Description
In the late eighteenth century, golf emerged as a men’s game. Since then, women have
striven to play, yet without success. A ratio of around 80 percent of male players against 20 percent
female proves that women are far from being accepted in golf. This study, supported by qualitative
analyses of women golfers’ life stories, attempts to evaluate to what extent this prejudice exists.
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
Gender inequalities in golf: a consented exclusion?
Helena Reis Antónia Correia
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Helena Reis Antónia Correia , (2013),"Gender inequalities in golf: a consented exclusion?", International J ournal of Culture, Tourism and
Hospitality Research, Vol. 7 Iss 4 pp. 324 - 339
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Helena Reis, Antónia Correia, (2014),"Facilitators and Constraints in the Participation of Women in Golf", Advances in Culture, Tourism and
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Gender inequalities in golf: a consented
exclusion?
Helena Reis and Anto´ nia Correia
Abstract
Purpose – In the late eighteenth century, golf emerged as a men’s game. Since then, women have
striven to play, yet without success. A ratio of around 80 percent of male players against 20 percent
female proves that women are far from being accepted in golf. This study, supported by qualitative
analyses of women golfers’ life stories, attempts to evaluate to what extent this prejudice exists.
Design/methodology/approach – The ecological system theory, the causal historical wave model, the
intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural factors, and the constraints/facilitators paradigm were ?rst
used to support the theoretical model that was de?ned based on the literature. Second, the model was
revisited according to textual data collected from 25 narratives of women in the nineteenth century. The
present research applies this model throughout a set of six life stories of contemporary Portuguese
women who excelled in golf, attempting to test the persistence of this discrimination.
Findings – The results highlight that structural and interpersonal factors persist across time. Some
aspects of women’s lifestyle did not change much since some cultural values are dif?cult to overcome.
The research highlights that the exclusion of women, more than explicit discrimination, is a cultural factor
engrained in their daily lives, meaning that women exclude themselves, tacitly accepting this
discrimination.
Research limitations/implications – The research focuses only on Portuguese women. Further studies
should evaluate the pertinence of these factors amongst other nationalities and cultures.
Originality/value – The low participation of women in golf is acknowledged by golf stakeholders in
Portugal, but this has not been the object of research; thus, to the authors’ knowledge, this is the ?rst
paper about this subject in Portugal.
Keywords Gender, Discrimination, Facilitators/constraints, Golf – nineteenth to twenty-?rst centuries
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The origins of golf go back to ancient times and it is believed that the game was played from
China to Rome (Crane, 1991; Flannery and Leech, 2004; Hudson and Hudson, 2010; Hudson,
2008). Since the eighteenth century, the British have introduced the game worldwide and with
it their cultural tradition of for-gentlemen-only-clubs that has excluded women fromclubhouses
and from practising golf. In his research, Vamplew (2010, p. 372) highlights that:
[. . .] the club was a site for men of similar social standing to meet together in a homosocial
environment. The clubhouse itself offered a masculine sanctum where men could dine, drink, play
cards or billiards, and read the papers, all free from female involvement save for the club servants.
Still today, neither the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (Scotland, UK) nor the
Augusta National Golf Club (USA) allow female members. Statistics released by the
European Golf Association in 38 European countries between 1985 and 2011 show that
more than 70 percent of golf practitioners are male and this status quo persisted over those
25 years (EGA, 2011). Portugal is no exception and since golf was introduced in the country
by the British, this discriminatory practice of excluding women has probably been
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Helena Reis is based at
ESGHT, University of
Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
Anto´ nia Correia is based at
the University of Algarve,
Faro, Portugal.
Received 16 December 2011
Revised 6 June 2012
Accepted 2 July 2012
The authors would like to thank
the editor and the anonymous
reviewers for their helpful
comments on the earlier version
of the manuscript.
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responsible for the low participation of Portuguese female golfers in this sport (18.6 percent
– www.ega-golf.ch (accessed 11 February 2012)), following the Anglophone pattern.
Nevertheless, history along the centuries reveals that a number of women not only managed
to learn and play but went beyond that to excel in this sport. In the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries, a group of athletes from England, Scotland, Ireland and USA did not accept this
exclusion and somehowdared to challenge the male hegemony of the game, ?nding ways to
cope with the inequitable practices of policymakers and club managers. These women’s life
stories are critical to understand the extent of the male-hegemony of the game.
Research on gender inequities in sports focuses mainly on differences in relation to men,
concerning participation, behaviour and performance, justifying these behavioural
differences in physical dissimilarities or distinct ways of perceiving competitiveness
(Abrahamsen et al., 2007; Callan and Thomas, 2006; Mair, 1992; Moy and Liaw, 1998;
Roster, 2007). Only a few studies examine the strategies women use to cope with golf bias
(McGinnis et al., 2009) so we ?nd justi?cation for the present study that aims to frame
strategies women used across the centuries to succeed in golf.
The historical analysis is the ?rst step to comprehend and outline the contemporary situation.
The secondary data used in this study derive from the interpretation of biographies and
books written by golf historians who highlighted gender inequities in this sport. The present
research follows a historical analysis to examine narratives and biographies of different
women, as well as the strategies applied by six Portuguese women, who are the top ones to
have excelled in golf in this country.
The results of this study prove that women accept discrimination, even though, to succeed in
golf, they have to avoid or outwit this hegemony. Even when showing some dissimilarity, this
behaviour persists from the early days of women playing golf to the present, and it is not
likely to change: to accept, avoid and/or outwit are the strategies women used, have used
and will keep on using.
This study contributes to the literature in different streams: ?rst, the analysis of life stories
from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries allows the beginning of exclusion/discrimination
to be framed. This is of utmost importance since the exclusion of women was more
prominent at that time. Furthermore, applying a model supported by those life stories to test
discrimination in the twenty-?rst century allows the persistence of this phenomenon to be
assessed. Second, it underlines the factors that mostly supported and still support this
status quo. Third, as the focus of the study is famous women golfers, analysing the strategies
they have used to play and stay in golf will provide guidelines for contemporary women to
cope with inequitable practices.
The limitations of this study derive mainly from the fact that the sample only comprises
present day life stories (in Portugal) whilst the conceptual model comprises life narratives
(Europe and USA) that in today’s context can be considered limited in time and scope. Yet,
on the other hand, this becomes one of its greater contributions, since the study
contextualises and provides the framework for discrimination processes. To the author’s
knowledge, it is the ?rst study of this kind in Portugal.
Following this introduction, Section 2 of this article presents the literature review on gender
and sports/golf. Section 3 covers the theories that structure this research. Section 4
advances the methods used, followed by the results in Section 5. The ?nal section includes
conclusions, limitations and perspectives for future research.
2. Literature review
McGinnis et al. (2005, p. 317) interpret gender as a ‘‘social structure that organises society into
different and unequal categories based on sex and as an ideology that promotes inequities
between the socially constructed categories of men and women’’. Equally, Swain (1995)
advances that gender is ‘‘a system of cultural identities and social relationships between
females and males, as a signi?cant variable in any study of human relations’’. Based on this
system, feminist theories have conceptualised institutionalised barriers as practices, which
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apparently perpetuate themselves because they are built into the formal structure of work
organisations (Acker, 1990) or in sport participation, such as golf (McGinnis et al., 2009).
Discrimination takes many forms, but they all involve exclusion/rejection:
Discrimination may be described as a distinction, whether intentional or not, but based on
grounds relating to personal characteristics of the individual or group, which has the effect of
imposing burdens, obligations, or disadvantages on such individual or group not imposed upon
others, or which withholds or limits access to opportunities, bene?ts, and advantages available to
other members of society (Canada’s Supreme Court).
Gender discrimination has many faces.
Yet, blaming discrimination for gender asymmetries in golf may be reductive. It seems there
is a temporal ordering with tradition leading or causing discrimination. Borsay’s (2006)
re?ection upon the British experience since 1500 portrays a traditional society and culture
with very pronounced class division, where leisure was enjoyed differently by the upper,
middle and working classes, according to the social order ‘‘based upon differential
possessions of wealth, status and power’’ (Borsay, 2006, p. 75). This distinction between the
upper and the working classes further deepens since ‘‘of undoubted importance was the
requirement for a substantial expenditure of money and time since this was precisely what
the productive orders could not afford’’ (Borsay, 2006, p. 81).
According to the historian, ‘‘throughout the period from 1500 to the present day the elite
used sport and the arts to de?ne and justify its position in the social order’’ (Borsay, 2006,
p. 85), whereas the working class was extremely competitive, which typi?ed most leisure
activity, ‘‘whether it be football, ?shing, or brass bands (to which the notion of contesting was
central)’’ (Borsay, 2006, p. 87). However, as the author clari?es, social order was not static,
different classes could evidently participate in the same leisure activities but he adverts that
‘‘they frequently did so in very dissimilar ways, which tended to accentuate rather than
mitigate differences of class’’ (Borsay, 2006, p. 104).
Over the last decades, a vast body of research evidences that women’s leisure is intrinsically
related to the gender roles in society and constraints women face deriving from gender
inequities in most domains (Crawford and Godbey, 1987; Fjelstul et al., 2011; Henderson,
1990; Henderson and Hickerson, 2007). Reverting to Borsay (2006) from his historical
perspective, ‘‘the relative invisibility of women’s leisure’’ (Borsay, 2006, p. 111) originates in a
‘‘sharp physical and temporal distinction between male work and leisure as compared with the
?uidity of women’s position’’ (Borsay, 2006, p. 111). Amongst several leisure activities, a
number of women were interested in golf: ‘‘middle-class women tended towards
feminine-appropriate sports such as tennis and golf which offered opportunities for social
contact and moderate exercise’’ (George, 2009, p. 335). Nonetheless, golf was and still is a
male-dominated sport that imposes strong restrictions to women, from interdiction to play on
busier days or times, to full exclusion from clubhouses. One way of being accepted was or is
to accommodate the biased norms of the game: ‘‘the position of women in golf [. . .] depended
upon accepting segregationist practices and inferior roles that still riddle the sport’’ (Borsay,
2006, p. 115). Just as an example, the dress code de?ned in the rules of the game and
societal expectations was very rigid and for a long time, limitative of female performances: ‘‘in
the 1890s the majority of women golfers complied with what was expected and appeared in
clothing which hampered to some degree their style of play’’ (George, 2009, p. 335).
