COLORADO: THE STATE OF WOMEN’S GOLF

Alice Plain was 5 years old when her dad introduced her to golf. She spent her summers on the greens and fell in love with the sport and the challenges it provided.

Barriers still present, but FUTURE is bright

By Kaylee Harter

There weren’t many girls who golfed, so she became good friends with the guys at her home course. “It was great,” Plain says. But when she got to high school, there was no women’s team. She tried out for the men’s team and was good enough to play, but wasn’t allowed on the team.

College wasn’t much different at first. She qualified for the men’s team at Hanover College, but the coach was still reluctant to have her join. With her male teammates in her corner, she went to the president of the school to “plead her case” and the president agreed to let her play.

“I’m very competitive, and I wanted to beat as many of the guys as I could…I loved all the guys that I played with. They were super supportive, and I think those lessons of competing with the boys really has been a huge platform and a starting point for me being in a very male-dominated industry,” she says.

She transferred to Oklahoma State where she went on to be part of the women’s team that finished third in the 1989 National Championship. Now, Plain has been in the PGA for more than 25 years and is director of the Vail Golf Club — a job she says competed against men to land.

Access to golf for women has drastically improved since Plain was denied from her high school team. Women now account for one in four on-course golfers, and more than one in three junior golfers are girls, according to the National Golf Foundation. More than 6 million female non-golfers say they’re very interested in playing golf on a course.

So as participation in golf by both men and women has boomed in Colorado since 2020, longtime women golfers say that women trying out the game for the first time need to be ready to be persistent, but that the rewards are worth it.

Barriers Have Always Been There

Plain said golf’s reputation for many years was clear: “It’s been known as a white man’s sport for like 100 years,” Plain says. “That in itself is intimidating.”

M’lis Ward of Denver is many things – she played basketball at USC, joined the Air Force, became a pilot, trained other Air Force pilots, and then an airline pilot. She is Black and identifies as gay, and says that as she sought a new game after basketball, she turned to golf despite its traditional reputation of exclusivity.

“There are some out there, but there are very few (clubs) that accept either women or people of color or the LGBTQ community. I mean, we’re just automatically excluded,” Ward says.

Only about 21 percent of all golfers are nonwhite, and 25 percent of female golfers are nonwhite, according to the National Golf Foundation.

Columbine Country Club south of Denver is a rare country club. In 2021 it had two women on its board of directors, according to the club’s publicly-available IRS tax returns. Few other clubs in Colorado have any.

One of Columbine’s board members, Jill Schafer, is in the middle of a four-year term. She said she has felt lucky because the membership at Columbine made the decision that they wanted different voices to be heard in guiding club operations.

“Unfortunately, most clubs are private, so it really, really stems from who you have there and what their goals are for their club and for their membership,” Schafer said. “I’m just thankful that Columbine has thought about things and is moving to have a more inclusive environment for all people there.”

Schafer says the club was welcoming. “You always hear the stigma of country clubs. ‘Oh, they’re just for the men, they don’t want to do anything for the youth or for women.’ I’ve never felt that way at Columbine.”

Cathy Matthews Kane, president of the Colorado PGA, says she aims to grow the game through programming supporting junior and adult development programs.

“It’s not limited to women. It’s growing the game for everyone. And I would say in my role, I just want women to see that you too can be successful in golf,” Kane says.

The Vail Golf Club hosts a two-day women’s beginner class as well as a weekly women’s clinic called “ladies’ lessons and libations” in efforts to increase access to the game for women, Plain says. Courses throughout the state now offer lessons, leagues and events geared for women.

“It’s really important for everyone to recognize that women have money to spend and they want to spend their money,” Plain says. “Get your women members’ input.”

As she began playing, Ward turned to the region’s armada of strong public courses, and to her friends. She started an informal league called City Chicks that she estimates has between 50 and 60 members with handicaps ranging from 0 to 22. There are no officers, fees or bylaws — and no drama, Ward says.

“It really is refreshing to just go play golf… and just have a great time with everybody because … we’re not all the same,” Ward says. “There are political differences in that group. There’s gay, straight, young, old. It’s probably one of the most diverse groups in the city.”

Ward also coached a high school team, where she says she drew more girls to experiences in golf as well as golf-centric education, STEM and art activities. onto the historic grounds of Cherry Hills Country Club to watch the in the world compete to win the coveted Havemeyer Trophy.

LEssons from One of the Greatest Golfers of The 20th Century: The Unbreakable Babe Didrikson Zaharias

By Lauren Veldhuizen

Registered kids 17 and under are free. from our community supporters, First Tee Colorado chapters, Foundation, and Evans Scholars will be on-site to provide more youth golf programs, jobs in golf, and scholarship opportunities for students working in golf-related jobs.

The Junior Experience will open daily Monday, August 14 – Sunday, August 20

A three-time All-American basketball player and national champion.

Bill Russell?

Nope.

A track and field national champion, four-time world record breaker, and three-time Olympic track and field medalist.

Jim Thorpe?

Still no.

A founder of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, an 82-time amateur and professional golf tournament champion, a three-time U.S. Women’s Open golf title holder, and the first American woman to win the British Women’s Open?

Amateur Junior Experience Community Supporters

That would be Mildred “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias – one of the 20th Century’s greatest athletes and a person whose legacy is claimed by many states. Born in Texas, she lived for a time and owned a golf course in Florida. But she married a Colorado man, and Lakewood Country Club is where she perfected her craft. She is in the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, and it is here that she returned time and again after all her many victories.

Babe Zaharias is considered one of the greatest – if not the greatest – female athletes of the 20th century. In a list curated by ESPN of the greatest athletes of all time – men or women - Babe ranks No. 10, and is the highest-ranking female athlete on the list.

Amateur Championship

123RD U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

Babe was born on June 26, 1911, in Beaumont, Texas, to Norwegian immigrant parents. Her given-name was Mildred Didrikson, but she earned the nickname “Babe” for her natural ability to hit home runs reminiscent of baseball legend Babe Ruth.

AT CHERRY HILLS COUNTRY CLUB

JUNIOR EXPERIENCE AT CHERRY HILLS COUNTRY CLUB for youth where kids can choose from several handsas golf-centric education, STEM and art activities. grounds of Cherry Hills Country Club to watch the compete to win the coveted Havemeyer Trophy.

Enjoy this exciting community event for youth where kids can choose from several handson learning experiences in golf as well as golf-centric education, STEM and art activities. Next venture out onto the historic grounds of Cherry Hills Country Club to watch the greatest amateurs in the world compete to win the coveted Havemeyer Trophy.

While Babe was one of the most accomplished athletes of the 20th century, her real love was the game of golf. Before becoming a golfing legend, Babe immortalized herself as an unbeatable force of athletic prowess through other sports, but golf revealed not only the quality of player she was but the quality of character she possessed.

As she pursued golf, she learned many things that apply both on and off the golf course: kids 17 and under are free. community supporters, First Tee Colorado chapters, and Evans Scholars will be on-site to provide more programs, jobs in golf, and scholarship opportunities for working in golf-related jobs.

Registered kids 17 and under are free.

The game of golf is difficult. It requires a strong body and a sharp mind, both of which Babe championed. She trained physically and prepared mentally. She said, “I’d drill and drill and drill on the different kinds of shots. I’d hit balls until my hands were bloody and sore.” Babe would spend 12 hours on the golf course to perfect a single chip shot or stare in the mirror at her grip until it was satisfactory. Her discipline was relentless, a quality rewarded in both golf and life.