Leaked Email To Pro Suggests Practice Facilities Only Available For Men

The email from an unnamed club to a pro with Epson Tour status explains she is not entitled to practice privileges

Generic image of a female golfer taking a shot
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There is no doubt that great strides have been made in recent years as women campaign for equal rights to men at golf clubs. 

That has been helped by proposals including how pro shops and clubs can cater for female golfers. Even higher up in the game, progress is undoubtedly being made too. For example, August’s AIG Women’s Open marked another milestone moment as venue Muirfield hosted a women’s Major for the first time.

However, there are often reminders that work needs to be done in the game to ensure women have the same privileges as men. One such example has come to light in the form of a leaked email published by Twitter account Monday Q Info. The email was sent by an unnamed club to an Epson Tour member explaining its policy on offering practice privileges with tour status.

The letter says: "Thank you for your Inquiry. Our property only extends practice/playing privileges to players on the following tours: PGA Tour, Champions Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Latino America, Forme Tour and PGA Tour China." Tellingly, each of those is a men’s tour, meaning that the pro is not eligible as she belongs to the official developmental tour of the LPGA Tour.

The email continues: “I am happy to help out on the rare occasion but am required to follow our company’s policies.” The email concludes by offering another contact to the pro for information on becoming a member

While the latter two points my seem encouraging - namely, that tweaks to the policies can be made and that women are eligible for membership, the fact that no women’s tours are listed as applicable for practice privileges suggests that, while encouraging progress is being made to ensure inclusivity to women in the game, there is still a long way to go before that particular battle is won.

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Mike Hall
Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.