PGA Show caters to women, just not on the driving range

My fellow colleague Tim McDonald is right: if you’re trying to pick up girls by banging away $500 mega-drivers on the indoor testing facility at the PGA Merchandise Show, you’re playing to an empty house. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, even if the women’s segment of the game is on the brink of a very exciting era.

Men dominate the testing facility for the same reason we order the “blazin’” wing sauce when the “medium” will suffice. It is in our DNA to validate our manhood through bizarre outlets. Periodic hormonal imbalances often cause us to revert to our most primitive instincts. In terms of golf, this is taking a giant swat with a 7.5, super-stiff driver, followed by ripping our shirts off and bellowing “I’ll take three!”

Unless you are a woman playing at a very high level (and let’s be honest, how often do we meet a woman on the course who is a low-to-mid 80s shooter more worried about her reads than her hair?) your necessities for the course are elsewhere.

Which is why it isn’t surprising the apparel wing is dominated by flashy women’s attire. You’ll find everything from bright pink bathrobes to bright magenta sun hats to shoe selections that would make Al Bundy groan. Puma even has some kind of trendy moon boot-type golf shoe that looks more fitting for Aspen.

Despite their dominance in clothing and accessories, the PGA Merchandise Show isn’t designed for women. The ratio of women selling to buying is probably 40-to-1 if I had to estimate, maybe even higher.