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LADY GOLFERS - We Could Not Do Without Them
Two blondes were playing on a foggy day on a par three hole. You could barely see the flag or green. When they got to the green they found one ball three feet from the hole and the other in the hole. They tried to figure out which ball was in the hole because they were both playing Titlest no.3's. Unable to figure it out they decided to go to the Pro Shop and ask the Pro. Upon hearing their stories, he congratulated them on their fine shots, and then asked, "Who was playing the yellow ball?"
I don't know why they are always depicting blondes as being dumb. I was engaged to one many years ago. She was the one I sold my golf clubs to get enough money to buy her an engagement ring, and a year later I got the ring back and sold it in order to buy another set of golf clubs. Come to think of it, she couldn't have been too bright to allow herself to get engaged to me.
Ladies golf has come a long way since I started in this business. In fact you might even say that they have had their own Civil Rights movement. For many years many of the Private Clubs had restricted hours of play for ladies This was changed when the pressure was put on the husbands.
During the period I was pro at a military base, we were very busy, and The Board decided to restrict the hours of play for the ladies. When the sign was being put up depicting the hours of play for the ladies, a woman was standing in the pro shop reading the sign. She said, "I think I will have to talk to my husband about this." The sign came down the next day. Her husband was "The General."
Two men were being held up by a couple of ladies on day. The one man asked his playing partner to go up and ask the ladies if they could play through. As he neared the ladies he turned around and came back. He said, "You talk to them. That is my wife and my mistress." The other fellow started up towards the ladies and he turned around and came back. When he arrived, he said, "Coincidence."
Over the years I have taught, literally, thousands of ladies, both young and old. Those, who were dedicated to becoming really good golfers, succeeded, but the majority were content with just being able to play the game for enjoyment. What is puzzling to me, is the fact that the LPGA tournament field has now become predominately Asian and foreign. The facilities available in this country are a thousand times more available here than those in other countries. Maybe we just have too many other interests for young ladies that do not require hard work.
Ladies organizations at clubs are very important. They create a considerable amount of activity within their clubs, but additionally they become very involved in charity activities. Men and women mixed golfing tournaments are usually among the more enjoyable events each year.
In the past, Pro Shops carried inventories mainly consisting of golf clubs, balls and possibly some socks and caps for men. Today the competition from the large golf stores has made the majority of Clubs to feature more clothing than golf clubs.
My wife and I started a little ladies shop at a Club I owned, and within a couple of years we were supplying all of the ladies clothing for 25 other clubs in two states. We did this for 17 years. At times I would have a LPGA pro travel with me to various clubs where we would have a luncheon, display new fashions, and have a golf clinic.
For 6 years I did a weekly 30 minute TV show. During this same period I was
teaching golf at a predominately all girl college. There were many times that local clothing stores would use some of these girls as models dressed in golfing attire and I would teach them during the show.
What prompted me to writing this article, or whatever you want to call it, was that today at the Club a lady came up to me and told me that I had given her golf lessons when she was only 13 in another state. I was flattered that I was still recognizable. but in going back to the period of time when she took those lesson many of you were not even a gleam in your father's eye.
"Golf is not a particularly natural game. Like sword swallowing, it has to be learned."