Women golfers should pay cheaper green fees than men at the golf course

Wednesday April 15, 2009 | 03:13:45 376 words, 9479 views

Maybe I’m not taking my pills - or this coffee’s gone bad. I just wrote a column proclaiming Augusta National (and every other private club) should offer small blocks of daily public tee times. Click here to read it.

Now, I’m announcing another long-standing belief of mine that might be considered off the deep end in the conservative golf world: Female golfers’ green fees shouldn’t be the same as men. They should get a discount.

The first reason is simple and rational. How long of a golf course do they play compared to the Y-Chromosome? Men play 6,000-7,000 yards of golf. Women play 4,500-5,500 yards. They see less course, so let them pay a little less. I say 10-20% off is a pretty fair deal for everyone involved.

The second reason is a little sexist, but it’s often true. Women spend more money in the golf shop than men (especially on a golf vacation), getting those pretty visors and sweater vests. What they spend off the course will make up for what they are discounted on it.

Women also don’t spray the ball into other fairways and houses, endangering other players and causing lawsuits to the golf course. And they sure never drive golf carts recklessly and damage them.

The babes also play faster. I’d estimate over half the women I’ve seen on the golf course don’t take practice swings (my grandma was the fastest golfer I’ve ever played with and quite good, too, but she also played with grumpy, retired newspaper men a lot). Hardly any women I know even take a moment to line up their shots from behind the ball. Perhaps they feel like they’re inconveniencing their impatient husbands as they fiddle with their Blackberry in the golf cart waiting to get to their big, macho drives.

Lastly, fellas, we should remember that women pay wayyyyyyy more for haircuts than us.

The golf industry has been wondering aloud for years about how to increase the number of female golfers picking up the game, as well as rounds played by women each year.

My idea is as good of a start as I’ve ever heard.

You can follow Brandon Tucker’s golf blog and more on Twitter: http://twitter.com/brandontucker or follow WorldGolf.com at Twitter.com/worldgolf

10 comments

Comments, Pingbacks:

Comment from: Donna Hoffman [Visitor] · http://www.womenoncourse.com

I agree with you! We all know golf is a very difficult game to learn and master. While women are known to spend upwards of $500 on a handbag, they are not likely to invest as much in something they have no idea if they will enjoy. I am the president of Women on Course, a national event organization that introduces and connects women to the game of golf. We organize golf 'experiences' in over 20 cities and work with courses to make the afternoon affordable. It is amazing how many courses will not lower their price to introduce golf to 50 prospective players. For those that do, the follow up business is unbelievable. A good percentage of the women have success and become hooked on the game. As their enjoyment goes up they are willing to spend more.
Over and over I see women who would never have tried the game, attend our events because of the affordable price point, and become part of the golf lifestyle.

Permalink 2009-04-15 @ 14:38

Comment from: Stephanie Wei [Visitor] · http://weiunderpar.com

here's my take on it: http://www.weiunderpar.com/post/96565367/brandon-tucker-needs-a-refill-of-his-crazy-pills

Permalink 2009-04-15 @ 16:20

Comment from: OrlandoGolfBlogger [Visitor] · http://www.orlandogolfblogger.com

Hahahaha!! Brilliant! Especially the last point! :) I pose a question, do you think a lesser greens fee would entire greater spending in the clubhouse? Or, do you think that a 20% discount on greens fees are going to entire non-golfing women to pick up the sport?

Permalink 2009-04-15 @ 16:42

Comment from: Stephanie Wei [Visitor] · http://weiunderpar.com

Brandon, Thanks for taking the time to comment on my blog I responded but not sure if you'd see it, so I thought I'd post it here...
Thanks for the response, Brandon.

I agree that our differences are a result of our different environments. But to be fair, I've been around the game enough to understand what you're saying. It just depends on the audience. I've also taken golf vacations or attended pga tournaments with my guy friends who have definitely spent more time in the pro shop than me or other girls...and older couples as well. But again, it's contingent on many things and per individual/couple.

