rare it is for a single lady to simply walk up as a single golfer and want to play -- of course only about 20% of all golfers are women and in some areas (such as south Texas even fewer).  I love to play a variety of courses and enjoy meeting new people.  Most of my experiences have been wonderful but a few have been less than spectacular with only a few really bad.  I have met some great people and even been asked on a few dates.  I have also learned that some golf courses are more welcoming than others and some courses just see lady golfers as afterthoughts.

Over the last few years, I have mainly played with men.  They are often surprised and a little unsure of what to expect as we start out on that first tee, and they are curious.  Often about half way through the round, they ask why their wives don't play with them like this; I ask if they have purchased golf lessons for their wives.  The husbands often tell me they tried to teach their wives how to play.  I just smile and explain that no they need to have a PROFESSIONAL give their wives lessons so that there is no stress.   Then, they can enjoy the game together.  One of my goals is to maybe someday meet a great guy who would enjoy sharing a love of golf together and travelling to play courses around the nation and the world. 

I have started this blog as a place to record my thoughts as I have spent my summer of 2009 golfing a number of courses in Texas and noting how they treat a lady golfer.  The plan is to gather this information into an article on Texas golf courses and lady golfers.  I do have a great guy golf friend with whom I have played some of these courses; he is very lady golf friendly and has helped me with my game as well as with some of my reviews.  I have won a few meals and drinks in our friendly bets as well as buying a few and I am grateful for his input.