My major contribution to golf was made more than thirty years ago when I relocated from Montana to the East Coast. I gave up playing.
Truth be told, I wasn’t a great golfer and was unwilling to put in the effort and time to improve. While playing on Montana’s Rocky Mountains courses, I was more interested in the surroundings than the game. The task of hitting the golf ball was approached in the same manner as Little League baseball. The idea behind my approach was to hit the golf ball as hard and as fast as possible without worrying about its fate. I then ran like hell to get the ball off the green before it got dark. I never thought to rent a golf car.
My only reason for taking up golf was that I met a great golfer in college. Growing up in small towns on the Great Plains, she was an avid golfer. It was so primitive that there wasn’t any grass on the golf course. Instead, the greens were made of sand and oil was used to maintain the dust. You were required to finish putting and then use a tool for smoothing the sand. Even though my friend had limited opportunities to practice on grass, she finished second at her high school state tournament.
Others used to look on my girlfriend’s golf swing and stop. That’s at least what they claimed they were admiring. I didn’t care. I didn’t care. She was able to play better than almost all of the men she encountered.
My college friend and Michelle Wie thought that the novelty of young female golfers and their chauvinism to them had long passed. So it was a surprise to me that Idaho’s high school athletic officials were considering removing Sierra Harr as a member of the Castleford High School boys’ golf team.
Harr was a junior and helped her team win the state championship. After winning the state championship for girls a year prior, Harr finished 7th in the boys tournament. Castleford did not have enough female golfers to form a team, so Harr had to choose between playing as an individual and joining the boys’ team.
Since the 1970s, Federal law requires schools to offer equal sporting opportunities for both boys and girls. Although schools are not required to provide equal opportunities for both genders in every sport, this law requires schools to make arrangements to allow students to participate in a sport they do not offer. This means that girls can play alongside the boys when it’s not possible to have a girl’s team.
Broward County high schooler Erin DiMeglio (17) has taken some snaps this season as South Plantation High School’s quarterback. The formidable South Plantation High School team features players that are headed for Division I college teams. The Associated Press reports that Erin DiMeglio is the first Florida female quarterback. But, there have been more than 500 girls who play other positions on the gridiron.
DiMeglio (a college basketball prospect) is the third-string quarterback of the team and likely will see very little action. Her parents are relieved, as they have every reason to worry about her daughter getting fired by players who are bigger than she. DiMeglio still has the acceptance and support of her teammates. She also enjoys the enthusiasm of the fans who cheered for him to place her in the first game of the season against Nova. For two consecutive plays, he did.
Idaho’s sports officials are not happy with the acceptance of girls by boys’ team players and their fans.
This could also be anachronistic sexualism. It is the type that cannot accept that females can compete with males in athletics. It could be the type that still looks at female performance but sees the female performance rather than the performance. It might be the right answer. But I don’t think so.
My suspicion is that the objections stem from an incorrect definition of “is” “fair.”This logic makes it unfair that a girl could compete in sports with boys, but we wouldn’t accept a man on a girls team.
However, players and the general public know that the girls are not in any way unfairly favored when they play with boys. The nature gave boys more strength and size. These advantages are not available to girls. They must compensate by skill, coordination and practice. Erin DiMeglio can play with her male schoolmates football, while Sierra Harr can golf with hers.
Perhaps an unusual situation could arise one day in Idaho. A school with enough interest in golf among its girls will be able to field a team but there is not enough for the boys. The right thing to do is to tell a boy if he wants to join the girls’ team. There are other options, like combining boys’ teams from different schools.
Harr reported that Harr, just like DiMeglio has been accepted by her male peers. “The boys on my team treated me as an equal,”She addressed her concerns to Idaho school officials. “and if any of my competitors disapproved of my golfing with the boys, they were gracious enough to keep their opinions to themselves and treated me with respect. The only negative reactions I received were from a few opposing coaches.”(1)
My life is reaching the point where I want to take up golf with my spouse. Spending time outdoors and enjoying nature with her would be great. Every now and again, I make it to Idaho. One day, I may be able to play on the same golf course as Sierra Harr.
This young lady seems very kind and patient. She is well aware that not many men can keep up with the women on the course.
Source:
1) Yahoo! News from Yahoo! “Girl golfer in Idaho fights to play with the boys”