Scheffler vs McIlroy: It's Not A Gap... It's A Vast Chasm

Male and female golfers walking off the tee — (Image credit: Future)

There will always be men’s sport and women’s sport. Whether it’s football, rugby, or cricket, the sheer physicality required to excel in those team environments doesn't always lend itself to competitive mixed play at a club level.

But then there’s golf. It’s an individual sport that, thanks to the handicap system, allows us to compete on an equal playing field, regardless of gender, age, or ability. It is one of the few sports that offers a fair challenge (although some might disagree under the World Handicap System!)

The problem is, many men and women don’t actually want change. The majority of club members, and crucially, the committee members who make the decisions, are from a generation that grew up with the age-old tradition of separate sections and very limited interaction. It’s a mindset that has become part of the furniture.

In fact, the culture is so strong that when younger members join, they quickly get absorbed into it. They see the invisible lines and just start walking them, often without even realising it.

Of course, the numbers are skewed because there are significantly more men than women playing golf, but that shouldn’t mean we just accept the status quo. It’s as if we’ve been conditioned to believe that men have a prior claim to the course, while we simply fit in around the edges.

Alison Root and David Taylor high fiving

I totally understand that men and women enjoy their same-sex rounds. I love playing golf with my friends and the dynamic is undeniably different when it’s just us. But that shouldn't stop mixed golf from being welcomed by both sexes.

Yes, a round of golf can take four hours, so naturally, you want to spend that time with people you feel comfortable with. But at the end of the day, we’re all playing the same game. Golf is the common denominator, it’s just us against the course, so the gender of the person you're playing with really shouldn't be an issue.

Only last week, I was chatting to a male golfer who had instigated a change at his club, allowing the few women who play at the weekend to join the men’s swindle. The result? None of the men had a problem with it. Not one. It just proves my point.

The barrier isn't actually the people, it’s the fact that we are all entrenched in an outdated culture. We’re so busy protecting 'the way it’s always been' that we haven't noticed that many of us, at least, are ready to move on.

I know that socially, if you walk into a pub, you’ll often see separate groups of men and women chatting and that’s just human nature. But in a golf club environment, where we all have the shared language of good and bad shots (much like a tennis club), in golf the segregation is so much more noticeable at the 19th hole.

Male and female golfers sitting at golf club

It’s as if you need a specific reason to cross the clubhouse floor. Simply heading over to speak to a group of men seems out of the ordinary, and if a man comes over to our table to offer a bottle of wine, you almost wonder what his intentions are! It’s a sad state of affairs when a basic bit of clubhouse sociability is treated like a breach of protocol.

Many clubs have already introduced gender-neutral tees, but ditching the men’s captain and lady captain roles and the old-fashioned drive-in ceremonies in favour of a single club captain would be an even better starting point.

We can keep small, separate committees to handle the nitty-gritty of individual affairs, but beyond that, the future shouldn't be about men’s golf and women’s golf. At club level, it should simply be golf. We’re all playing the same game, after all, so it’s about time both the clubs and the members started acting like it.

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Being a golf club member has many highs and lows. We all have opinions on hot topics like the general state of the game, dress codes, slow play and the World Handicap System, and so does the Secret Club Golfer. Documenting every aspect of golf club life, the Secret Club Golfer opines on the themes that dominate discussions on fairways and in clubhouses all around the world. The Secret Club Golfer is one of us.

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