Men do "beat up" the course more so than the women. Yes, the average woman hits the ball thin and rolls it up the fairway - short but straight. The men, on the other hand, hit it fat and rip out the biggest divots. This all carries over to ball marks on the greens too. I bet men create more ball marks on average than women. I think that could be a decent argument for woman to pay less...

Anyhow, I was joking about women paying more. I am in complete accord that more women should be introduced to golf, but i think it's going to take more than just lower green fees. Plus, stereotypes like the ones you mentioned will only exacerbate the situation.

Permalink 2009-04-15 @ 17:10

Comment from: William K. Wolfrum [Visitor] · http://www.worldgolf.com/blogs/william.wolfrum

Brandon, I think it's quite possible you've become a communist. I mean, you're starting to make me uncomfortable with your liberalness. Yes, me.

I'm going to have to recommend that you spend a few hours watching nothing but Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity talking to Dennis Miller. That'll capitalism you back up.

Permalink 2009-04-15 @ 21:32

Comment from: Joe Welsh [Visitor]

seems to me that the cost of the green's fee should be driven by the cost of doing business, and the cost of a woman playing the course is the same as the cost of a man playing the course... even if they are less likely to hit balls into houses and risk lawsuits - the cost of the insurance to the course will not reduce when the course goes to said insurance company and argues they have an increased percentage of women golfers, therefore they should get a discount... so many of the golf course costs are fixed and not variable enough to really be able to justify a reduction in fees to women, so what you would effectively be doing is collecting less margin on women's rounds - not to mention the opportunity cost of allowing women to play at a discount to men, making men more attractive customers... the one thing i'll grant you is the possibility they spend more in the proshop... but someone is going to have to produce some hard data to get courses to realistically figure out how much more margin is produced from women in the proshop to determine if a discount makes sense... now one place i do think women should get a discount is at buffet type restaurants (i.e. Sweet Tomatoes)... they actually cost the business less, since a larger percentage of their cost is variable (cost of food)...

Permalink 2009-04-15 @ 22:02

Comment from: John Hampton [Visitor] · http://ptothejizzle.blogspot.com/

Here's my take on it. They should be discounted if they where short shorts and cut off tank tops.

Permalink 2009-04-15 @ 22:03

Comment from: golfgirl [Visitor] · http://www.thegolfgirl.blogspot.com

Here's my take:

http://thegolfgirl.blogspot.com/2009/04/girls-golf-free-brandon-tuckers-awesome.html

Personally, the babe thing doesn't bother me at all.

Permalink 2009-04-16 @ 03:50

Comment from: Vince Spence [Visitor] · http://www.oneeyedgolfer.blogspot.com

Just like dry cleaning, ladies should pay more than men to play golf. It took us 200 years to convince the Dry Cleaner Institute of America they should charge more and we will discuss this new matter with the American Golf Foundation.

Only kidding Heather, Patricia, Jessica et al. Just seeing who is paying attention...

Seriously, the ladies at my club made us get rid of the 'ladies tees' and the 'red tees'. We now have back tees (blue, men's), middle tees (white, men's forward), front tees (red, ladies) and forward tees (gold, seniors). All tee boxes are USGA rated and sloped separately for all players. Our scorecard is now 11 1/2 X 14 inches. Our carts now have to use steering wheels from old 1956 Buicks because only those are big enough to accommodate this big a scorecard.

Life is tough in old Catonsville (Baltimore), the land of pleasant living...

Permalink 2009-04-16 @ 15:58

Comment from: golf management [Visitor] · http://www.golfmanagersassociation.com

This would certainly help to increase play amongst women.

Permalink 2009-04-20 @ 13:52

Brandon Tucker

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WorldGolf.com's Brandon Tucker offers his unique perspective on golf and travel destinations from Scotland and Ireland to Myrtle Beach. He also chimes in on news events on the PGA and LPGA Tours, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and other happenings around the world of golf.