Tee Thursday: More women turn to playing golf

Twas a time when women had to carve out their spot in the golf world when men ruled the fairways with men-only dedicated times private clubs that forbade women as members on their own and of discipline the notion that ladies are just out there socializing that the skill required to play golf well is something men are born with but women not so much Here in Massachusetts where as we prepare to celebrate Women s Golf Day around the world women have certainly served as leaders in the sport since the start Indeed a full three years before men formed the Massachusetts Golf Association a group of golf-loving women convened in a Back Bay home and formed the Women s Golf Association of Massachusetts WGAM now merged with Mass Golf We need more chances to play and compete Grace Keyes an avid golfer out of Concord recounted her like-minded golfing friends We need to meet other women who love golf as well And thus in the state s first golf association was founded By women The amount of women playing is at this time soaring with women making up more than a quarter of on-course golfers about percent up from percent in Women are also outpacing men as newbies to the sport According to the National Golf Foundation NGF the net gain among on-course female golfers is million since while the number of male participants has risen by In other words We lady golfers are hitting the fairways and our fairway shots So why then do we need an international day devoted to women and golf Because put just Grace Keyes goal remains And while we ve come a long way baby on the golf lesson and beyond we ve still got a approaches to go That s why all women golfers from newbies to long-timers should and often do partake in Women s Golf Day events and find other techniques to continue the goal of making golf accessible and confident for women far and wide Thankfully there are plenty of tactics Consider these Join Mass Golf It s the best thing any golfer can do for their battle Women can find particular advantages like the association s women-centric events For those who are up for it they also host plenty of tournaments certain of them dating to those early years This year Mass Golf is hosting six specific ladies events throughout the season along with a multi-week lesson project focusing on women and golf On Women s Golf Day June Mass Golf is offering three free sessions of lesson and on-course play at The Links at Mass Golf in Norton Players will get pro instruction on putting chipping and full swing and then take those skills out on a limited holes to test them It s all free to members They also offer play days in different spots throughout the state I attended my first last fall arriving alone and a wee bit nervous I discovered new friends an atmosphere where your handicap matters not but your level of ecstasy to be playing does a lunch included in the low fee and prizes Humble brag alert I took home the closest to the pin prize package Other events You can find details on other Women s Golf Day events here https www womensgolfday com Get the girls and boys playing young Because there s a super affordable way to do just that Bank of America s Golf With Us operation launched during the latest Masters offers youth ages - female and male access to thousands of courses for or less per round through a free one-year membership to Youth on Program It seems to be a great idea In just days the plan reached families in all states Puerto Rico Guam and Washington D C with more than new members having already played more than rounds of golf at participating courses We knew there was tremendous interest in golf though the speed of this response to Golf with Us surpassed even our preponderance ambitious expectations revealed David Tyrie President Marketing Digital Specialized Consumer Client Solutions Bank of America Golf with Us is about more than the meeting it s about access confidence and creating opportunities for kids to cultivate skills that will help them thrive on the syllabus at home in the classroom and in life Bank of America has surpassed its goal of enrolling more than young golfers in Golf with Us and has opened the undertaking to an additional participants who can enroll online now at BofA com GolfWithUs Don t stress about getting paired with men I used to struggle with this You have a tee time for two and whether you are with another female or a male you get paired up with two men and you can just see them already seething It would get into my head I don t want to slow them down I d worry What if my not-exactly-champion level of play annoys them And then from experience I realized that often despite their assumptions I could stay right with them In several cases I was even better I remember something I learned teaching skiing Give women a chance to assign a level to their sport ability and they almost dependably under-report their skills Give men the same chance and you ve got it and gosh good for them they almost reliably over document Now I smile shake their hand and remember what I know Were it not for the women golfers from the start we might not all even be here this day We belong on the links and we belong there together