Fore!

“Fore” score and many MANY of years ago, the game of golf changed forever as women stepped onto the greens. So, although many people may think of women golfing as a relatively new phenomenon, the truth is that women have been swinging clubs for AT LEAST 300 YEARS!

Some sources put the advent of women on the golf course even earlier, claiming that Mary, Queen of Scots, was not only an avid golfer but also the inventor of the term ‘caddie.’ Others point to the creation of the famous St. Andrews Links golf course during her reign as further proof of her love of the game.

But the truth may be less glamorous – albeit equally as interesting.

In Scotland and England during the 18^th and 19^th centuries, many women found the game through their husbands. A perfect example can be seen in the Scottish town of Musselburgh where women who worked in the fishing industry at Fisherrow took part in an 1811 tournament. Considered to be the first recorded golf tournament for women competitors only, the event took place on the local 18-hole pitch and putt course. Similarly, growing out of an established men’s club, the first women’s golf club was formed in 1867, called The Ladies Club of St. Andrews and later The Ladies Putting Club or The Ladies Putting Club of St. Andrews. Additionally, just one year later in 1868, a specially built 18-hole ladies course was created at the golf course Westward Ho! where, again, local women could strut their stuff on the course and show their skills on local greens.

In the late 1800s, golf made its way to women across the Atlantic as local clubs allowed women to play alongside men and even began to host women’s competitions in the United States. With a heavy presence in New York, one of the earliest golf club’s in the country formed in 1891, allowing women to play on a 9-hole course at Shinnecock Hill Golf Club. Four short years later in 1895, the Meadow Brook Club in Hempstead, New York held the first U.S. Women’s Amateur competition.

But that is not the United States’ only claim to women’s golf fame!

In 1893, Issette Miller – a top female golfer of the time – invented the very first golf handicapping system, helping to level the playing field and allowing less experienced players to have a competitive chance.

But U.S. women golfers didn’t stop there! In the midst of World War I, they organized and formed the Women’s Tournament Committee of the United States Golf Association (U.S.G.A.) which later became the Women’s Committee of the U.S.G.A. Moreover, during the interwar years of the 1930s, the creation of the Curtis Cup allowed amateur women golfers from the United States, England, and Ireland to square off against each other in a golf battle from across the pond.

As women continued to prove themselves on both sides of the Atlantic, Helen Hicks became one of the first women to become a professional golfer in 1934 when she signed with the Wilson-Western Sporting Goods Company.

But other women had more difficulty gaining the respect of the golf elite.

Babe Zaharias found herself denied amateur status in golf and, in response, shattered gender barriers to become the first woman to attempt to play in a professional men’s tournament at the 1938 Los Angeles Open – a feat which would not be attempted again for roughly 60 YEARS. Despite not surviving in the competition past the first two rounds, Zaharias went on to become one of America’s first female golf sensations as well as a well-known player during the 1940s and 1950s.

For many early women golfers, their introduction to the tee began as a trickle only to become a flood in recent years as the LPGA created several programs to reach youth, including the Girls Golf Club and the Urban Youth Golf Program. Although these programs and many other training opportunities have broadened access to the game, for many of golf’s early adopters, their names may never be known. In honor of the many women who paved the way for today’s female golfers, take a look at some of these images from the Oregon Journal Negative Collection at the Oregon Historical Society.

Just a few of the hundreds, if not thousands, of stories about women on the greens, these photographs show us a glimpse of early women golfers in the United States. And, if you thought golf was difficult before, try playing 18 holes in heels!

Activity #1: Local Greens

Take a look at your neighborhood or community and do a little digging into your local golf history. Stumped and don’t know where to start? Try answering some of these questions:

• Do you know about any golf courses in your area?
• How old are the golf courses near you?
• Do any golf courses near you offer women’s tournaments?
• Have golf courses near you ever offered special courses or competitions for women to take part in?
• Do any nearby golf courses offer training programs for young women and girls?

Activity #2: Women’s Month

Do you know much about Women’s Month? Try looking into your area’s local women’s history! Stumped and don’t know where to start? Try answering some of these questions:

• Are there any programs, organizations, or businesses in your area that have been founded or run by women?
• Are there any buildings, parks, or sites named after local prominent women in your area?
• Are there any projects in your area focused on celebrating women’s history?

Throughout the month of March, you can learn more about Women’s Month and the ways that people are celebrating it by following #nationalwomensmonth or #womenshistorymonth on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!

Did you learn about any fun golf or women’s history in your area this week? Did you discover something new about Women’s Month? There are countless stories that come to light every year about the amazing roles that women have played in communities around the world! So, in honor of these women, I invite you to celebrate Women’s Month by remembering that Women’s History is American History!

Share your activity results with us on social media by tagging History Becomes You and by using #historybecomesyou!

Check back next Thursday for the next of many peeks into history as we continue to celebrate National Women’s Month!