Why at 65 this female golfer now hits from the back (er “men’s”) tees
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By Davi-Ellen Chabner
Why would I — a 65-year-old woman, a 23-handicap golfer — now be hitting from the blue tees (aka the back tees) — aka the men’s tees? Why not stick with the red tees, the women’s tees, a safer (and my designated) spot?
Since I started playing golf more than 30 years ago and experienced the thrill of hitting a long drive, this symbol of paternalism in sports has bothered me.
There is no standard when it comes to the distances between forward and back tees so some courses may offer a player hitting from the forward tees a substantial break — or merely a few yards. I resented the designation of “ladies tees” because it implies that women need this advantage because ANY woman could not hit as far as ANY man.
Most women don’t see the designation as a put-down, but I can’t help feeling that it absolutely is! Here’s why: For years, I hit from the reds and if I out-scored a male hitting from the blues the tee difference was used to diminish my score. A typical comment: “Well, you really can’t compare a score from the reds with one from blues.”
I often find that women of any age believe that they need the advantage to score well and don’t want to “risk” hitting from the back tees. It IS daunting to stand on the first tee at the blues. You are very afraid of screwing up and proving “them” right, providing fodder for the belief that you shouldn’t really be there. But then, isn’t it true that ANY time a woman has tried to break the gender barrier by changing an accepted norm (becoming a doctor, lawyer, construction worker, firefighter), she has felt unwanted and accused of “trying to be like a boy?” Even wearing pants or playing ball in school during the 1950s was a radical act for a girl!
To make matters worse, of course, the red tees have a profound negative stigma for men. You almost never seen a beginner or older man hit from the reds (even if their playing level suggests that they should). A male would no sooner step up to that tee than have a sex change.
In fact, at my club they just added GREEN tees a few feet behind the reds just for older men who could no longer manage the blues — but didn’t want to step foot on the reds!
Sisters — or any age — JUST DO IT!! Play from the back tees. It is uplifting. Experience the thrill of hitting from another perspective. Do it for your daughters, nieces, and granddaughters, so THEY will feel comfortable hitting from wherever they wish! This is what we fought for in the 1960s, the CHOICE to try. Play the blues and take (some) sexism out of golf!
The only female in a men's golf tournament, Chabner helps her team to first place
Davi-Ellen Chabner is an avid golfer, photographer, instructor of medical terminology and author of 3 books: The Language of Medicine, 9th edition, Medical Terminology: A Short Course, 5th edition, and Medical Language Instant Translator, 4th edition. She has run 9 Boston Marathons and 1 New York Marathon in the past 9 years. She mentors in an after-school program for inner city girls (Mellon Academy of Goodwill Industries) and is on the board of The Boston Conservatory and Friends of the MGH Cancer Center. She is perhaps best known as grandmother to Bebe, Solomon, Ben, Gus, and Louisa Rose.
View Original Post at fairgamenews.com
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- Filed Under:
- Golf, Sports, SportsPLUS, Sexism
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Mariahbn
Cool. Go Davi-Ellen. As a 53-year-old golfer with a long drive, I've asked myself: What tees make the most sense for me? Sometimes I play from the back tees. But usually I play with women - and they play from the red tees, because, in a well designed course (and many are not), the red tees calculate a reasonable par, given the average distance achieved by a good amateur woman. I don't really care how my scores compare to men; I compete against women, or myself. And I wouldn't want to choose tees based on what men might think. (I try not to play golf with sexist men!) But it's good to get out of one's comfort zone, and I'm delighted that Davi-Ellen is doing that, and shaking things up! www.BeyondWorkouts.com
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 8:08pm EST