LET star Annabel Dimmock tells us how some golfers are too quick to judge young women for wearing fashionable clothes on the course.
I think Ladies European Tour player Annabel Dimmock is one of the most stylish players on tour.
Young, good fun and skilled at making golf look like the coolest sport in the world, she’s exactly the kind of player we need to help us grow women’s golf.
After spending her school years feeling too embarrassed to tell people she played golf, she tells me why we need to make the game appear more fashionable.
“When I was younger I don’t think I told many people I played golf because it just wasn’t deemed to be a cool thing to do. It wasn’t something I wanted to tell the boys at school, I didn’t think it would make them fancy me!”
Now, to some of you this might seem like a silly thing to say, but really the 23-year-old has hit the nail on the head.
Golf’s biggest problem is that for many young women and girls (not all of course), it just doesn’t seem like a trendy and attractive thing to do.
But unsuprisingly, the Wentworth member has found that the boys won’t leave her alone when they find out she's one of the best female golfers in the world.
“Now I’m older I don’t want to tell guys what I do because they will have too many questions about it,” she laughed. “It’s gone from one extreme to the other.
“But I'm really proud of being a golfer now. I love being able to walk into a room and tell people what I do. Some people can be really taken aback by it when they first meet me. They’re like “you play golf?” I like it and I know I’m probably not the stereotypical image of a pro golfer.”
She's also got some ideas about how we can make golf a hobby that teenagers are willing to brag about.
“Some of these old-fashioned outfits are not going to entice young girls to pick up a club. We need to see more cool, young and relevant people playing golf and then they will encourage others to try it. Then we’ll see a tumble effect and an increase in participation. It does add to watching a sport on TV when they have nice outfits, like everyone wants to look like the NBA players. We are starting to see more and more golfers who dress really well.
“Danielle Kang is so cool and she wears adidas like I do. Michelle Wie is so good for golf as well. She wears such edgy outfits and stuff that some people might be afraid to wear – like all the high-top shoes and matching socks. It stands out and she really makes a statement.”
The Ladies European Tour and Rose Series competitior is a big fan of the adidas clothes she wears too.
“I have such a good relationship with adidas, they’re definitely one of the more forward-thinking brands. They really understand my style and listen to what I like. I always like everything they make, it’s so sporty and modern and just my kind of thing. I love that they’re eco-friendly and making clothes out of plastics as well.”
But the Surrey golfer has unfortunately found that not everyone appreciates her more fashionable looks on the golf course.
“I get people doubting what I can do just because of the clothes I’m wearing and how I look. People will stare at me when I’m on the tee and then only when they see how I can hit a ball they decide to turn a blind eye to how I’m dressed. It makes me feel bad for the girls who are still working on their game and not that confident, it can be quite mean to have people treat you like that.
“A lot of people want to wear more fashionable clothes but they’re intimidated by the members and what they will think, especially if they’re one of the only young women at a golf club.”
But at her home club she definitely doesn’t have that problem...
“I turn up at the range in so many different things,” she laughed.
“They’re used to me now at Wentworth so they're not shocked. The thing is, we play golf to have fun and I think sometimes people forget that. Of course you shouldn’t turn up looking scruffy, but there should be no issue with people being fashionable.”
I couldn’t agree more.
