From: Mary Sturgill
Columbus
I won the women’s city golf tournament … surprise! I have bragging rights, I’m thrilled at the way I played and am proud to earn the title.
I’m oftened asked why I think more women do not play in the city tournament. There are several answers to this question that I’ve heard. They don’t want their scores put in the paper, they don’t like to compete with the younger girls, they feel they can’t play as well as they used to, etc. These can all be remedied to a certain point. We could request scores not be published, and a senior division is now offered so you’re not mixed in with the younger crowd. Your play, well, that could change on any given day.
However, what we, as golfers, can’t control is the way the tournament is organized and implemented. One year prizes and awards were handed out before all the teams had even finished. This definitely didn’t sit well with many who now refuse to play. In the recent women’s city tournament, a mere four players signed up and two had to withdraw the second day due to health reasons. The other two played on Sunday, mostly in a heavy downpour of rain while slopping around the muddy course which, of course, was cart path only. At the end, not the beginning, but the end of the tournament we were informed that there was no trophy, no prizes, no type of award — not even a congratulatory hand shake! I’m sorry, what was the $60 entry fee for? Plus $20 cart fee on top of that? Did our money go to supplement the men’s awards, because I certainly saw a lot of envelopes being handed out to them. And people wonder why more women don’t want to play.
If one does not know how to plan and organize a tournament that includes an award, then you shouldn’t be having one. Or maybe the city tournament needs to be turned over to someone who really cares about doing it the correct way. I’ve always tried to promote the tournament and encourage others to play, but then something like this happens. I’m sorry, but this was wrong on so many levels. And not to be informed up front is totally inexcusable.
