Why Women Give Up Golf – How Can a Woman Stay Involved?
Why do women give up golf? It’s an unfortunate statistic that women golfers give up the the game of golf at a much higher percentage than make golfers. There are countless reasons–probably as many reasons as there are former female golfers, but there are some common themes I’ve noticed.
The only way to improve at golf is to practice and play a lot. I was fortunate when I began playing golf to find a friend who loved the game as much as I did. She was willing and eager to play as much as I wanted—which was a lot! Many times women are not that lucky when they are starting out and they are not likely to go out to a course and be put with a group they do not know or to go by themselves. So if they do not have a friend or significant other to play with, they won’t play. And if you don’t play, you can’t get better so that you will be comfortable playing with strangers-which, unlike many other sports, is quite common in the game of golf. All this adds up to one of the reasons why women give up golf.
Even after playing for a while, many women still prefer to only play with people they know. Many times someone will call the course for a tee time for two and request they be permitted to play alone. The course will try to honor this request during times that are not too busy. However, most golfers want to play in the morning, so most golf courses will try to put out mostly foursomes at that time. If you wish to play as a twosome, it is best to play in the afternoon or evening. That way you can become more comfortable with your game and by extension more comfortable playing with strangers for future visits to the course.
All golf courses that I’m familiar with will put a single golfer with a group to make a foursome if they are able to do so. Since I play fairly well (but still hit my share of really bad shots), I enjoy calling the public golf courses and having them put me with a group. I’ve met so many wonderful people that I never would have had an opportunity to otherwise. So instead of looking at it as a disadvantage, try to turn these times into positive experiences and who knows-you may find other women golfers or even men in the same boat! With a little more practice you won’t find yourself one of the statistics causing people to wonder why women give up golf!
