9 Reasons Why Golf Is Divided By Gender

Golf is a sport that has been divided by gender for many years. Men and women play on separate courses with different rules and equipment. So, why does gender divide golf?

Golf is divided by gender as male and female golfers play with different balls and clubs, and on the course, women play off shorter tees. More men play professionally, so there are fewer tournaments for women. Also, the pay gap between the sexes is vast, as men are paid 83% more in pro golf than women.

Golf is usually an individual sport. You typically play against yourself to attempt to beat your previous score despite how good or bad your playing partners play. Men and women both love the game. But why does gender divide golf?

This article will investigate all the reasons why golf is divided by gender. Let’s keep it on the fairway!

Why Is Golf Divided By Gender?

Most sports are male-dominated, and some females often feel left out. Why do they feel left out, though? Some women regard it as pure inequality or sexism. There are more tournaments for men, and they get paid much more than their female counterparts, although, in recent years, the gap has decreased.

Professional female golfers feel that they do not get equal opportunities. Below you will find a list of 9 reasons golf is divided by gender.

1. Difference In Male And Female Golf Balls

Today all golf balls are the same diameter of 1.68 inches. Before standardization in 1990, golf balls used typically in Europe were smaller.

But females are typically shorter in height and less muscular than male golfers of a similar age, so to allow them to make distances on longer holes, some modifications to golf balls were required.

Consequently, manufacturers design ranges of balls for players, typically females and elderly male players with slower swing speeds. These balls contain a softer core with lower compression.

2. Women’s Golf Has Fewer Golfing Tournaments

Women’s golf has fewer official tournaments than men’s golf. The LPGA Tour is the only tour that hosts events exclusively for women in North America, although both women and men can compete in the PGA Tour as there are no gender requirements. However, only a handful of women have competed with men on the PGA Tour, and only one made the cut, Babe Zaharias, in 1945.

So, will more women be able to make their mark on the men’s PGA Tour in the future?

It is unlikely as men, in general, can hit the ball much further than their female counterparts as they are physically stronger and can generate substantially more power with their shots. Driving distance would be a tough hurdle for female golfers. It’s not inequality, to be realistic. On average, women tend to be smaller and not as strong as men.

In golf, the most significant impact is in shorter drives. Even if a woman has a short to medium game as good as her male counterparts, losing 6 or 8 strokes just on shorter drives, it will be difficult for her to compete against male golfers.

For example, during the 90s/early 2000s, Annika Sorenstam was regarded as the leading female golfer worldwide. She received a sponsor exemption to play in a men’s tournament (the American Colonial) in 2003. But, unfortunately, she didn’t make the cut. She finished 96th out of 111 after only two days in the tournament.

3. Men Play More On A Professional Level

Men are defiantly more likely to play on a professional level than women.

The main reason for this is the money available in the men’s professional game and the amount of Tours and tournaments in the schedule.

Several men’s pro tournaments have been established for many years. For example, the British Open is over 160 years old.

Plus, a men’s professional tour has been established on every continent worldwide. This gives a male golfer more opportunities to play if he wishes to travel.

Golf is usually played during the daylight hours (I do know of the odd floodlight competition). These numerous male tournaments also provide excellent daytime air time for TV networks. This pulls in additional sponsorship money for the male players, which can be spread amongst the players and therefore make professional tour golfs a much more promising career than women.

4. Golf Clubs Bridging The Golf Gender Gap

Do private golf clubs want to bridge the golf gender gap? Should golf clubs follow suit if organizations governing the sport are thinking and working in a lesser gender-specific manner? Many clubs are, indeed, considering the different ways to take a more unified approach to golf.

Firstly, there is the possibility of removing gender-specific tees on the golf course. One option is to designate the teeing options by color instead of men’s and ladies. Numerous clubs have already implemented this policy. Indeed, a fit and athletic 25-year-old lady can outdrive a gentleman in his 80s.

For example, Sheringham Golf Club in Norfolk was one of the first clubs in the UK to scrap separate tees for men and women. It has three sets of tees. These three colors are blue, providing the shortest overall yardage at 5,058 yards, yellow at 5,838 yards, and white at about 6,251 yards. All three sets are rated for males and females and are open for use by all players.

The idea is actually very well-liked in the USA, where many golf clubs have done away with gender-specific tees.

Other than increased inclusivity and greater choice for players, there are benefits of having multiple teeing options open to both genders.

It is an effective way of reducing focused wear to the course. Suppose all male golfers play off the yellow boxes (as at many clubs). Those teeing areas can take a beating through the season. The traffic will be divided if there are numerous tee choices, forward and back.

5. Female And Male Golfing Attire

Golfing etiquette and attire has always been a cause of contention and, to some, seen as a barrier to taking up the sport.

The more exclusive the club, the less tolerant they will be regarding the dress code, whether male or female or young or old!

For example, exclusive clubs such as The Augusta National and Cypress Point in California still expect all female players to choose to wear skirts. They must ensure that the length of the skirt is correct by reaching below the knees!

Luckily dress code has been slowly relaxed over the last few years.

The authorities have aimed this relaxation to help encourage both female and all young players, regardless of gender, into the sport. Ladies can now wear, for example, leggings and shorts, and even hoodies are allowed on some courses.

Hey! Do you want to know the best brands for women golfers? Check out this article, 5 Best Golf Brands For Women.

