So it happened again. This time on the golf course. By... a... ranger...! It was a weekday last week. I had a morning tee time and most of my round had gone well. I had even made 2 birdies and was feeling
confident. Then, after I teed off on the 18th hole, the ranger
working that day drove
up and said to me, “Do you mind if I show you something?”
Now, I had just hit my drive about 210 yards, which is pretty
darn good for me, so I had no idea what this ranger was going to “show” me, but
I had a feeling he was going to try and give me some kind of advice, since he
had that air about him.
“Are you going to criticize me?” I said. “Because if you are,
I do not want to hear it.”
“I just want to show you something about your set-up,” he
said. Then he told me to take my normal set-up, while he watched. I complied
because I was physically and mentally exhausted after walking 17 holes in
90-degree heat and I didn’t know what else to do. But I felt very uncomfortable
while I was taking my set-up because I really didn’t like the idea of this guy
watching me. Then the ranger pointed out that even though I had aligned myself using
my club across my chest (a technique I learned a long time ago from my golf mentor, Seri), in my actual set-up, he claimed that my upper body was
open to the target. Then he grinned and put his hands out, palms up, as if he was dropping some major
wisdom and I should be impressed.
But instead, I got furious. How dare this guy try to “mansplain”
my golf set-up? “Why are you doing this? Would you try and give advice to a man?” I asked the ranger.
“Yes, I would,” he said. But I doubted that very much.
“I think you’re only doing this because I’m a woman,” I went
on. “I just hit a great drive, so how dare you try and tell me there’s
something wrong with my set up. I see all kinds of crazy swings from the guys
out here, and I don’t see you giving any of them any advice. Why were you watching
my golf swing anyway? That’s just gross!”
At this point, the ranger seemed to get the point and
drove away. I was so angry, I could barely focus on finishing the 18th
hole. Golf is very much a mental game, and this douche bag's interference with my
concentration was uncalled-for. As of this writing, my handicap is 15.4. So I
may not be the best golfer out there, but I am definitely not the worst. Since I
was clearly not breaking any course rules, endangering the safety of
others or even playing slowly, there was no reason the ranger should have stopped me
during my round to say anything to me at all.
After the round, I spoke to the starter, and he said that ranger isn’t even a good golfer. Knowing this made me feel
even more insulted and patronized. Why on earth would someone feel entitled to give
advice when they themselves are not even qualified to do so?
I was so furious, I wrote a 2-page letter to the head pro at the golf course, recommending that they train all new rangers and other employees with the following rules:
1) DO NOT give unsolicited advice to any golfer on the course, especially women. It’s sexist and patronizing to single out women for your so-called advice.
2) DO NOT stare and watch women teeing off. It’s downright creepy.
3) DO NOT judge the technique of people playing golf unless it interferes with the safety of others on the course. Golf is hard enough without feeling like the rangers are out there, critiquing your every move.
The response? Well, I would describe it as "tepid." After not hearing from the golf course for a week, I called the head pro to find out if he had received my letter. He said he did and offered words of apology, but it seemed more like lip service than anything else. If I hadn't called, it sounded like the head pro never would have called me, and when I did call, it sounded like he really didn't want to deal with me. The whole incident and lack of response has really left a sour taste in my mouth.
Luckily, there are a ton of other great golf courses around, so I will have no problem taking my business elsewhere for the foreseeable future.
