LEVELLING THE FIELD
I am sure all of you have seen the recent advertisement on television focusing on how girls in the past were told they didn’t have the physical ability to make the grade in field sports. They were deemed less in the eyes of many of their male counterparts, therefore ladies’ teams received little or no support for their sporting endeavours. Thankfully, these days things have improved and hopefully will continue to improve.
In golf we saw a major change at the end of 2020 where clubs from all four provinces voted to come together under one new organising body. From now on ladies and gents are united under Golf Ireland where equality and gender balance are key principles. Watching the advert, I was reminded of a letter written to Miss Blanche Martin by Horace Hutchinson from whom she had sought advice. He was a leading amateur golfer, and the first English captain of the R&A.
Ms Martin went on to become the first honorary treasurer of the Ladies Golf Union. The letter is included in “A History of Women’s Golf in Ireland by Ivan Morris, published to mark the 125th anniversary of the ILGU in 2018 and can also be found on the internet. The 36th and last ever President of the ILGU, Brigid McCaw also included it as part of her speech at the EGM held on January last. The following is the reply Ms Martin received.
“NORTH BERWICK, 9TH APRIL 1893
Dear Miss Martin,
I have read your letter about the proposed Ladies’ Golf Union with much interest. Let me give you the famous advice of Mr Punch (since you honour me by asking for my opinion). DON’T. My reasons? Well?
1) Women never have and never can unite to push any scheme to success. They are bound to fall out and quarrel on the smallest or no provocation; they are built that way!
2) They will never go through one Ladies’ Championship with credit. Tears will bedew, if wigs do not bestrew the green.
3) Constitutionally and physically women are unfitted for golf. They will never last through two rounds of a long course in a day. Nor can they ever hope to defy the wind and weather encountered on our best links even in spring and summer. Temperamentally, the strain will be too great for them. The first ladies’ championship will be the last, unless I and others are greatly mistaken. The LGU seems scarcely worthwhile.”
His negativity towards women golfers did not deter Blanche and the other ladies who had to deal with more than a few Horace Hutchinsons. On the contrary it made them more determined to get their plan in motion with immediate effect. The preliminary meeting took place ten days later on 19th April 1893, the LGU was formed and the first British Women’s championship began on 13th June, the same year, at the ladies’ course of the St Anne’s Golf Club in Lancashire. On the 15th December 1893 sixteen ladies met in Belfast to form the Irish Ladies Golf Union. The first Irish ladies’ tournament was played on 14th July 1897 at Helen’s Bay Golf Club, a beautiful nine hole course I had the pleasure of playing myself some years ago.
Thankfully, times have moved on we but do owe a lot to those early ladies who loved the game and persevered to have the right to play championship golf. They worked hard to overcome the negativity towards women golfers. When you also consider this was at a time when women did not even have the right to vote in Government elections, never mind equality in sport, this was a great achievement. These ladies were true champions.
CONDOLENCES
Lady captain Oonagh, president Niall and captain Gerry on behalf of all the members extend their sincere sympathy to former lady captain, Aileen Ryan on the passing of her father Dr Peter Tiernan. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.