Vamplew (2010) advances a contextualisation of the beginning of golf within this strict
society referring to the exclusion of women from clubhouses. Further, George et al. (2007)
and George (2009) highlight gender discrimination in golf, providing a consistent historical
perspective of constraints women had to face in order to play. Since the British divulged this
practice worldwide, golf absorbed some of their strong cultural traditional values:
Discrimination against women golfers is as long as the history of the sport itself. [. . .] The game of
golf spread from Britain across the Anglophone world in the late nineteenth century. The
establishment of clubs followed close behind. [. . .] golf clubs were sporting extensions of late
Victorian ‘‘clubland’’, which was an almost exclusively, and often aggressively, masculine sphere
(Haig-Muir, 2000, p. 19).
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Or, as Crane (1991, p. 39) puts it: ‘‘The British gol?ng establishment, long after South Africa
apartheid reforms in sport, still allows women to be banned from courses and clubhouses in
its domain’’.
Discriminatory practices of exclusion from golf clubs imply exclusion from learning,
coaching, better equipment, more competitive tournaments, larger media coverage, and
sponsorships, amongst others. Additionally:
[. . .] golf links and the country club are the locale for developing professional and business
contacts. Golf and the country club lubricate the advance of careers. Deals are cut on the fairway
and in the clubhouse (Marsha Kazarosian, April, 2007 in: Hudson, 2008, p. 117).
Examples of discrimination were found in the literature about women golfers from Europe to
USA (Crane, 1991; Hudson, 2008; Mair, 1992).
Episodes re?ecting women’s exclusion may not be as striking as ‘‘the sign alleged to hang
outside one East of Scotland club which read: ‘No Dogs and Women’’’ (Crane, 1991, p. 141),
but they are clearly illustrative:
B Joyce Wethered (1901-1997), one of England’s best players ever, recalls:
[. . .] often they [women] wouldn’t be allowed in the clubhouse and I remember an occasion when,
while waiting for my partners to emerge from the locker-rooms at Sandwich, I kept my hands and
?ngers warm on the radiator of someone’s Rolls Royce (Mair, 1992, p. 95).
B In 1952, Jeanne Bisgood and Frances Bunty were invited to tea ‘‘by the Honourable
Company of Edinburgh Golfers’’. They thought it was a great honour to be the ?rst women
ever to enter Muir?eld [Scotland], but then they read a large notice in the foyer. It said:
‘‘The club committee regrets the inconvenience to members caused by admitting women
to the building’’ (Crane, 1991, p. 72).
Despite all this, numerous women have persisted in the game and can be considered from
two perspectives (George, 2010; Vamplew, 2010):
1. The women who perceive golf as an opportunity to combine an open air activity with
social interaction, i.e.:
[. . .] an excellent means of combining fresh air, exercise, and society, as a gentle form of healthy
exercise that required skills rather than force, and which allowed time on and off the course for
social interaction (Ladies Field, February 25, 1899, p. 493, in Vamplew, 2010, p. 365).
2. More serious golfers who want to compete, i.e.: ‘‘it soon became evident that they could
play better than a large number of the male members of the club’’ (Hutchinson, 1899,
p. 71, in Vamplew, 2010).
It is this latter group that is critical to the present research. By examining narratives and life
stories at different time lines, we aim to identify what intrapersonal, interpersonal and
structural factors most contributed to these women’s strategies in golf. First, the biographical
stories were used to revisit a conceptual model grounded on the ecological systems theory
(EST) (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 1989) and the causal historical wave (CHW) (Woodside et al.,
2007). Second, these stories were used to frame the behaviour of Portuguese women who
excel in this homosocial sport on two levels: to assess the extent of discrimination over the
centuries and across nationalities.
3. Theoretical framework
Following Woodside et al.’s (2007) proposal, the contexts in which these women lived
were considered in order to fully understand their behaviours. Additionally, the authors
based the methodological framework on the EST by Bronfenbrenner (1979, 1989) and the
CHW model (Woodside et al., 2007). Bronfenbrenner (1979, 1989) asserted that one can
only understand the individuals by understanding the environments in which they live. An
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ecological perspective of human development concerns the contexts in which individuals
exist and reveals the in?uence of several environmental systems; the micro and the macro
systems are the most signi?cant. The micro system integrates the living context of the
individual (intrapersonal); the individuals and the interactions between individuals
(interpersonal). The macro system consists of the social structures of the society in which
individuals live (structural). Furthermore, the intrapersonal factors relate to psychological
states, characteristics, beliefs and personality traits. The interpersonal factors arise from
interactions and relationships that individuals establish with others. The structural factors
refer to a broader context, outside the individual and include physical and social
institutions, organisations and belief systems associated to the society in which the
individuals live.
Woodside et al. (2007) af?rm that a CHW hits the consumers when making a decision or a
choice. The individuals’ life experience combined with their history, social environments and
enabling factors make up this CHW. The causal history refers to one’s childhood, personality
traits or particular life experiences that delineate the individuals’ wishes and desires.
Crawford and Godbey (1987) con?rm that intrapersonal (motivation, individual beliefs and
personality) and interpersonal factors (friends and family) are within the micro system of the
individuals and the structural dimension (socio demographic) belongs to the macro system.
The suggestion that these 3D factors may function as constraints or facilitators (Jackson,
1997; Raymore, 2002) will enable us to identify which factors mostly in?uence women’s
decision to participate in golf. Haig-Muir (2000), Gilbert and Hudson (2000), Grouios and
Alexandris (2002) and McGinnis and Gentry (2006) argue that this is the most suitable
framework to understand the choice for a male-dominated sport and some authors
(McGinnis et al., 2009) went further advancing that, when within unfriendly environments,
women develop competencies and strategies to cope with the situations.
Figure 1 shows the theoretical framework that supports this research.
On the basis of the literature review and the conceptual model in Figure 1, the study is
framed by the following research presuppositions:
P1. Did British and American women who excelled in golf in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries perceive the 3D factors as facilitators or constraints to their
participation in golf?
Figure 1 The 3D factors paradigm
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P2. Do Portuguese women who excel in golf in the 21st century perceive the 3D factors
as facilitators or constraints to their participation in golf?
P3. What are the factors that persisted over the centuries and across nationalities?
P4. What are the strategies that these women used to succeed in golf?
Building on the above assumptions, the research strives to illustrate different options and
analyses diverse life contexts, perceptions of gender bias participation and the resultant
closing strategies chosen by these women.
4. Methods
Having identi?ed in the literature the factors that facilitate or inhibit women’s participation in
leisure and sports and having analysed women’s life stories from the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, this study aims to understand if the same factors apply to present day
female golfers in Portugal. To evaluate the research proposals of this study, the authors
selected both qualitative and quantitative methodologies as the most appropriate approach
to obtain a holistic interpretation of undisclosed facts, since the research becomes richer
and fuller due to the multiple methods used.
At the ?rst stage, we conducted a textual analysis of the narratives from the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries. These women’s life stories were found in biographies and books by golf
historians and were written in the ‘‘natural language of the setting’’ (Lincoln and Guba, 1985,
p. 277, in Jennings, 2010, p. 76), these being one of the best sources to analyse this topic. By
studying the environments in which female golfers lived and what gender prejudice they
experienced, as well as what constraints they had to overcome in those early times, one can
get a better understanding of gender barriers in sports and leisure that has persisted until the
present day. According to Woodside et al. (2007) method, the contexts in which these women
lived were considered, in order to fully understand their behaviour. This understanding will be
the ?rst step to build a model that can be applied to present-day female golfers. Our objective
was to verify whether these factors and strategies persist and if it is possible to ?nd similarities
over the centuries, different nationalities and cultures. The second part of our research was
conducted by means of semi-structured in-depth interviews of the six Portuguese champions.
We examined these women’s antecedent facts, living conditions and previous sport
experiences in order to assess how different lifestyles in?uence the perception and
verbalisation of gender inequities and consequently, how these affect participation. A
qualitative method of empirical material interpretation, the content analysis (Jennings, 2010,
pp. 203, 211) was applied to the comparative study of these interviews. Finally and in order to
validate the interpretation of the interviews, a questionnaire was applied to the same six
women generating a triangulation method. The results suggest that the 3D factors clearly
in?uence women’s participation at different levels and function either as facilitators or
inhibitors. Moreover, ?ndings reveal that although they are aware of the masculine focus of the
game, Portuguese champions accommodate themselves to bias in order to stay in the game.
The in-depth interview is the most appropriate technique to get a holistic interpretation of the
interviewees, their past and present contexts and their decision to participate (Glaser and
Strauss, 1967; Jennings, 2010; Ragin, 1994; Woodside et al., 2005). The sample consists of
six women covering the total s spectrum: four golf Professionals (out of 110, only four are
women) and the two Pro- and Amateur national champions who exist in Portugal. The
sampling strategy used intends to focus on exploring and describing facilitators and
constraints reported by this group of Portuguese female golfers.
