March 1st officially tees off Women’s History Month - a month long celebration of the (often over-looked...) accomplishments of women in U.S. history. While we celebrate as American women all month long, we also join our sisters around the globe on March 8th for International Women’s Day. This day is not just for recognizing all the things women have done socially, politically, and economically - it is also a call to action. Every year the International Women’s Day (IWD) committee comes up with a campaign theme that encourages support for women’s equality. The theme for this year is #BreakTheBias.

On Saturday February 5th, Mark Lye was hosting “The Scorecard” on SiriusXM’s PGA Tour Radio when the LPGA was brought up.

“You know, the LPGA Tour to me is a completely different tour than it was 10 years ago…You couldn’t pay me to watch. You really couldn’t. Because I just, I couldn’t relate at all. It’s kind of like, you know, if you’re a basketball player — and I’m not trashing anybody; please, don’t take it the wrong way — but I saw some highlights of ladies’ basketball. Man, is there a gun in the house? I’ll shoot myself than watch that.”

His comments made their way to Twitter and the former pro was fighting for his life in the replies trying to defend himself, unsuccessfully. He was fired almost instantly and that episode of “The Scorecard” is no longer available on the SiriusXM website.

In February 2021, almost exactly a year before, the LPGA was facing a different kind of attention on Twitter. Former New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, had been a guest on Steve Bannon’s podcast where he recalled a time playing in a charity pro-am with Michelle Wie West. He talked inappropriately about how he could see her underwear. She responded saying “what should be discussed is the elite skill level that women play at, not what we wear or look like.”

These are not isolated incidents. Comments like these (and sometimes worse) are made to female athletes every single day on social media. This summer Golf Digest released an eye-opening article featuring anecdotes from some of the biggest names in golf, including female reporters. Kira Dixon, Amanda Balionis, Hally Leadbetter, and more shared stories of the toxicity and negativity they endure online everyday, just for doing their jobs.

So if these women who have already made it - athletes who have reached the “professional” tier and reporters who are considered the best in the business - receive these comments so publicly, what do you think reading these comments does to women who are just starting out?

On January 15th, the Korn Ferry Tour posted a promotional video of Akshay Bhatia and his caddie, who also happens to be his girlfriend, prior to the start of the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic. The entire point of the video was to show what it’s like trying to make it on the Korn Ferry Tour. The goal was to emphasize how different it is from what we see on the PGA Tour and highlight a cute story of how the pair met. In the video Bhatia’s caddie-girlfriend, Presleigh Schultz says, “I don’t know anything about golf and now I’m caddying for him.”

The replies were filled with sexist and inappropriate comments. People were questioning her ability to caddie, degrading her appearance, calling her a “gold digger” and trying to invalidate their entire relationship. Others were just dumbfounded by the decision, wondering why this girl would want to be out there as a caddy if she doesn’t even know golf - despite the fact that they are in a relationship.

Well, four days later Bhatia won the tournament and seemingly silenced all the nay-sayers. But it didn’t erase the hurtful comments. It didn’t stop people like me - someone who likes to caddy for my husband when he plays, despite never having played a full formal round of golf myself - from reading those comments saying she didn’t belong there and she wasn’t qualified.

I grew up surrounded by golf. I’ve written previously about my history with The Masters tournament and it being my introduction to the sport. I even have a tattoo of The Masters logo on my wrist. People see the tattoo and assume that I play. Actually, they assume for someone as passionate and knowledgeable as I am, that I must play well.

I hate to break it to ‘ya, but I stink. I actually have never played a full 18 holes of golf before. I’ve been to the driving range. I’ve played nine. I’ve been to my fair share of putt-putt dates and Top Golf outings, but I’ve never played a full round of golf before. And truly, it is for the best because I am not very good.

I shouldn’t have to be, though. Despite my lack of playing ability, my off-the-course knowledge could still rival many regular golfers. My husband plays golf almost every weekend in the spring and summer. He watches most tournaments on Saturday and Sunday and we have attended several tournaments together. But he couldn’t tell you a single thing about what’s happening with Phil and the Saudi Super Golf League right now. When Phil shows up to his next tournament with no sponsors or if he continues to skip events he normally plays in, most “casual” golf fans will be confused. But not me, because I’ve been reading about it (and tweeting about it…) for days. I choose to make up for my lack of skill on the course by learning as much as I can about the game, the players and everything that happens off the course.

There are already so many barriers for women who want to actually play golf. The differences in dress codes from course-to-course (and the double standards in dress codes for men and women), the difficulty in finding or purchasing female-specific-equipment, education and instruction, etc. If it’s that hard for women who actually play to break-into the game and get respect, how much harder is it going to be for someone like me who doesn’t really play but is still very knowledgeable?

I see comments made by Mark Lye who said he would rather put a gun to his head than watch women play sports and I think, maybe I should never learn to play. I hear negative comments made by Rudy Giuliani about a woman’s clothing rather than focusing on her skill and expertise, and it makes me worry that I’ll be judged if I show up to the course in the wrong thing. I read comments on Twitter judging the girlfriend of a pro golfer for being his caddy despite never having played golf herself, and it makes me feel like my voice as a golf writer doesn’t matter.

According to the National Golf Foundation, there were 60 million more rounds of golf played in 2020 than 2019. That number includes several months of the year where courses were temporarily closed due to COVID-19 restrictions. There were also 450,000 more female golfers than the previous year. Women had such a big impact on the growth of the game that it even impacted fashion trends. “Golfcore” as it’s called is the new trendy style of classic-meets-preppy - polos, pleated skirts, crewneck sweatshirts, bucket hats. (Think, Princess Diana vibes.)

Clearly women are doing something right by the game of golf, but there is still a desperate need for a change in the way we view, think and talk about women in and around this sport. Thankfully there are a lot of women stepping up and taking measures to do that already.

Former LPGA pros Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott are co-founders of a groundbreaking golf school called Vision54 in Scottsdale, Arizona. They teach golf technique, sure, but they also highlight the importance of human skills and even created a program that specifically addresses how to handle social media pressure. USGA’s Abby Liebenthal is the founder of Fore the Ladies - a community striving to make golf more accessible and approachable to women, judgement free. There’s also Grueter Golf, a similar organization whose mission is to break down the barriers that stand in the way of entering the golf game. LPGA pro Cheyenne Woods is the co-host of a podcast called Birdies Not BS where she often speaks out against the gender double standards in golf.

It’s time to #BreakTheBias toward women in golf. Stop expecting women to dress or look a certain way when they play. Stop setting a standard that women are only allowed to play if they’re good. Stop expecting women to play just because they’re knowledgeable. Let golf just be golf. Let the game be what it is and let us love it for what it means to us.

The girls that get it, get it. And the girls that don’t…are still welcome to join. ✨