b'GOLF IDAHOMy Perspective: Women in Golfby Nicole Rutledge, IGA Manager of CourseAsk and invite questionsRating and Finance One of the main differences I see with how men and women come into the I ve been a part of the Idaho golfgame is that men are ready to roll withcomplicated things about golf, and I community since I could hardly holdwhat they think they know; women tend a club. My father would bring me alongto be much more worried about whatknow very few lifelong golfers who have to play nine holes with him at Jeromethey might not know. If youre new tomastered them all. Just last year on a Country Club when I was just two yearsgolf, it can feel like golfers are speakingcourse rating trip I was quickly corrected old, and I graduated to playing Idahoa different language, and thats sortby one of those few when I referred to a Junior Tour events against other girlsof true. We dont have prices; we havebunker as a sand trap. It doesnt matter my age by the time I was nine. Overgreens fees. We dont have reservations;how much you already know; everyone the years, golf has continued to find itswe have tee times. Then there is theis still learning this game. This is why its way into my personal and social life,pin, the cup, the hole, and the flag so important to ask questions, and for and today I work for the Idaho Golffour different words that may or may notgolfers and industry professionals to be Association where I manage coursemean the same thing.ready and willing to answer them. ratings and finance. I cant imagine myThis is only the tip of the iceberg life without this game.when it comes to all the weird andFind and build womens Not all little girls have a fathergolf communitiesanxiously waiting to put a club in theirThe idea that the golf community hands. Many women arent presentedhas more barriers for women than it with the opportunity or resources todoes for men is too often overstated. play until later in life, when the boysThere are millions of women golfers all club golf culture can feel intimidating.over the world, which means there are My childhood on the golf course withplenty of opportunities for women to my father and brother helped makefind community with other women in the me comfortable in male spaces, but mygame. My advice for women looking to life in golf has given me so many of myget involved is to go find them. My advice most cherished relationships with otherfor golf clubs is to broadcast them. women who play and love the game. GolfOne of the best ways to make isnt the boys club we imagine it to be. asking questions more comfortable for This past fall, the IGA set a newwomen trying to pick up the game is for strategic plan in motion, driven by ourclubs and associations to create spaces mission to enhance, engage and grow theexclusively for women. The time between Idaho golf community. One of our prioritiesgolf shot, and the time before and after in that mission is womens participation.rounds, are sacred moments to many For women who want to join this familygolfers (I even make sure to leave time of golfers, and for golfers looking to bringfor these moments with my course rating more women into the family, here arecrew). These are the moments where my three keys to encouraging womensgolfers trade laughs and stories, share participation in golf. 4 GOLF IDAHO|MAR 2024'