The interviews were conducted in Portuguese, at the clubhouses where these women
work as golf professionals and where the Amateur champion plays. They were conducted
face-to-face, lasting between 1.30 to 3.00 hours and were divided into three main parts:
the ?rst part provides a matrix detailing all previous sport experience and the second
comprises 76 open-ended questions, covering three sections about the person’s life
background and socio-demographics, daily life activities and routines, concerning
professional and extra-professional activities; the ?nal section focuses on sport
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experiences, behaviours and factors the interviewees face when choosing a
male-dominated sport. This method involves a person-to-person interaction and an
immersion of the researcher in the research setting, which results in a better
understanding and signi?cance of the social phenomena under study (Ragin, 1994). All
interviews were recorded and verbatim transcribed. By means of content analysis
(Jennings, 2010, pp. 203, 211), the interviews were interpreted and a set of factors
emerged as the most important ones. These were incorporated in a survey that was
applied to the same six women at a later stage, to corroborate the interpretation of the
interviews, reversing the researchers’ subjectivity.
5. Discrimination over the centuries, the path for revisiting the conceptual model
A discriminatory pattern of exclusion is present along the times lines of both groups under
study and by revisiting the conceptual model, we intended to verify whether there were other
similarities over the centuries either in the 3D factors or in the type of strategies used by
female golfers.
According to the literature, the most signi?cant intrapersonal factors are past experience
and skills/ability/knowledge (Gilbert and Hudson, 2000; McGinnis et al., 2009; McGinnis and
Gentry, 2006; Sylvia-Bobiak and Caldwell, 2006), whilst the interpersonal are family
reference and gender norms that strongly penalise women (an ‘‘ethics of care’’ Gilligan,
1982; Callan and Thomas, 2006; Kaczynski and Henderson, 2007; Lloyd and Little, 2010;
McGinnis and Gentry, 2006; Miller and Brown, 2005; Sylvia-Bobiak and Caldwell, 2006;
Roster, 2007) and the structural relate to cultural/social attitudes and course
policies/conduciveness (Callan and Thomas, 2006; Gilbert and Hudson, 2000; Haig-Muir,
2000; Kaczynski and Henderson, 2007; McGinnis et al., 2009; McGinnis and Gentry, 2006;
Miller and Brown, 2005). Moreover, the model was revisited according to the ?ndings
deriving from 25 women’s life stories. These stories enriched the model as it was possible to
con?rm determinant factors already outlined in the literature review, such as: past
experiences (intrapersonal); family references (interpersonal) and cultural/social attitude
(structural). Some excerpts from these women’s narratives evidence the importance of the
referred factors: Amongst the intrapersonal factors, contact with golf from childhood
facilitates participation in this game, e.g. past experience: champions like Cecil Leitch
(1891-1955), Molly Graham (1880-1955) and Joyce Wethered (1901-1997) amongst others,
grew up in a golf environment since their fathers and brothers played. In fact, Lady Margaret
Scott’s (1874-1938) family was rich and built ‘‘their own golf course on the family estate’’
(Crane, 1991, p. 18). Her father and three brothers were keen golfers and quite often
‘‘Margaret was the only female player’’ (Crane, 1991, p. 19).
Amongst the interpersonal factors, the strongest facilitator is the family reference – ‘‘Sister of
two of Royal Liverpool’s greatest players, Molly Graham (1880-1955) learnt her golf from her
father’’ (Crane, 1991, p. 24). Yet, some life stories showthat marriage and an ‘‘ethics of care’’
– the traditional role of women taking care of others before attending to their own needs
(Gilligan, 1982), may function as constraints: ‘‘Rhoda [Adair] won two British titles before
marriage brought about early retirement’’ (Crane, 1991, p. 22). Or ‘‘May Hezlet (1882-1969)
dropped out of the championship scene to concentrate on being a minister’s wife’’ (Mair,
1992, p. 28). The cultural/social masculine values (structural) that women acknowledge as
superior and tend to accept with no perception of discrimination are a strong structural
constraint. Alexa Sterling (1897-1997) recommended that ‘‘you had to imitate the men’s
deliberate and mechanical club action if you were to get results’’ (Crane, 1991, p. 57).
Figure 2 shows the revisited model that will be used to assess the strategies within
Portuguese women.
6. Findings
The 3D factors model is the most suitable to support this research since it allows the factors
which inhibit or facilitate women’s involvement in golf to be identi?ed. Interpretation of these
women’s statements leads to a characterisation of each life story. Content analysis of the
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data highlights which factors are more signi?cant and in?uential and reveals the type of
strategy used by each woman to succeed. Comparing their backgrounds, past
experiences, interaction with family and friends, their perception of the gender prejudice
that derives from social and cultural traditions (i.e. the gendered male-dominated focus of
the game) will add insight into how we comprehend gender in golf participation.
The interviews with the six champions are shown in Figure 3.
Figure 2 Conceptual framework: women’s golf participation model
Figure 3 Caroline’s golf participation model
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This 28-year old woman started playing golf at the age of 12; her family had no connection to
sports but they lived near Vilamoura, a tourist complex with several courses and a golf Clinique
that offered free classes for youngsters who could not afford the fees. Whilst at school, one of
her teachers sent some pupils of low economic means to learn golf at the Clinique. Thus,
though lack of money was a constraint (structural), this Clinique enabled Caroline to play. This
group of youngsters played together for several years and Caroline became the national
champion. She emphasizes that these friends were crucial for her success (interpersonal). At
this level, those who learnt, practised and competed with her acted as facilitators. Some of
themmoved to Lisbon to attend university. For a while she managed to play and study, but the
pressures at university forced her to abandon the top competitions. In order to stay connected
to golf, she became a professional coach at one of the local golf courses. Although at the
beginning of the interview, she held her studies responsible for abandoning competitive golf
(structural), later on she admitted that the fear of not being able to ‘‘stay at the top’’ was – as
strong, indicating how self-esteem can become a constraint (intrapersonal). Overall,
interpersonal constraints outnumber the facilitators: she ‘‘misses the social life’’ and refers to
‘‘the ethics of care’’ (Gilligan, 1982) constraint. This is not affecting her at the moment as she
has no children and her husband is very supportive, but she teaches executives that come in
the week during working hours and says: ‘‘I don’t think women could ever do that’’. She
criticises golf decision makers (structural):
They always say that it’s not worth allocating extra facilities for women, because we are only a few,
but if things don’t change, how can we attract more women to the game !? (Figure 4).
Paula was born in Angola, Africa. Her mother was German and her parents played golf at the
local golf course (made in oil tar sands) but instead Paula and her sisters learnt howto swim.
She became a swimming champion. In 1975, the family moved to Lisbon, Portugal. The lack
of facilities to keep on swimming (structural) made Paula change and play tennis. Her
previous sport practice facilitated Paula’s choice for golf (Past experiences, intrapersonal).
Her family used to play at the Lisbon Golf Club and Estoril Golf Club, both courses which
were opened by the British. Paula does not refer to any intrapersonal constraints, as she is
passionate about golf. She met her husband in a tournament and they are both keen golfers
Figure 4 Paula’s golf participation model
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(family/husband’s in?uence – interpersonal). When she got married, she moved to Oporto
where her husband lived and not the opposite (cultural gender norms – structural). For their
holidays, he chooses a golf destination. She wants to relax from golf (her job), but ends up
accommodating his choices. She perceives structural factors mostly as constraints: She has
the masculine cultural assumption engrained in her mentality that men are superior and
women have to work harder to compete with men. When she started teaching, she did not
expect to be welcome because she was coaching mostly men: ‘‘Men couldn’t accept to be
taught by a woman, the only thing I had on my side was having been The National Champion
for some years [. . .]’’ – she emphasises. This concurs with McGinnis and Gentry (2006)
?nding that men do not like to be beaten by women. For some years Paula was the national
female team coach working for the FPG. However, she resigned since she could not
introduce changes she found essential to motivate women (structural), leaving space for a
man to take up her position. Many women ?nd it easier to tacitly accept discrimination and
contribute to maintain the status quo. As a strategy, Paula creates a ‘‘separate’’ world where
women are welcome and successful (her golf club is known for its excellent group of young
women golfers). Paula states that golf managers and policymakers should ?nd ways to
attract more women. The stakeholders respond that there are so few women that there is no
point in changing policies (Figure 5).
The factors that induced this woman’s participation in golf relate to her family (interpersonal).
Four generations, from her grandfather to her daughter, have been connected to golf; she is
a golf professional at her father’s Academy. Her speech indicates that she assumes golf is a
male-orientated sport. To enhance women’s involvement, Claire tries to separate them from
their husband’s: she says that many men tell their wives off in front of the class and they lose
interest in the game. Although not clearly assumed, Claire accepts masculine cultural
orientations (structural) which are not exclusive to golf but can be found in – traditional
Portuguese culture at all levels. She reports that her husband is supportive, yet she admits:
‘‘He accepts my teaching, but he jokes: I’mthe opposite of the other husbands, I take advice
from my wife’’ (cultural gender norms). He did not play golf until he met her. Claire’s familiar
and professional gol?ng environment attenuates the ‘‘ethics of care’’ effects but she
mentions that, at times, it is very hard for women to conciliate all their tasks; moreover, she
Figure 5 Claire’s golf participation model
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admits that ‘‘family obligations and children come ?rst’’ and recalls interrupting golf for six
years after her daughter was born. When her daughter was 12 or 13, she started ?nding golf
slowand boring, as many girls that age do. So Claire decided to teach her daughter’s friends
for free, as she understands it gets much easier to play with a regular group, as boys often
do. For Claire, golf is a masculine sport where women can be tolerated especially if they
adopt a masculine model being this the sole facilitator. Other facilitators arose from the
avoidance of facing and questioning men (interpersonal). Further constraints were the
cultural/social attitudes (structural) that shape women’s participation (Figure 6).
