Women and the Green

What do you ponder when you. think about golf? Most people picture a group of wealthy businessmen exchanging murmurs on the green and talking shop. 

When I play golf it’s a different scene. Four women, crushing drives, laughing, drinking seltzers, and listening to music. 

The golf stereotype is the epitome of the relentless drive towards a never-ending lack of gender equality in the world. Now many chose to sit and dwell in the sanctity of darkness within this topic, I chose to fight back at it. 

Drive further than the men, have more fun than the men, win more money than the men, then shake their hand at the end and have a beer with them. 

Why in the depths of societies’ failures do we need to accept depressing matters in a depressing manner? My glass has always been half full, which I am appreciative of, my outlook on the world is that of the hopeful spirit and less of the dweller. I am however acutely aware of the lack of inclusion for women in the vast if not the majority of arenas: sports, finance, business and so on. Every sport I have ever played in, the boys team was more important, but what mattered the most to me was the inclusion and accessibility of those that wanted to play the sport. If women include women why scowl at the dugout on the boys team, when we have our own glorious corner, with much cuter outfits and more angst than 100 teenage boys. 

The theme of adversity seemed to journey into adulthood when you realize not only are the sports not equal, but neither are the jobs, payroll, household roles, finances…the list is intimidating at least. In Mandela’s words, “Freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression.” Yet, still in 2022 we are bounded by our creation. But this does not falter me, it made me fight harder, work harder, and become more confident. 

When I first learned to play golf, I felt strange doing so, it was one of the only sports I had left untouched due to the male domination, and quite frankly it looked kind of boring to me. Little did I know that the empowerment I found from swinging the club, and getting those amazing moments made everyone else on the course invisible. It was for me and my enjoyment. Now don’t get me wrong, there were moments in this learning process when the sheer pressure of having to drive off the first tee in front of men with single digit handicaps had me shaking in my golf skirt, but what is a challenge without fear, and what is overcoming fear without a true challenge? 

TeeMates became this character for me. An unachievable, male dominated industry, of Sports tech. Maybe that is why I was so determined to take a giant bite out of it. To pull myself up on the bar to where they could look straight at me, eye level, and to where I could climb onto their levels of minted green. Either way, I was getting it done. I was going to start creating a sports app empire and no one was stopping me. So, I dug and dug, head down until I got somewhere. This is when the challenge of the most slopped green hit me in the face. As my little golf tech baby grew, I needed money, money to keep it going, to grow it, to keep up with the small beast it was becoming. I pitched and pitched and pitched, knowing that my self-funding days were running low. Suddenly, the number 2 was thrown in my face (and not in the good Eagle way), but in the statistic way. Less than 2% of Venture funds went to female founded businesses (Hinchliffe, n.d.). I couldn’t believe the number and it made me want to start puffing on Daly’s smokes immediately. How could this be, I thought? 

I had always made my own way financially, yet now you’re telling me I’m a less than 2% statistic. Because I’m a smart, hustling entrepreneur? So again, as I thought back to my own favorite life lesson, I will not dwell in the lack of female green for the love of the greens, I will fight my way to that damn ace and make them throw that money at me. This is what I did. I started Girl’s golf events, I called everyone, posted everything, made it happen. Green was my favorite color, and I was not going to be lacking in it anywhere. 

Taking your finances and your financial future into your own hands means freedom, means fulfillment. The Financial Policy Council stands to protect this freedom, to fill your green with single putts. You are allowed to fight for your rights to not only be great at a sport but to be successful and financially independent. To all my strong and powerful ladies, Learn golf. It is not a man’s sport. Find ways to create multiple fairways of financial flow. 

Fill your head with freedom, it is your right, and do what Tiger did, don’t give a Fuck. If he doesn’t have to, why should we?