Rule 24-16...

I don’t know what the true slope is for a man playing the women’s tees, but I suspect it is far less than the recorded 120 for women. I don’t know how we came to accept playing from the women’s tees—though I think in Dennis’ case it was quite necessary and kept him moving, vying, and part of the group; amen to that! There is a handicap system in place that, until a year or so ago, we played to; we understood its purpose and varied only when we wanted to step outside the norm to visit a fresh look.

Changing the field of play seems so far from the concept of golf, its handicap allowances, and purpose thereof. Would you walk halfway down a bowling lane to make more strikes? Lower a volleyball net to waist level to spike? Or add two or three more strikes at the plate before you were out? (I love analogies because they’re the lazy man’s offering when explanation and definition of what he wants to say elude him.) 

Miniaturizing the game frankly makes no sense and ignores the game’s foundations and purpose: fair play. The handicap system has been in play for decades; besides, there is no fair or equitable way of measuring men playing from the women’s tees; there seems to be complete agreement on that. We play from the “senior” tees: 5,968 yards. The actual white combo tees are the standard “white” tees at 6,178 yards. The women’s tees are 1,000 yards shorter than those!

It’s not a dig against those playing the women’s tees. We somehow, I believe incorrectly, accepted it as okay until it became apparent that we were missing the point: equity is ingrained in the game already. The field of play is the field of play. Returning to the way the game is supposed to be played eliminates the personal and imposes the concept and rules we began with. Handicaps will rise, as they should, according to each player’s rounds; the field of play will dictate a player’s true handicap accurately.

Rule 24-16 of the USGA Handbook says: “Anyone hitting from the women’s tees must have a uterus.”

(Of course I’m having fun with this. But seriously, let’s all get back to playing the game the way it was designed, please!)