Maria’s father started taking her to the golf course when she was 12 and at 16 she won her ?rst
national tournament. The facilitator factors are within her micro system, especially the
intrapersonal, deriving from her personality, motivation or ability to play. On the interpersonal
level, the enablers are clearly her father and also her ability to socialize. Maria’s father was a
determinant to her success and has always been very encouraging, supporting her when she
needed it. The only interpersonal constraint she refers to is ‘‘considering marriage’’. She wants
to get married but realizes men’s resistance to accept that women may earn more money than
them: ‘‘I earn more than most of my friends and I think that this is still not well accepted [. . .]
women earning more than men, I mean.’’ Furthermore, ?nding a man who accepts all her
travelling, irregular schedules, her commitment and obligations is not easy. Having children is
not even an option for her. Maria has a close group of friends; most of them do not play golf.
They look after her house when she is away and keep her company when she is back in the
Algarve. Nevertheless, apart from her job, she spends many hours practising alone. Music
helps her concentrate and she also loves reading. Maria perceives structural factors mostly as
constraints: geographic location, golf policies. She has the masculine speci?cities of golf
engrained in her mentality and does not try to change them. She plays on men’s grounds and
by their rules: she is very competitive, likes to bet, takes advantage of all the rules that favour
women and does not think that ‘‘family comes ?rst’’ (Figure 7).
Judith started playing with her father (interpersonal). Her sister and brother also play whilst
their mother just accompanies the family to the clubhouse. Her model is masculine. She is
Figure 6 Maria’s golf participation model
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young and lively; as interpersonal constraints, she mentions that she misses going out at
night and partying with her friends.
Although presently she has a female coach that she admires, she absorbed the
cultural/social attitude which causes her to say that women are different and inferior.
Moreover, she is aware of the constraints of living in Portugal: the lack of support given to
students who engage in sports and want to succeed (structural). Judith considered
becoming a ‘‘tour professional’’ but suddenly she had a serious accident, broke her leg
and has been recovering since then. She thought of abandoning golf but, on her return
after the accident, she won the national tournament once more, and started playing again.
She says: ‘‘I’m lucky, because in golf we just walk [. . .] if I was a runner, I could never go
back with a leg like this’’. Presently, Judith intends to go abroad where she can attend
university and continue to play golf. She advances:
[. . .] in Portugal, there isn’t much future in golf for a woman [. . .] for the boys it might be also
dif?cult but they don’t mind interrupting their studies for some years whilst they are at the top.
Judith highlights that of?cial institutions (structural) are not supportive of women: ‘‘The men’s
team gets caps and bags and we have to steal from them, because we never get anything.
Not even the shoes [. . .] Everything revolves around the male teams’’. Judith is aware of the
gendered focus of the game:
Although men are superior, I play better than the average, because I’m very tall and I hit the ball
very far, my swing is very powerful. They hate to lose against me as I often play from the men’s
tees, I don’t use the women’s tees (this rule is a bit paternalistic) [. . .] and I still win!
Her parents made her understand that she is an example for other girls to look up to her, and
she is now more conscious of this role. As a strategy, she follows the pattern: keep male and
female groups separate (Figure 8).
No one in her family plays golf. However, her parents practised sports, so they realised its
importance. Angela became involved in golf accidently: she attended a golf demonstration
Figure 7 Judith’s golf participation model
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at the age of six near her house and she was so resolute that her parents registered her in a
Golf Clinique. The children in this group were the main determinant to her participation,
acting as a facilitator factor (interpersonal). Soon she started playing well and the club where
she played was a great support, since her parents could not afford the costs of keeping her
in golf (structural). Because she lived on the Azores Island, every time she wanted to
compete, she had to pay for the ?ights and accommodation. Later on in life, she received
unexpected support:
I playedwith borrowedclubs, as I could not afford them. When I went to play in the USA, there was a
gentleman, an immigrant from Azores, who offered me a better set of clubs. Since then, he has
been paying for my membership fee until I decide to stop playing. Otherwise, I could never afford it.
For her, the structural factors act as strong constraints: money, the geographic location and
institutional policies. She is very critical of golf institutions in Portugal and she is very aware of
gender inequities in this practice. Just as an example, Angela highlights the injustice
imposed on the Ladies’ national team when they participated in the 2008 world tournament
in Australia: the men’s team was booked in at a 5-star hotel along with some accompanying
guests who did not even play golf, whilst the female team stayed at a 3.5 star hotel. When
questioned, the answer was that the Federation could not afford to put them all in 5-star
accommodation.
7. Conclusions
From the excerpts above, some partial conclusions can be drawn: these women were
educated in Portugal according to a masculine pattern that they accept almost
unconditionally. They all learnt with male elements of their families (father, grandfather and
husband) or in school groups with a male coach who facilitated their participation. These
women developed a strong sense of competitiveness and an intrinsic will to win. More
than men, these women discriminate themselves by accepting that they are inferior to
male golfers, not only physically, but also because they have to work harder to get similar
recognition for their achievements. They accept the ‘‘double task’’ (ensuring their family’s
Figure 8 Angela’s golf participation model
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wellbeing) thus they have less time for themselves. Furthermore, some of the interviewees
follow their husbands by accommodating to and playing by men’s rules, thus helping to
perpetuate this status quo. Their main strategy is accepting to be separate from men and
competing separately.
Meanwhile, men handle the presence of female golfers in two ways: either they accept
women’s supremacy using this ‘‘acceptance’’ to show their own superiority towards other
men who do not; or, they become aggressive, intimidating women who silence their own
interests and avoid confronting men. The attitude of golf courses is also not conducive to
facilitating women’s participation: some of our interviewees tried to introduce policies to
attract women to this sport. Yet, golf stakeholders resist changes on the grounds that the low
number of female golfers does not justify them. This attitude reveals that golf policymakers
do not consider the female market very relevant.
The present research expanded the insight into how gender biases in golf affect the
participation of women. From the comparative analysis of life stories of British and American
women who excelled in golf in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with the contents of six
semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire applied to present-day Portuguese female
champions and professionals, the two presuppositions that sustain the research were
con?rmed:
1. Life stories of British and American women who excelled in golf in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries indicate perception of the 3D factors as inhibitors or facilitators to their
participation.
2. Contemporary Portuguese female champions perceive the 3D factors similarly to the
previous group of women from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
This clearly indicates that these factors persist across the centuries, in?uencing the decision to
participate in leisure, sports and golf. Results fromthis study highlight that on an intrapersonal
level, the strongest facilitators common to both groups under study are motivation and past
experience. Findings also con?rm that from the interpersonal factors, family (father, brother or
husband) and friends’ incentive are the main drivers for participation; furthermore, marriage
may be perceived both as a facilitator or a constraint, depending on the circumstances,
whereas the ‘‘ethics of care’’ is mostly regarded as a strong inhibitor. The structural constraints
outnumber the other dimensions, being the strongest these women had to face: status quo,
cultural and social attitudes and course policies and conduciveness, amongst others. We
conclude that some aspects of women’s lifestyle have not changed much. Social values are
very dif?cult to overcome even when women are motivated to participate in leisure activities
such as golf. Moreover, our research ?nds that the exclusion of women, more than explicit
discrimination, is a cultural factor engrained in their daily lives, meaning that women exclude
themselves and tacitly accept discrimination.
Contributions, limitations and future research
This study contributes to the literature in different ways: First, a conceptual model deriving
from the literature and the analysis of life stories (nineteenth and twentieth centuries) allows
the beginning of female golfers’ exclusion or discrimination to be framed. Second, the study
identi?es the factors that mostly supported and still support this status quo. Third, since it
analyses the strategies used by famous women golfers across the centuries, this research
introduces more awareness into this subject, which clearly needs further research.
Factors of participation found in Portugal coincide with ones previously mentioned in studies
from other countries. This suggests that these factors are transversal to various nationalities.
Nevertheless, the present research focuses only on the Portuguese champions by
comparing their life stories with those of international champions in past centuries, which by
reinforcing the transversality of these factors, is actually a limitation since we just examined
Portuguese women. Further studies should evaluate the pertinence of these factors amongst
other nationalities and cultures.
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McGinnis, L., McQuillian, J. and Chapple, C.L. (2005), ‘‘I just want to play’’, Journal of Sports & Social
Issues, Vol. 29, pp. 313-337.
Mair, L. (1992), One Hundred Years of Women’s Golf, Mainstream Publishing Company, Edinburgh.
Miller, Y. and Brown, W. (2005), ‘‘Determinants of active leisure for women with young children – an ‘ethic
of care’ prevails’’, Leisure Sciences, Vol. 27 No. 5, pp. 405-420.
Moy, R.L. and Liaw, T. (1998), ‘‘Determinants of professional golf earnings’’, The American Economist,
Vol. 42, pp. 65-70.
Ragin, C. (1994), Constructing Social Research: The Unity and Diversity of Method, Pine Forge Press,
Thousand Oaks, CA.
Raymore, L. (2002), ‘‘Facilitators to leisure’’, Journal of Leisure Research, Vol. 34, pp. 37-51.
Roster, C. (2007), ‘‘‘Girl power’ and participation in macho recreation: the case of female Harley riders’’,
Leisure Sciences, Vol. 29 No. 5, pp. 443-461.
Swain, M. (1995), ‘‘Gender in tourism’’, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 247-266.
Sylvia-Bobiak, S. and Caldwell, L. (2006), ‘‘Factors related to physically active leisure among college
students’’, Leisure Sciences, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 73-89.
