HOME PAGE
HISTORY Womens Golf
Solheim-2023
TEAMS - USA &Europe
2022 lpga-season
LPGA Interviews
2020 LPGA  Season
NancysGolfBlog
HOW MANY GOLFERS
SOLHEIM 2019
NEW RULES
ABOUT NANCY
LPGA_Recaps
TopTeachers2019
ARTICLES BY NANCY
Play Just 12 Holes
SuzyWhaley News
Business Golf Tips
GOLF FORMATS
BEST PRACTICES
NANCYS PHOTOS
ARCHIVES
7 Tips Business Women Golf
Wonder Women Needed
Women at Augusta
Losing the Battle
Honda Classic for Her
British Open
CYBERGOLF ARTICLES
ThankYouMichelle
UL CROWN 2016
Pro Shop Tips
About Advertising
FAQ Questions
Golf Range Tips
Rocky Mountain Golf
CPGA Seminar
PGA LasVegas-2014
Poppy Ridge Golf Seminar
Extra pages
REFERENCE
 
 

My Take on Darla and Condi:  Never Too Late to Do the Right Thing

By Nancy Berkley

August 20, 2012

 

Congratulations to Billy Payne, Chairman of Augusta National, and those involved in finally admitting two women, Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore, to become members of Augusta National.   It’s never too late to do the right thing. 

Augusta National knows the trends and its responsibilities.

Although the total number of golfers and the number of rounds played in the U.S. continues to decline, women golfers and especially young junior golfers are the sweet spot in the golf industry.   They are the only segments which are showing an increase in golf participation based on information from the National Golf Foundation. 

It’s “O.K” for girls to be athletes and that includes playing golf!  And the players on the LPGA Tour are presenting strong and positive images of women’s golf.  And I haven’t even mentioned the LPGA-USGA Girls Golf program or The First Tee, which is generously supported by Augusta National, with girls accounting for about one-third of its participants.  

It’s been forty years since the U.S. Congress passed Title IX which requires that educational institutions that accept federal funds must have comparable athletic programs for both men and women.   Forty years is almost two generations.  We are seeing the impact of Title IX standards of “comparability” in the children of the first generation of Title IX beneficiaries.

Indeed, Augusta National has tremendous power and influence.  The time had come for Augusta to reinforce the message that golf is also a game for women and girls.  It’s not just for men. 

And, it may have been increasingly awkward for Tim Fenchem, Commissioner of the PGA Tour, to continue defending the male-only policy of Augusta while demanding anti-discrimination policy from other tournaments included in the PGA Tour season-long tally.  And the PGA of America now has two women on its Board of Directors and a strategic push for women’s golf.

Augusta needed to create that illusive tipping-point that would increase awareness and legitimacy for women’s golf and uphold the “democracy” of the game.   And they have!

Of course, I know the accomplishments of our former Secretary of State, but the name “Darla Moore” rang a bell with me.  In the 1990’s when I was an Assistant General Counsel  in the legal department of Prudential Financial and heading up its portfolio of mortgages on then-bankrupt department stores such as Macy’s, I heard about this top female bankruptcy expert, Darla Moore. 

Twenty years ago, when women were concerned that they “blended” in to a male environment, Darla chose not to.  She dressed fashionably, kept her blond hair and if my memory serves me right, wore red nail polish and stylish shoes. 

Darla is an expert in her field and unique.  And the same can be said for Condoleezza.   They are good choices for Augusta National, a very elite and private club of accomplished people.  That is not to imply in any way, that there are not many other women who would fit in perfectly at Augusta.  And hopefully, there will be more.

But one of the first questions that popped into my mind upon hearing the news was:  “Are Condi and Darla good golfers?”   Even important male CEO’s with 36 handicaps are probably not invited to membership at Augusta.

And the answer is:  Condoleezza is a member of the Women’s Northern California Golf Association and as of August 15th, has a USGA Handicap Index of 12.1.  (This is public information available on ghin.com, a handicap website sponsored by the United States Golf Association.) 

Condoleezza’s handicap places her in the top six percent of all female golfers maintaining official handicaps with the USGA.   Yes, she is a very good golfer!  If she is playing a medium-difficult course from the forward tees, on a good day she will probably always shoot in low eighties.   

I could not find Darla’s handicap information, but given her approach to most things, I am confident she is also a very good golfer.

And the next question that popped into my mind was “Does Augusta National have any forward tees or will Condi and Darla play from the 6,000-yard-plus Members Tees?”  I am assuming that neither will routinely choose to play from the 7,400 yard Masters Tees.

I made a couple of calls and it’s my understanding that at this time, there are not official “forward” tees at Augusta.  But the custom has been that female guests of members – and now female members – usually tee up their ball at the front of the teeing ground of the Members Tees.  If that is where Condi plays from, my guess is that on a good day she will score in the mid-eighties.   That’s good golf!

What is also good is that Augusta National from the Members Tees is a relatively friendly course.  In other words, there are no long carries over water, ravines or fescue grasses that require super-long tee or fairway shots.  Strategy is what matters, and I am confident that both Darla and Condoleezza understand strategy including golf-course strategy.

Augusta’s two new members will be making news all over the U.S. and internationally as well.  One TV commentator referred to today, August 20th, as an “historic day for golf.”  I think that may be a bit of exaggeration.  

It’s important to remember that Augusta is a private club and will continue to have the right as a private club to only admit members that they choose to admit.   Who knows when they will invite another female to join?

The vast majority of Americans, including me, will continue to play golf at public and semi-public courses or at the declining number of private courses. 

But wherever women choose to play, we must be welcomed into the game by friendly and helpful golf professionals and managers.  Even though our numbers are growing, women and girls still represent only about twenty-two percent of all golfers over the age of six in the U.S.  Let’s keep growing the game for women.

Thank you, Augusta National, for opening the door -- even if just a crack -- so that more women and girls can play more golf.  As I like to remind women:  Be Healthy, Be Happy, Live Longer, Play Golf.