Golf for Women

As with most sports, women were discouraged (and sometimes banned) from playing golf up until the 19th century. Still, it wasn’t until the 20th century that women were able to play the game professionally. A little-known pioneer for women’s golfing was Mary, Queen of Scots. In the 1550s, she commissioned the building of the golf course at St. Andrews and is even credited with coining the term “caddies.” Following her reign, very few records of women golfers exist. Many Scottish and English noblemen decried women’s golf was “unsuitable” or even vulgar. After over two centuries of being excluded from the game, women golfers took charge of history in the 1800s. The first known women’s golf tournament was held in 1811 at the Musselburgh Golf Club in Scotland. In 1867, the prestigious club at St. Andrews opened the first women’s golf organization, The Ladies Club. In the late 1800s, Isette Pearson Miller created one of the first golf handicapping systems, giving rise to the women’s tee. In 1894, the first women’s tournament was held in the United States, over a quarter of a century before women earned voting rights in the country. After WWII, women’s golf boomed in America. In 1950, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) was formed. In 1978, Nancy Lopez became the first female golfer to win “Rookie of the Year” and “Player of the Year” honors in one season. In 1996, Karrie Webb became the first LPGA golfer to earn one million dollars in a single season. Today, the LPGA and women’s golfing continues to be respected and popular. Thanks to Mary, Queen of Scots, Isette Pearson Miller, Nancy Lopez and other women who worked to earn females a right to play, the LPGA and other women’s golfing organizations continue to inspire young women.