Vamplew, W. (2010), ‘‘Sharing space: inclusion, exclusion, and accommodation at the British golf club
before 1914’’, Journal of Sport and Social Issues, Vol. 34, pp. 359-375.
Woodside, A.G., MacDonald, R. and Burford, M. (2005), ‘‘Holistic case-based modelling of customer’s
thinking-doing destination choice’’, in March, R. and Woodside, A. (Eds), Tourism Behavior: Travellers’
Decisions and Actions, CABI Publishing, Wallingford, pp. 73-111.
Woodside, A.G., Krauss, E., Caldwell, M. and Chebat, J.-C. (2007), ‘‘Advancing theory for
understanding travelers’ own explanations of discretionary travel behavior’’, Journal of Travel
& Tourism Marketing, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 15-35.
Further reading
FPG (2010), Portuguese Golf Federation – Golf Digest, (III), No. 53, Lisbon.
FPG (2011), Portuguese Golf Federation, available at: www.fpg.pt
Kahn, L. (1996), The PLGA: The Unauthorized Version, Group Fore Productions, Inc., Menlo Park, CA.
Tinkler, B.A. (2004), Joyce Wethered – the Great Lady of Golf, Tempus Publishing Limited, Stroud.
Web sites
www.ega-golf.ch/ (accessed 11 February 2012)
www.fpg.pt/ (accessed 11 February 2012)
Corresponding author
Helena Reis can be contacted at: [email protected]
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doc_801315622.pdf
In the late eighteenth century, golf emerged as a men’s game. Since then, women have
striven to play, yet without success. A ratio of around 80 percent of male players against 20 percent
female proves that women are far from being accepted in golf. This study, supported by qualitative
analyses of women golfers’ life stories, attempts to evaluate to what extent this prejudice exists.
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
Gender inequalities in golf: a consented exclusion?
Helena Reis Antónia Correia
Article information:
To cite this document:
Helena Reis Antónia Correia , (2013),"Gender inequalities in golf: a consented exclusion?", International J ournal of Culture, Tourism and
Hospitality Research, Vol. 7 Iss 4 pp. 324 - 339
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Gender inequalities in golf: a consented
exclusion?
Helena Reis and Anto´ nia Correia
Abstract
Purpose – In the late eighteenth century, golf emerged as a men’s game. Since then, women have
striven to play, yet without success. A ratio of around 80 percent of male players against 20 percent
female proves that women are far from being accepted in golf. This study, supported by qualitative
analyses of women golfers’ life stories, attempts to evaluate to what extent this prejudice exists.
Design/methodology/approach – The ecological system theory, the causal historical wave model, the
intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural factors, and the constraints/facilitators paradigm were ?rst
used to support the theoretical model that was de?ned based on the literature. Second, the model was
revisited according to textual data collected from 25 narratives of women in the nineteenth century. The
present research applies this model throughout a set of six life stories of contemporary Portuguese
women who excelled in golf, attempting to test the persistence of this discrimination.
Findings – The results highlight that structural and interpersonal factors persist across time. Some
aspects of women’s lifestyle did not change much since some cultural values are dif?cult to overcome.
The research highlights that the exclusion of women, more than explicit discrimination, is a cultural factor
engrained in their daily lives, meaning that women exclude themselves, tacitly accepting this
discrimination.
Research limitations/implications – The research focuses only on Portuguese women. Further studies
should evaluate the pertinence of these factors amongst other nationalities and cultures.
Originality/value – The low participation of women in golf is acknowledged by golf stakeholders in
Portugal, but this has not been the object of research; thus, to the authors’ knowledge, this is the ?rst
paper about this subject in Portugal.
Keywords Gender, Discrimination, Facilitators/constraints, Golf – nineteenth to twenty-?rst centuries
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The origins of golf go back to ancient times and it is believed that the game was played from
China to Rome (Crane, 1991; Flannery and Leech, 2004; Hudson and Hudson, 2010; Hudson,
2008). Since the eighteenth century, the British have introduced the game worldwide and with
it their cultural tradition of for-gentlemen-only-clubs that has excluded women fromclubhouses
and from practising golf. In his research, Vamplew (2010, p. 372) highlights that:
[. . .] the club was a site for men of similar social standing to meet together in a homosocial
environment. The clubhouse itself offered a masculine sanctum where men could dine, drink, play
cards or billiards, and read the papers, all free from female involvement save for the club servants.
Still today, neither the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (Scotland, UK) nor the
Augusta National Golf Club (USA) allow female members. Statistics released by the
European Golf Association in 38 European countries between 1985 and 2011 show that
more than 70 percent of golf practitioners are male and this status quo persisted over those
25 years (EGA, 2011). Portugal is no exception and since golf was introduced in the country
by the British, this discriminatory practice of excluding women has probably been
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VOL. 7 NO. 4 2013, pp. 324-339, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1750-6182 DOI 10.1108/IJCTHR-12-2011-0005
Helena Reis is based at
ESGHT, University of
Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
Anto´ nia Correia is based at
the University of Algarve,
Faro, Portugal.
Received 16 December 2011
Revised 6 June 2012
Accepted 2 July 2012
The authors would like to thank
the editor and the anonymous
reviewers for their helpful
comments on the earlier version
of the manuscript.
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responsible for the low participation of Portuguese female golfers in this sport (18.6 percent
– www.ega-golf.ch (accessed 11 February 2012)), following the Anglophone pattern.
Nevertheless, history along the centuries reveals that a number of women not only managed
to learn and play but went beyond that to excel in this sport. In the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries, a group of athletes from England, Scotland, Ireland and USA did not accept this
exclusion and somehowdared to challenge the male hegemony of the game, ?nding ways to
cope with the inequitable practices of policymakers and club managers. These women’s life
stories are critical to understand the extent of the male-hegemony of the game.
Research on gender inequities in sports focuses mainly on differences in relation to men,
concerning participation, behaviour and performance, justifying these behavioural
differences in physical dissimilarities or distinct ways of perceiving competitiveness
(Abrahamsen et al., 2007; Callan and Thomas, 2006; Mair, 1992; Moy and Liaw, 1998;
Roster, 2007). Only a few studies examine the strategies women use to cope with golf bias
(McGinnis et al., 2009) so we ?nd justi?cation for the present study that aims to frame
strategies women used across the centuries to succeed in golf.
The historical analysis is the ?rst step to comprehend and outline the contemporary situation.
The secondary data used in this study derive from the interpretation of biographies and
books written by golf historians who highlighted gender inequities in this sport. The present
research follows a historical analysis to examine narratives and biographies of different
women, as well as the strategies applied by six Portuguese women, who are the top ones to
have excelled in golf in this country.
The results of this study prove that women accept discrimination, even though, to succeed in
golf, they have to avoid or outwit this hegemony. Even when showing some dissimilarity, this
behaviour persists from the early days of women playing golf to the present, and it is not
likely to change: to accept, avoid and/or outwit are the strategies women used, have used
and will keep on using.
This study contributes to the literature in different streams: ?rst, the analysis of life stories
from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries allows the beginning of exclusion/discrimination
to be framed. This is of utmost importance since the exclusion of women was more
prominent at that time. Furthermore, applying a model supported by those life stories to test
discrimination in the twenty-?rst century allows the persistence of this phenomenon to be
assessed. Second, it underlines the factors that mostly supported and still support this
status quo. Third, as the focus of the study is famous women golfers, analysing the strategies
they have used to play and stay in golf will provide guidelines for contemporary women to
cope with inequitable practices.
The limitations of this study derive mainly from the fact that the sample only comprises
present day life stories (in Portugal) whilst the conceptual model comprises life narratives
(Europe and USA) that in today’s context can be considered limited in time and scope. Yet,
on the other hand, this becomes one of its greater contributions, since the study
contextualises and provides the framework for discrimination processes. To the author’s
knowledge, it is the ?rst study of this kind in Portugal.
Following this introduction, Section 2 of this article presents the literature review on gender
and sports/golf. Section 3 covers the theories that structure this research. Section 4
advances the methods used, followed by the results in Section 5. The ?nal section includes
conclusions, limitations and perspectives for future research.
2. Literature review
McGinnis et al. (2005, p. 317) interpret gender as a ‘‘social structure that organises society into
different and unequal categories based on sex and as an ideology that promotes inequities
between the socially constructed categories of men and women’’. Equally, Swain (1995)
advances that gender is ‘‘a system of cultural identities and social relationships between
females and males, as a signi?cant variable in any study of human relations’’. Based on this
system, feminist theories have conceptualised institutionalised barriers as practices, which
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apparently perpetuate themselves because they are built into the formal structure of work
organisations (Acker, 1990) or in sport participation, such as golf (McGinnis et al., 2009).
Discrimination takes many forms, but they all involve exclusion/rejection:
Discrimination may be described as a distinction, whether intentional or not, but based on
grounds relating to personal characteristics of the individual or group, which has the effect of
imposing burdens, obligations, or disadvantages on such individual or group not imposed upon
others, or which withholds or limits access to opportunities, bene?ts, and advantages available to
other members of society (Canada’s Supreme Court).
Gender discrimination has many faces.
Yet, blaming discrimination for gender asymmetries in golf may be reductive. It seems there
is a temporal ordering with tradition leading or causing discrimination. Borsay’s (2006)
re?ection upon the British experience since 1500 portrays a traditional society and culture
with very pronounced class division, where leisure was enjoyed differently by the upper,
middle and working classes, according to the social order ‘‘based upon differential
possessions of wealth, status and power’’ (Borsay, 2006, p. 75). This distinction between the
upper and the working classes further deepens since ‘‘of undoubted importance was the
requirement for a substantial expenditure of money and time since this was precisely what
the productive orders could not afford’’ (Borsay, 2006, p. 81).
