My 11-year old daughter and I recently watched the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Tourney from start to finish. I don’t believe we’ve ever shared
the same interest and enthusiasm in a sporting event. The moment brought us a gamut of emotions – anticipation, disappointment, excitement. Then it hit me – what a
fantastic activity that both a mother and daughter can share quality time together…for the next 50 years!
That evening I broke out the laptop and wanted to learn more about women’s golf. With a little research I found the popularity of women’s golf (as expected) continues to
grow each year. According to a recent National Golf Foundation report, approximately 5.8 million of us lady golfers swing the club. I thought it might be more of a recent
phenomenon, but actually women have had a long history with golf dating back to the 16th Century. In fact, Mary, Queen of Scots during her reign 1542 – 1567, was known
to play a few rounds and is believed to have coined the phrase “Caddie”.
Fast forward 150 years and the first recorded women’s golf tourney was played on January 9th, 1811 in (where else) Scotland. In 1867 the first women’s golf club was
formed, The Ladies Club of St Andrews. Eventually, the idea carried over the Atlantic and the first women’s golf club in the United States started in New York, 1891 at the
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Just three years later the first US women’s golf tournament was held (1894) in Morristown, New Jersey.
By 1893, one of the leading female golfers was Issette Miller, who helped influence the game. Miller was credited for inventing the first golf handicap system. By 1917, the
US Women’s Tournament Committee was formed. One of the first women to become a professional was Helen Hicks in 1934. Hicks won two major tournaments (both on
the LPGA Tour) the 1937 Women’s Western Open, and the 1940 Titleholders Championship. Patty Berg was another female phenom golfer of the era, winning several major
tournaments and becoming the first female golfer to have her own brand of golf clubs through Wilson Sporting Goods. In 1946 Berg became the first champion of the US
women’s Open at Spokane Country Club in Seattle.
With the LPGA starting in 1950, women’s golf flourished. By 1952 the LPGA grew its number of tournaments to twenty-one. The money quickly followed, and by 1976, Judy Rankin
became the first lady golfer to earn over $100,000.00 in a single season. By 1979 the Tour prize money reached a staggering $4.4 million.
By the 1990’s there was substantial growth with development programs to help inspire women’s participation in golf. In 1991 the LPGA Foundation was created to promote the
growth of golf to young girls, and to support junior golf providing clinics and scholarships.
During this millennium, women golfers seem to be getting younger like the talented Michelle Wie, who in 2000, at the age of 10, qualified for the USGA Amateur! A few years
later, at the age of 13, she won the USGA US Women’s Amateur Championship. But wait, a year later she became the youngest golfer to qualify for an LPGA event at the
Kraft Nabisco Championship.
Now, I’m not expecting my daughter to be the next Michelle Wie, I’m just encouraged that she’s genuinely interested in a wonderful sporting activity that a mother and daughter
can share quality time together. I guess I love the idea of bridging family time with a sport activity. Who doesn’t want to get out and be active, participate in a sport and share life
stories with those they care most about. I can’t imagine a better activity than golf to accomplish this.