Editor Emma Ballard reflects on whether the media landscape has really changed enough for women's professional golf in recent years
It was eight years ago, coincidentally just before the last time that The Open Championship was played at Royal Troon, I wrote an article for a magazine called YourCaddy. I took a look into what the women’s professional game may be lacking to explain why it wasn’t able to garner as much media attention as its male equivalent.
Talent, achievement, controversy, excitement, athletes, relatability and finally glamour, were all the areas I covered. Although glamour was mentioned in more of a tongue-in-cheek way, I noted that men were fortunate that they didn’t need to play to their looks to get column inches.
My conclusion?
“Can someone tell me exactly what they haven’t got covered because I have failed to find it? I think it’s about time that journalists, publications, websites, golf fans and the sporting world took a proper look at ladies golf because it doesn’t find wanting in any way. In fact, it is quite the opposite. It ticks all the right boxes and it’s about time that we all showed these extremely talented individuals that they have every right to be on an equal footing with the men and the great sporting achievements should be shouted about.”
As I looked back over that article, I found it hard to believe that although there have been improvements, we’re still very far from an equitable existence when it comes to the reporting and coverage of women’s golf.
Of course, we have seen a continued rise in women’s sport, as a whole, in recent years and many have commented, including myself, about riding on the wave of the Lionesses or golf having its Caitlin Clark moment. We also hear a lot about the need to have more storytelling in women’s sports, so that we (and the wider sports audience) can get to know the athletes better.
Women in Golf Panel discussion
While attending a discussion on Women in Golf at the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews during the AIG Women’s Open, panellist Stephanie Hilborne, CEO of Women in Sport, spoke about the issues surrounding the continued push for women to be more than just an athlete.
“To me, this is a really important issue across women's sport. I don't want a woman to have to tell every personal detail of their life to be able to get a profile for being good at golf. It exposes them, in a way that women are far more prevalent to. We want women to have their personality come through the way they're playing their sport.
“I don't think golf has lots of incredibly fascinating male superstars. It's nothing to do with cult of personality. It's just that they’re given so much exposure that you've gradually got to know them.”
And there is the crux of where we will still stand today, eight years on. Ultimately it comes down to continued, quality media coverage – whether that be TV, written, social media, podcasts or your preferred media platform.
Without a commitment to giving women’s professional golf the coverage it deserves, because as I showed at the start it has everything (and more) than men’s golf, I’ll be looking back on this blog in eight years time and wondering why people in much more influential positions than me didn’t make covering women’s professional golf a priority.