According to the historian, ‘‘throughout the period from 1500 to the present day the elite
used sport and the arts to de?ne and justify its position in the social order’’ (Borsay, 2006,
p. 85), whereas the working class was extremely competitive, which typi?ed most leisure
activity, ‘‘whether it be football, ?shing, or brass bands (to which the notion of contesting was
central)’’ (Borsay, 2006, p. 87). However, as the author clari?es, social order was not static,
different classes could evidently participate in the same leisure activities but he adverts that
‘‘they frequently did so in very dissimilar ways, which tended to accentuate rather than
mitigate differences of class’’ (Borsay, 2006, p. 104).
Over the last decades, a vast body of research evidences that women’s leisure is intrinsically
related to the gender roles in society and constraints women face deriving from gender
inequities in most domains (Crawford and Godbey, 1987; Fjelstul et al., 2011; Henderson,
1990; Henderson and Hickerson, 2007). Reverting to Borsay (2006) from his historical
perspective, ‘‘the relative invisibility of women’s leisure’’ (Borsay, 2006, p. 111) originates in a
‘‘sharp physical and temporal distinction between male work and leisure as compared with the
?uidity of women’s position’’ (Borsay, 2006, p. 111). Amongst several leisure activities, a
number of women were interested in golf: ‘‘middle-class women tended towards
feminine-appropriate sports such as tennis and golf which offered opportunities for social
contact and moderate exercise’’ (George, 2009, p. 335). Nonetheless, golf was and still is a
male-dominated sport that imposes strong restrictions to women, from interdiction to play on
busier days or times, to full exclusion from clubhouses. One way of being accepted was or is
to accommodate the biased norms of the game: ‘‘the position of women in golf [. . .] depended
upon accepting segregationist practices and inferior roles that still riddle the sport’’ (Borsay,
2006, p. 115). Just as an example, the dress code de?ned in the rules of the game and
societal expectations was very rigid and for a long time, limitative of female performances: ‘‘in
the 1890s the majority of women golfers complied with what was expected and appeared in
clothing which hampered to some degree their style of play’’ (George, 2009, p. 335).
Vamplew (2010) advances a contextualisation of the beginning of golf within this strict
society referring to the exclusion of women from clubhouses. Further, George et al. (2007)
and George (2009) highlight gender discrimination in golf, providing a consistent historical
perspective of constraints women had to face in order to play. Since the British divulged this
practice worldwide, golf absorbed some of their strong cultural traditional values:
Discrimination against women golfers is as long as the history of the sport itself. [. . .] The game of
golf spread from Britain across the Anglophone world in the late nineteenth century. The
establishment of clubs followed close behind. [. . .] golf clubs were sporting extensions of late
Victorian ‘‘clubland’’, which was an almost exclusively, and often aggressively, masculine sphere
(Haig-Muir, 2000, p. 19).
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Or, as Crane (1991, p. 39) puts it: ‘‘The British gol?ng establishment, long after South Africa
apartheid reforms in sport, still allows women to be banned from courses and clubhouses in
its domain’’.
Discriminatory practices of exclusion from golf clubs imply exclusion from learning,
coaching, better equipment, more competitive tournaments, larger media coverage, and
sponsorships, amongst others. Additionally:
[. . .] golf links and the country club are the locale for developing professional and business
contacts. Golf and the country club lubricate the advance of careers. Deals are cut on the fairway
and in the clubhouse (Marsha Kazarosian, April, 2007 in: Hudson, 2008, p. 117).
Examples of discrimination were found in the literature about women golfers from Europe to
USA (Crane, 1991; Hudson, 2008; Mair, 1992).
Episodes re?ecting women’s exclusion may not be as striking as ‘‘the sign alleged to hang
outside one East of Scotland club which read: ‘No Dogs and Women’’’ (Crane, 1991, p. 141),
but they are clearly illustrative:
B Joyce Wethered (1901-1997), one of England’s best players ever, recalls:
[. . .] often they [women] wouldn’t be allowed in the clubhouse and I remember an occasion when,
while waiting for my partners to emerge from the locker-rooms at Sandwich, I kept my hands and
?ngers warm on the radiator of someone’s Rolls Royce (Mair, 1992, p. 95).
B In 1952, Jeanne Bisgood and Frances Bunty were invited to tea ‘‘by the Honourable
Company of Edinburgh Golfers’’. They thought it was a great honour to be the ?rst women
ever to enter Muir?eld [Scotland], but then they read a large notice in the foyer. It said:
‘‘The club committee regrets the inconvenience to members caused by admitting women
to the building’’ (Crane, 1991, p. 72).
Despite all this, numerous women have persisted in the game and can be considered from
two perspectives (George, 2010; Vamplew, 2010):
1. The women who perceive golf as an opportunity to combine an open air activity with
social interaction, i.e.:
[. . .] an excellent means of combining fresh air, exercise, and society, as a gentle form of healthy
exercise that required skills rather than force, and which allowed time on and off the course for
social interaction (Ladies Field, February 25, 1899, p. 493, in Vamplew, 2010, p. 365).
2. More serious golfers who want to compete, i.e.: ‘‘it soon became evident that they could
play better than a large number of the male members of the club’’ (Hutchinson, 1899,
p. 71, in Vamplew, 2010).
It is this latter group that is critical to the present research. By examining narratives and life
stories at different time lines, we aim to identify what intrapersonal, interpersonal and
structural factors most contributed to these women’s strategies in golf. First, the biographical
stories were used to revisit a conceptual model grounded on the ecological systems theory
(EST) (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 1989) and the causal historical wave (CHW) (Woodside et al.,
2007). Second, these stories were used to frame the behaviour of Portuguese women who
excel in this homosocial sport on two levels: to assess the extent of discrimination over the
centuries and across nationalities.
3. Theoretical framework
Following Woodside et al.’s (2007) proposal, the contexts in which these women lived
were considered in order to fully understand their behaviours. Additionally, the authors
based the methodological framework on the EST by Bronfenbrenner (1979, 1989) and the
CHW model (Woodside et al., 2007). Bronfenbrenner (1979, 1989) asserted that one can
only understand the individuals by understanding the environments in which they live. An
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ecological perspective of human development concerns the contexts in which individuals
exist and reveals the in?uence of several environmental systems; the micro and the macro
systems are the most signi?cant. The micro system integrates the living context of the
individual (intrapersonal); the individuals and the interactions between individuals
(interpersonal). The macro system consists of the social structures of the society in which
individuals live (structural). Furthermore, the intrapersonal factors relate to psychological
states, characteristics, beliefs and personality traits. The interpersonal factors arise from
interactions and relationships that individuals establish with others. The structural factors
refer to a broader context, outside the individual and include physical and social
institutions, organisations and belief systems associated to the society in which the
individuals live.
Woodside et al. (2007) af?rm that a CHW hits the consumers when making a decision or a
choice. The individuals’ life experience combined with their history, social environments and
enabling factors make up this CHW. The causal history refers to one’s childhood, personality
traits or particular life experiences that delineate the individuals’ wishes and desires.
Crawford and Godbey (1987) con?rm that intrapersonal (motivation, individual beliefs and
personality) and interpersonal factors (friends and family) are within the micro system of the
individuals and the structural dimension (socio demographic) belongs to the macro system.
The suggestion that these 3D factors may function as constraints or facilitators (Jackson,
1997; Raymore, 2002) will enable us to identify which factors mostly in?uence women’s
decision to participate in golf. Haig-Muir (2000), Gilbert and Hudson (2000), Grouios and
Alexandris (2002) and McGinnis and Gentry (2006) argue that this is the most suitable
framework to understand the choice for a male-dominated sport and some authors
(McGinnis et al., 2009) went further advancing that, when within unfriendly environments,
women develop competencies and strategies to cope with the situations.
Figure 1 shows the theoretical framework that supports this research.
On the basis of the literature review and the conceptual model in Figure 1, the study is
framed by the following research presuppositions:
P1. Did British and American women who excelled in golf in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries perceive the 3D factors as facilitators or constraints to their
participation in golf?
Figure 1 The 3D factors paradigm
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P2. Do Portuguese women who excel in golf in the 21st century perceive the 3D factors
as facilitators or constraints to their participation in golf?
P3. What are the factors that persisted over the centuries and across nationalities?
P4. What are the strategies that these women used to succeed in golf?
Building on the above assumptions, the research strives to illustrate different options and
analyses diverse life contexts, perceptions of gender bias participation and the resultant
closing strategies chosen by these women.
4. Methods
Having identi?ed in the literature the factors that facilitate or inhibit women’s participation in
leisure and sports and having analysed women’s life stories from the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, this study aims to understand if the same factors apply to present day
female golfers in Portugal. To evaluate the research proposals of this study, the authors
selected both qualitative and quantitative methodologies as the most appropriate approach
to obtain a holistic interpretation of undisclosed facts, since the research becomes richer
and fuller due to the multiple methods used.
At the ?rst stage, we conducted a textual analysis of the narratives from the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries. These women’s life stories were found in biographies and books by golf
historians and were written in the ‘‘natural language of the setting’’ (Lincoln and Guba, 1985,
p. 277, in Jennings, 2010, p. 76), these being one of the best sources to analyse this topic. By
studying the environments in which female golfers lived and what gender prejudice they
experienced, as well as what constraints they had to overcome in those early times, one can
get a better understanding of gender barriers in sports and leisure that has persisted until the
present day. According to Woodside et al. (2007) method, the contexts in which these women
lived were considered, in order to fully understand their behaviour. This understanding will be
the ?rst step to build a model that can be applied to present-day female golfers. Our objective
was to verify whether these factors and strategies persist and if it is possible to ?nd similarities
over the centuries, different nationalities and cultures. The second part of our research was
conducted by means of semi-structured in-depth interviews of the six Portuguese champions.
