I well remember my Father looking down his nose at the game of golf – “An old man’s game to be taken up when you can no longer play tennis.” We played our last game of tennis together when he was 87, and I waited in vain for the request of a round of golf, as he was then fully occupied with his garden and walking the dog!
In my young days he was perfectly correct, as the Courts were full of adorable Ladies bedecked all in white, looking like Angels, but always ready for a game, followed by a glass of Pimms and whatever could be plucked from the orchard and herb garden. The good Players always preferred a hard game of singles or men’s doubles, but a set or so always left plenty of time and energy to mix it up with the Ladies. Club matches traditionally involved men’s and ladies doubles and mixed doubles, so the sexes were very much equal on the Court.
Golf has always seemed a single minded and individual sport, but for those of us not good enough, or inclined, to spend the day only in the company of other competitive males, and rather seeking to add another dimension of pleasure to the perambulation, there should have been a far more aggressive attempt to involve the Ladies.
Hickory may provide the perfect opportunity – who has not marveled at the shapely forms and decorous outfits of the few brave Damsels who grace our Tournaments, and for whom the sartorial delights of dressing up provide an added bonus to the game?
For all those Gentles who may have been tempted to consort pleasantly, but harmlessly, with the other Fellow’s wife for a few hours on the links, or have wondered how to justify another weekend of hickory golf away from home, the perfect answer may be a “Mixed Scramble Event” where good, bad, and indifferent golfers of both sexes can feel welcome and comfortable, and make the occasion more sociable than competitive outside the Winner’s Circle!
In this spirit, look out for an announcement shortly from Missouri of a new Tournament designed only for mixed couples, and let us see whether we can winkle Jim and Katie out of their Tennessee lair to take in a second event! For all my Friends who have told me their Wives play golf, but would never be bold enough to take up hickories, we plan to provide the opportunity; once there in the company of kindred spirits, we shall have them hooked!
Four Degrees