A Female Perspective on the Home of Golf
If you were wondering what the fireworks were a couple of weekends ago, and why all your friends had spotted the likes of Piers Morgan and Kevin Pietersen around, look no further than, of course, the number one reason St Andrews gets active: golf!
I have to admit, rather embarrassingly, that it has taken me until my fourth year at St Andrews to have a go on the golf course, and even then it was only the Balgove, described in a recent Google review as a “small nine hole course for families and beginners.”
I’m clearly far from getting on the Old Course myself, but it made me wonder what it’s actually like to be a female golfer in the “Home of Golf”. After all, the Dunhill seemed swarmed by male and female viewers alike.
We live and study in a place that many golfers have on their bucket list, but how many female students truly feel at home with golf?
An Excuse to Hang Out
Abbey, from the Northeast US, does golf as a hobby and enjoys playing with new and old friends alike, calling it a way to get closer to people and spend quality time. She adds that, “it is nice to have a physical activity as a potential social activity rather than just going for coffee.”
She notes it is also cheaper to play here than at home in the US, and that a round on the Balgove, especially in the low season, is under a fiver, making it an inexpensive and active way to see your friends.
A Competitive Culture
Clara, the Women’s Vice-President of the Golf Club, has played since she was six, when her dad first took her for some lessons. She was often one of the only girls in her group, which could be daunting, but she kept going because she loved the competitive nature of the sport.
St Andrews naturally topped her university list, since it combined top-level golf with high-ranking academia. Now she plays three or four times a week and has played all eight St Andrews courses “many, many times.”
She even worked at the Dunhill as a scoreboard carrier, and appreciated seeing female amateurs playing in the groups she followed. Like Abbey, she finds the social side of golf to be its best feature, including fixtures against other clubs, endless chats on the course, and undoubtedly the 19th hole afterwards (a typically boozy excursion at the end of a round). She has made plenty of golf friends during her time here, many of whom are female, which she says would have been much harder at other universities.
A Big Year for Women in Golf
It is a landmark time to be a female golfer in St Andrews. Claire Dowling is the first woman to captain the R&A since the club was founded in 1754, and she began her term with the traditional driving-in ceremony on the first tee of the Old Course. It follows a history of exclusion: the R&A only opened its membership to women in 2015.
Clara is glad to see how much has changed, though she thinks that many more women could still play. The issue stems from the idea that golf is not a typical sport for young women. Many girls only try it at a young age if someone in their family already plays.
So How Do You Get Involved?
According to @ustagolf’s Instagram, the society has plenty on offer for female golfers. Whether you are a beginner or advanced, there are social matches against other universities and golf tours around the Highlands. Clara says the university also runs group lessons for women, and the women’s side of the club hosts regular socials.
Together with a friend, she is also helping set up a Scottish Women’s University League, with non-competitive events and opportunities to attend panels with women in the sport. Her wish is for more formal competitions for women with different handicap levels, which she thinks would help more women want to play and give them the opportunity to improve.
Clara also says that golf can provide career networking opportunities as well as being a brilliant tool for mental health: you’re outdoors, you’re walking, and it’s the perfect study break.
So then, if this sounds like something for you, it might be time to buy some clubs.
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