We examined these women’s antecedent facts, living conditions and previous sport
experiences in order to assess how different lifestyles in?uence the perception and
verbalisation of gender inequities and consequently, how these affect participation. A
qualitative method of empirical material interpretation, the content analysis (Jennings, 2010,
pp. 203, 211) was applied to the comparative study of these interviews. Finally and in order to
validate the interpretation of the interviews, a questionnaire was applied to the same six
women generating a triangulation method. The results suggest that the 3D factors clearly
in?uence women’s participation at different levels and function either as facilitators or
inhibitors. Moreover, ?ndings reveal that although they are aware of the masculine focus of the
game, Portuguese champions accommodate themselves to bias in order to stay in the game.
The in-depth interview is the most appropriate technique to get a holistic interpretation of the
interviewees, their past and present contexts and their decision to participate (Glaser and
Strauss, 1967; Jennings, 2010; Ragin, 1994; Woodside et al., 2005). The sample consists of
six women covering the total s spectrum: four golf Professionals (out of 110, only four are
women) and the two Pro- and Amateur national champions who exist in Portugal. The
sampling strategy used intends to focus on exploring and describing facilitators and
constraints reported by this group of Portuguese female golfers.
The interviews were conducted in Portuguese, at the clubhouses where these women
work as golf professionals and where the Amateur champion plays. They were conducted
face-to-face, lasting between 1.30 to 3.00 hours and were divided into three main parts:
the ?rst part provides a matrix detailing all previous sport experience and the second
comprises 76 open-ended questions, covering three sections about the person’s life
background and socio-demographics, daily life activities and routines, concerning
professional and extra-professional activities; the ?nal section focuses on sport
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experiences, behaviours and factors the interviewees face when choosing a
male-dominated sport. This method involves a person-to-person interaction and an
immersion of the researcher in the research setting, which results in a better
understanding and signi?cance of the social phenomena under study (Ragin, 1994). All
interviews were recorded and verbatim transcribed. By means of content analysis
(Jennings, 2010, pp. 203, 211), the interviews were interpreted and a set of factors
emerged as the most important ones. These were incorporated in a survey that was
applied to the same six women at a later stage, to corroborate the interpretation of the
interviews, reversing the researchers’ subjectivity.
5. Discrimination over the centuries, the path for revisiting the conceptual model
A discriminatory pattern of exclusion is present along the times lines of both groups under
study and by revisiting the conceptual model, we intended to verify whether there were other
similarities over the centuries either in the 3D factors or in the type of strategies used by
female golfers.
According to the literature, the most signi?cant intrapersonal factors are past experience
and skills/ability/knowledge (Gilbert and Hudson, 2000; McGinnis et al., 2009; McGinnis and
Gentry, 2006; Sylvia-Bobiak and Caldwell, 2006), whilst the interpersonal are family
reference and gender norms that strongly penalise women (an ‘‘ethics of care’’ Gilligan,
1982; Callan and Thomas, 2006; Kaczynski and Henderson, 2007; Lloyd and Little, 2010;
McGinnis and Gentry, 2006; Miller and Brown, 2005; Sylvia-Bobiak and Caldwell, 2006;
Roster, 2007) and the structural relate to cultural/social attitudes and course
policies/conduciveness (Callan and Thomas, 2006; Gilbert and Hudson, 2000; Haig-Muir,
2000; Kaczynski and Henderson, 2007; McGinnis et al., 2009; McGinnis and Gentry, 2006;
Miller and Brown, 2005). Moreover, the model was revisited according to the ?ndings
deriving from 25 women’s life stories. These stories enriched the model as it was possible to
con?rm determinant factors already outlined in the literature review, such as: past
experiences (intrapersonal); family references (interpersonal) and cultural/social attitude
(structural). Some excerpts from these women’s narratives evidence the importance of the
referred factors: Amongst the intrapersonal factors, contact with golf from childhood
facilitates participation in this game, e.g. past experience: champions like Cecil Leitch
(1891-1955), Molly Graham (1880-1955) and Joyce Wethered (1901-1997) amongst others,
grew up in a golf environment since their fathers and brothers played. In fact, Lady Margaret
Scott’s (1874-1938) family was rich and built ‘‘their own golf course on the family estate’’
(Crane, 1991, p. 18). Her father and three brothers were keen golfers and quite often
‘‘Margaret was the only female player’’ (Crane, 1991, p. 19).
Amongst the interpersonal factors, the strongest facilitator is the family reference – ‘‘Sister of
two of Royal Liverpool’s greatest players, Molly Graham (1880-1955) learnt her golf from her
father’’ (Crane, 1991, p. 24). Yet, some life stories showthat marriage and an ‘‘ethics of care’’
– the traditional role of women taking care of others before attending to their own needs
(Gilligan, 1982), may function as constraints: ‘‘Rhoda [Adair] won two British titles before
marriage brought about early retirement’’ (Crane, 1991, p. 22). Or ‘‘May Hezlet (1882-1969)
dropped out of the championship scene to concentrate on being a minister’s wife’’ (Mair,
1992, p. 28). The cultural/social masculine values (structural) that women acknowledge as
superior and tend to accept with no perception of discrimination are a strong structural
constraint. Alexa Sterling (1897-1997) recommended that ‘‘you had to imitate the men’s
deliberate and mechanical club action if you were to get results’’ (Crane, 1991, p. 57).
Figure 2 shows the revisited model that will be used to assess the strategies within
Portuguese women.
6. Findings
The 3D factors model is the most suitable to support this research since it allows the factors
which inhibit or facilitate women’s involvement in golf to be identi?ed. Interpretation of these
women’s statements leads to a characterisation of each life story. Content analysis of the
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data highlights which factors are more signi?cant and in?uential and reveals the type of
strategy used by each woman to succeed. Comparing their backgrounds, past
experiences, interaction with family and friends, their perception of the gender prejudice
that derives from social and cultural traditions (i.e. the gendered male-dominated focus of
the game) will add insight into how we comprehend gender in golf participation.
The interviews with the six champions are shown in Figure 3.
Figure 2 Conceptual framework: women’s golf participation model
Figure 3 Caroline’s golf participation model
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This 28-year old woman started playing golf at the age of 12; her family had no connection to
sports but they lived near Vilamoura, a tourist complex with several courses and a golf Clinique
that offered free classes for youngsters who could not afford the fees. Whilst at school, one of
her teachers sent some pupils of low economic means to learn golf at the Clinique. Thus,
though lack of money was a constraint (structural), this Clinique enabled Caroline to play. This
group of youngsters played together for several years and Caroline became the national
champion. She emphasizes that these friends were crucial for her success (interpersonal). At
this level, those who learnt, practised and competed with her acted as facilitators. Some of
themmoved to Lisbon to attend university. For a while she managed to play and study, but the
pressures at university forced her to abandon the top competitions. In order to stay connected
to golf, she became a professional coach at one of the local golf courses. Although at the
beginning of the interview, she held her studies responsible for abandoning competitive golf
(structural), later on she admitted that the fear of not being able to ‘‘stay at the top’’ was – as
strong, indicating how self-esteem can become a constraint (intrapersonal). Overall,
interpersonal constraints outnumber the facilitators: she ‘‘misses the social life’’ and refers to
‘‘the ethics of care’’ (Gilligan, 1982) constraint. This is not affecting her at the moment as she
has no children and her husband is very supportive, but she teaches executives that come in
the week during working hours and says: ‘‘I don’t think women could ever do that’’. She
criticises golf decision makers (structural):
They always say that it’s not worth allocating extra facilities for women, because we are only a few,
but if things don’t change, how can we attract more women to the game !? (Figure 4).
Paula was born in Angola, Africa. Her mother was German and her parents played golf at the
local golf course (made in oil tar sands) but instead Paula and her sisters learnt howto swim.
She became a swimming champion. In 1975, the family moved to Lisbon, Portugal. The lack
of facilities to keep on swimming (structural) made Paula change and play tennis. Her
previous sport practice facilitated Paula’s choice for golf (Past experiences, intrapersonal).
Her family used to play at the Lisbon Golf Club and Estoril Golf Club, both courses which
were opened by the British. Paula does not refer to any intrapersonal constraints, as she is
passionate about golf. She met her husband in a tournament and they are both keen golfers
Figure 4 Paula’s golf participation model
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(family/husband’s in?uence – interpersonal). When she got married, she moved to Oporto
where her husband lived and not the opposite (cultural gender norms – structural). For their
holidays, he chooses a golf destination. She wants to relax from golf (her job), but ends up
accommodating his choices. She perceives structural factors mostly as constraints: She has
the masculine cultural assumption engrained in her mentality that men are superior and
women have to work harder to compete with men. When she started teaching, she did not
expect to be welcome because she was coaching mostly men: ‘‘Men couldn’t accept to be
taught by a woman, the only thing I had on my side was having been The National Champion
for some years [. . .]’’ – she emphasises. This concurs with McGinnis and Gentry (2006)
?nding that men do not like to be beaten by women. For some years Paula was the national
female team coach working for the FPG. However, she resigned since she could not
introduce changes she found essential to motivate women (structural), leaving space for a
man to take up her position. Many women ?nd it easier to tacitly accept discrimination and
contribute to maintain the status quo. As a strategy, Paula creates a ‘‘separate’’ world where
women are welcome and successful (her golf club is known for its excellent group of young
women golfers). Paula states that golf managers and policymakers should ?nd ways to
attract more women. The stakeholders respond that there are so few women that there is no
point in changing policies (Figure 5).
The factors that induced this woman’s participation in golf relate to her family (interpersonal).
