Not the Ladies’ Tees: How Gendered Practices and Language in the Golf Industry in Ontario Impact Women’s Engagement

In sporting industries, including the golf industry, there is a long-standing history of gendered\npractices events, exclusion, and “typical ‘ expectations” (Breger et al. 2019 p. 274 These practices\nare evident in golf through gendered language, gendered dress code, gendered history, gendered leagues, and\ngendered tee blocks. Specific gendered practices within the golf industry, such as gendered language,\ncontribute to participants’ experiences in important ways. Through gendered language such as “cart girl,”\nand “lady golfer,” the golf industry is perpetuating gendered ideals, and through a gendered dress\ncode and gender marked tee blocks, the industry is propagating ideas about women’s ability levels in the\nsport.\n\nWomen’s professional golf is a topic of increasing academic concentration (Bowes Kitching,\n2020a), but there is a gap in research regarding how gendered language and practices impact women in the\nindustry. Golf is historically referred to as a “gentleman’s game” (Billings et al., 2018 p. 97) and has been\nhistorically exclusionary to women (Bowes et al., 2020a). Golf participation rates are also lower for women\nthan for men, ( Snelgrove, Wood, 2015 and women often leave the sport due to the experiences\nthey have through their involvement. Augusta National Golf Club, one of golf’s most distinguished golf clubs\n(Swart et al. 2003 where the Master’s Tournament takes place, did not allow female members to join as\nmembers until 2012. When they finally allowed their first two female members, it was a great win for\nwomen’s golf (Andrews 2012 p. 2) and allowing for more equitable participation in the industry.\nIn addition, there is a history of policies that discriminate against women in golf, and often the\nexperiences women have as a result of these exclusionary policies impacts their participation and comfort in\nparticipating. Often, the policies can also limit their involvement in the sport or impact retention and lead to\nmore women leaving the sport. Largely, little research exists on women’s experience as participants in the\nsport (Mitchell et al., 2016). In recent years, diversity and women’s golf initiatives have been prominent in Ontario and the rest of Canada. In 2020, the PGA of Canada created a Diversity Inclusion Task Force with\nindustry professionals to allow underrepresented populations the chance to participate in golf (PGA of\nOntario, 2020). Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada launched a Women in Coaching program (Golf\nCanada, 2020), and Golf Canada and Golf Ontario have recently launched a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion\nStrategic Alliance with Korn Ferry (Golf Ontario, 2020). These initiatives bring together diverse and\nunderrepresented voices to contribute to diversity and inclusion in the golf industry and are significant in\nallowing various populations to experience the sport. However, more research is needed in the area of\nwomen in golf to accurately understand women’s experiences.\n\nResearch concerning women in golf is fundamental as Canadian women continue to gain\nemployment in the golf industry and increasingly play the sport. Women also have increasingly busy work and\nhome lives, and “fewer are maintaining lifelong roles as engaged sport participants” (O’Reilly et al., 2018 p.\n16). The trouble goes beyond the sphere of sports participation. Oftentimes, golf is in fact used to host\ninformal business meetings, and when women miss out on participating in these types of opportunities, it can\nimpact their career advancement. It is also well known that golf provides opportunity to men to socialize and\nstrengthen networking, but it does not always have the same social benefit for women (Agarwal et al. 2016\nThis research aims to fill the gap in the literature surrounding women’s experience in the golf industry,\nincluding gendered roles and the assumptions women face. This thesis in particular, aims to gain insight into\nthe gendered practices in golf from an insider’s perspective and raise awareness of how gendered practices\naffect women in the golf industry. Interviews with 10 female golfers who work in the industry were\nconducted with the aim of understanding how gendered practices in golf have impacted women in Ontario.\nThis research contributes to the areas of sport sociology, gender studies, and communications studies with\nregard to sports and gender.

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