6. Golf As A Male-Dominated Sport

In the past, golf was traditionally seen as a male-dominated sport full of outdated traditions and tedious committees populated by aging males more concerned with their self-importance than moving the sport out of the 1890s!

Ladies, along with juniors, were pushed to the side. They were given allocated tee times and excluded from certain bars in the clubhouse. Ladies’ sections were tolerated at best and seen by some males as a hindrance. Ladies felt unwelcome, and few turned to the sport.

In recent years, golf has unquestionably entered a more modern, forward-thinking, and optimistic era. Women have now made their presence known in the golfing community.

This was, firstly, I believe, started with the emergence of the great Spanish player Seve Ballesteros. Handsome and charismatic, he soon attracted considerable female support.

He also did not have an as affluent background as many of his fellow professionals, learning the game on the beach near his home with his elder brother’s hand-down clubs!

Many males and females thought, if he can do it, so can I!

“Male players such as Nick Faldo started to break through along with ladies such as Laura Davies and Annika Sorenstam, thus giving the average woman in the street a role model to follow.”

Golf Educate

Interest quickly grew – and golf had to react. Clubs had to give more access or lose out to those that would. More participation automatically leads to a rise in the standard of play.

Ladies’ golf suddenly started to appeal to television, thus attracting greater sponsorship and leading to higher prize money, and so on.

Yes, golf is still male-dominated – but slowly, the balance is leveling out year by year.

7. Difference In Golf Clubs Between Male And Female Golfers

For sure, elite lady professionals such as Lydia Ko and the Korda sisters can use male golf clubs and perform with them to a standard both amateur male and female golfers can only dream about. But remember, they are naturally talented and super-coached professional athletes.

In general, due to the biological and physical differences in height and strength between male and female golfers, ladies are encouraged to use a set designed to suit their needs.

Ladies’ clubs have been created with lighter shafts plus slimmer and lighter grips. This makes the lightest possible combination allowing ladies to swing the club with more force and speed. Graphite shafts are also common as they further help players create speed. This swing speed transfers into ball distance.

Clubheads for women are commonly larger and lighter than the equivalent clubface in men’s golf clubs. Manufacturers successfully created larger yet lighter clubheads for female golfers by moving more weight to the perimeter using the cavity back method. Cavity-back clubs are also more forgiving; thus, poor contact with the ball is less penalized.

8. Can Men And Women Play Golf Together?

Of course, men and women can play either social or competitive golf together at the amateur level. The handicap system allows it. But some on both sides don’t like it, more often on the male side of the gender battle!

Women often feel overwhelmed when their male partners start crushing long drives and marching off down the fairways to play their second shot 50 yards in front of them.

With males, ego comes into play when men realize that women can play just as well, especially when putting! That is enough to drive them up the wall!

When playing a round of golf that leaves a player’s abilities so naked, as the story suggests, men don’t seem to love the idea of women being right there with them, watching them throw their temper tantrums and exposing their weaknesses – not to mention outplaying them with just as much, if not less, effort.

“I have played in several mixed competitions and thoroughly enjoyed it and, at times, learned from my female partners.”

Golf Educate

At the professional level, this has been less so. The men’s and ladies’ competitions are being played over a similar timeline across the world, thus making participation difficult on a regular base.

As mentioned above, a few ladies, the most famous being Annika Sorenstam have been invited to play in men’s tournaments, but with little success.

Until 2022, the European/DP World tour hosted the Scandinavian Mixed Open, which Linn Grant won. This event, I believe, is to become a fixture on that tour.

As yet, to my knowledge, no male golfer has shown any interest in entering a female tournament.

9. The Gender Pay Gap In Golf

The pay gap between men and women in golf is far from over. This fact is one of the main reasons golf is divided by gender, like tennis.

According to Golf Support, the prize money difference between male and female athletes currently stands at about 83% in professional golf. Therefore, if a male and female golf player both win a tournament, the male player will earn approximately six times more than the female player.

See also: How Much Golf Players Make.

It is shocking to see the difference in prize money between women and men golfers. For example, in the top three of golf’s traditional Majors played separately on the male and female tours (The British Open, US Open, and PGA Championship), men’s first-place prizes are more than $1m higher than their female counterparts.

Read more: Why Are Golf Players Paid So Much?

Fortunately, female golfers who are serial winners are among the highest earners in elite female sports, yet they are still well behind their male counterparts in the prize money won at Majors. For example, the differences in prize money between the 2021 US Open, which was $2.25m for the male winner and $1m for the female champion, is significant.

The gap has increased from $900,000 in 2014 to $1.25m in 2021.

The problem lies with the journeyman/woman professional. Making a series of cuts – remember, a male or female golfer only gets paid if they make the cut – can usually lead to a male professional having a very profitable season. But due to the difference in pay, this sometimes cannot be said to be true for a female professional.

Once travel, accommodation, coach, and caddie have been paid, the golfer herself can sometimes have very little left. And many soon decide that finding a ‘proper job’ and returning to the amateur ranks is a safer long-term option.

Let’s Wrap This Up!

Golf is a sport that has been around for centuries and has been very male-dominated.

Yet slowly, especially over the last 25 years, the walls have been broken down, but there is still a long way to go before equality is achieved, and golf, for the most part, remains divided by gender.