Four generations, from her grandfather to her daughter, have been connected to golf; she is
a golf professional at her father’s Academy. Her speech indicates that she assumes golf is a
male-orientated sport. To enhance women’s involvement, Claire tries to separate them from
their husband’s: she says that many men tell their wives off in front of the class and they lose
interest in the game. Although not clearly assumed, Claire accepts masculine cultural
orientations (structural) which are not exclusive to golf but can be found in – traditional
Portuguese culture at all levels. She reports that her husband is supportive, yet she admits:
‘‘He accepts my teaching, but he jokes: I’mthe opposite of the other husbands, I take advice
from my wife’’ (cultural gender norms). He did not play golf until he met her. Claire’s familiar
and professional gol?ng environment attenuates the ‘‘ethics of care’’ effects but she
mentions that, at times, it is very hard for women to conciliate all their tasks; moreover, she
Figure 5 Claire’s golf participation model
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admits that ‘‘family obligations and children come ?rst’’ and recalls interrupting golf for six
years after her daughter was born. When her daughter was 12 or 13, she started ?nding golf
slowand boring, as many girls that age do. So Claire decided to teach her daughter’s friends
for free, as she understands it gets much easier to play with a regular group, as boys often
do. For Claire, golf is a masculine sport where women can be tolerated especially if they
adopt a masculine model being this the sole facilitator. Other facilitators arose from the
avoidance of facing and questioning men (interpersonal). Further constraints were the
cultural/social attitudes (structural) that shape women’s participation (Figure 6).
Maria’s father started taking her to the golf course when she was 12 and at 16 she won her ?rst
national tournament. The facilitator factors are within her micro system, especially the
intrapersonal, deriving from her personality, motivation or ability to play. On the interpersonal
level, the enablers are clearly her father and also her ability to socialize. Maria’s father was a
determinant to her success and has always been very encouraging, supporting her when she
needed it. The only interpersonal constraint she refers to is ‘‘considering marriage’’. She wants
to get married but realizes men’s resistance to accept that women may earn more money than
them: ‘‘I earn more than most of my friends and I think that this is still not well accepted [. . .]
women earning more than men, I mean.’’ Furthermore, ?nding a man who accepts all her
travelling, irregular schedules, her commitment and obligations is not easy. Having children is
not even an option for her. Maria has a close group of friends; most of them do not play golf.
They look after her house when she is away and keep her company when she is back in the
Algarve. Nevertheless, apart from her job, she spends many hours practising alone. Music
helps her concentrate and she also loves reading. Maria perceives structural factors mostly as
constraints: geographic location, golf policies. She has the masculine speci?cities of golf
engrained in her mentality and does not try to change them. She plays on men’s grounds and
by their rules: she is very competitive, likes to bet, takes advantage of all the rules that favour
women and does not think that ‘‘family comes ?rst’’ (Figure 7).
Judith started playing with her father (interpersonal). Her sister and brother also play whilst
their mother just accompanies the family to the clubhouse. Her model is masculine. She is
Figure 6 Maria’s golf participation model
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young and lively; as interpersonal constraints, she mentions that she misses going out at
night and partying with her friends.
Although presently she has a female coach that she admires, she absorbed the
cultural/social attitude which causes her to say that women are different and inferior.
Moreover, she is aware of the constraints of living in Portugal: the lack of support given to
students who engage in sports and want to succeed (structural). Judith considered
becoming a ‘‘tour professional’’ but suddenly she had a serious accident, broke her leg
and has been recovering since then. She thought of abandoning golf but, on her return
after the accident, she won the national tournament once more, and started playing again.
She says: ‘‘I’m lucky, because in golf we just walk [. . .] if I was a runner, I could never go
back with a leg like this’’. Presently, Judith intends to go abroad where she can attend
university and continue to play golf. She advances:
[. . .] in Portugal, there isn’t much future in golf for a woman [. . .] for the boys it might be also
dif?cult but they don’t mind interrupting their studies for some years whilst they are at the top.
Judith highlights that of?cial institutions (structural) are not supportive of women: ‘‘The men’s
team gets caps and bags and we have to steal from them, because we never get anything.
Not even the shoes [. . .] Everything revolves around the male teams’’. Judith is aware of the
gendered focus of the game:
Although men are superior, I play better than the average, because I’m very tall and I hit the ball
very far, my swing is very powerful. They hate to lose against me as I often play from the men’s
tees, I don’t use the women’s tees (this rule is a bit paternalistic) [. . .] and I still win!
Her parents made her understand that she is an example for other girls to look up to her, and
she is now more conscious of this role. As a strategy, she follows the pattern: keep male and
female groups separate (Figure 8).
No one in her family plays golf. However, her parents practised sports, so they realised its
importance. Angela became involved in golf accidently: she attended a golf demonstration
Figure 7 Judith’s golf participation model
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at the age of six near her house and she was so resolute that her parents registered her in a
Golf Clinique. The children in this group were the main determinant to her participation,
acting as a facilitator factor (interpersonal). Soon she started playing well and the club where
she played was a great support, since her parents could not afford the costs of keeping her
in golf (structural). Because she lived on the Azores Island, every time she wanted to
compete, she had to pay for the ?ights and accommodation. Later on in life, she received
unexpected support:
I playedwith borrowedclubs, as I could not afford them. When I went to play in the USA, there was a
gentleman, an immigrant from Azores, who offered me a better set of clubs. Since then, he has
been paying for my membership fee until I decide to stop playing. Otherwise, I could never afford it.
For her, the structural factors act as strong constraints: money, the geographic location and
institutional policies. She is very critical of golf institutions in Portugal and she is very aware of
gender inequities in this practice. Just as an example, Angela highlights the injustice
imposed on the Ladies’ national team when they participated in the 2008 world tournament
in Australia: the men’s team was booked in at a 5-star hotel along with some accompanying
guests who did not even play golf, whilst the female team stayed at a 3.5 star hotel. When
questioned, the answer was that the Federation could not afford to put them all in 5-star
accommodation.
7. Conclusions
From the excerpts above, some partial conclusions can be drawn: these women were
educated in Portugal according to a masculine pattern that they accept almost
unconditionally. They all learnt with male elements of their families (father, grandfather and
husband) or in school groups with a male coach who facilitated their participation. These
women developed a strong sense of competitiveness and an intrinsic will to win. More
than men, these women discriminate themselves by accepting that they are inferior to
male golfers, not only physically, but also because they have to work harder to get similar
recognition for their achievements. They accept the ‘‘double task’’ (ensuring their family’s
Figure 8 Angela’s golf participation model
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wellbeing) thus they have less time for themselves. Furthermore, some of the interviewees
follow their husbands by accommodating to and playing by men’s rules, thus helping to
perpetuate this status quo. Their main strategy is accepting to be separate from men and
competing separately.
Meanwhile, men handle the presence of female golfers in two ways: either they accept
women’s supremacy using this ‘‘acceptance’’ to show their own superiority towards other
men who do not; or, they become aggressive, intimidating women who silence their own
interests and avoid confronting men. The attitude of golf courses is also not conducive to
facilitating women’s participation: some of our interviewees tried to introduce policies to
attract women to this sport. Yet, golf stakeholders resist changes on the grounds that the low
number of female golfers does not justify them. This attitude reveals that golf policymakers
do not consider the female market very relevant.
The present research expanded the insight into how gender biases in golf affect the
participation of women. From the comparative analysis of life stories of British and American
women who excelled in golf in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with the contents of six
semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire applied to present-day Portuguese female
champions and professionals, the two presuppositions that sustain the research were
con?rmed:
1. Life stories of British and American women who excelled in golf in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries indicate perception of the 3D factors as inhibitors or facilitators to their
participation.
2. Contemporary Portuguese female champions perceive the 3D factors similarly to the
previous group of women from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
This clearly indicates that these factors persist across the centuries, in?uencing the decision to
participate in leisure, sports and golf. Results fromthis study highlight that on an intrapersonal
level, the strongest facilitators common to both groups under study are motivation and past
experience. Findings also con?rm that from the interpersonal factors, family (father, brother or
husband) and friends’ incentive are the main drivers for participation; furthermore, marriage
may be perceived both as a facilitator or a constraint, depending on the circumstances,
whereas the ‘‘ethics of care’’ is mostly regarded as a strong inhibitor. The structural constraints
outnumber the other dimensions, being the strongest these women had to face: status quo,
cultural and social attitudes and course policies and conduciveness, amongst others. We
conclude that some aspects of women’s lifestyle have not changed much. Social values are
very dif?cult to overcome even when women are motivated to participate in leisure activities
such as golf. Moreover, our research ?nds that the exclusion of women, more than explicit
discrimination, is a cultural factor engrained in their daily lives, meaning that women exclude
themselves and tacitly accept discrimination.
Contributions, limitations and future research
This study contributes to the literature in different ways: First, a conceptual model deriving
from the literature and the analysis of life stories (nineteenth and twentieth centuries) allows
the beginning of female golfers’ exclusion or discrimination to be framed. Second, the study
identi?es the factors that mostly supported and still support this status quo. Third, since it
analyses the strategies used by famous women golfers across the centuries, this research
introduces more awareness into this subject, which clearly needs further research.
Factors of participation found in Portugal coincide with ones previously mentioned in studies
from other countries. This suggests that these factors are transversal to various nationalities.
Nevertheless, the present research focuses only on the Portuguese champions by
comparing their life stories with those of international champions in past centuries, which by
reinforcing the transversality of these factors, is actually a limitation since we just examined
Portuguese women. Further studies should evaluate the pertinence of these factors amongst
other nationalities and cultures.
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Corresponding author
Helena Reis can be contacted at: [email protected]
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