Kailie Hargis
I will NEVER recommend this golf course to any woman. My first (and last) experience here was completely disrespectful and rooted in misogyny. As a former DI athlete and a woman getting into golf for fun, I was shocked at how demeaning and unwelcoming the staff, particularly a marshal named Dave, made the experience. My coworkers and I went golfing on a Friday when we all happened to have the day off. A group several tee times ahead of us was running about 10 minutes behind, so our tee time was slightly delayed, which was not a problem, since we had no time constraints. Our first encounter with the marshal, Dave, seemed fine. He told us to “keep up with the group in front of you,” and we agreed, mentioning that we were playing a scramble to move faster. We even brushed off his unnecessary, creepy old-guy comment about our golf attire (we were a group of three women). A hole later, Dave returned to lecture us about how we “weren’t playing a scramble correctly” and that we “don’t hit the ball far enough” to keep pace. His tone was condescending and frankly inappropriate. We were easily maintaining pace and I even timed one of our holes at under 10 minutes, yet he came back three more times to criticize us while ignoring other groups who were just as slow or slower. By the 7th hole, he had approached us four separate times, while my coworkers’ groups ahead of us said he only checked on them once. By the time we wrapped up on the final hole, look who came riding in and parked his cart, Dave. The most ironic part was that the group behind us was an entire hole behind; they were still putting on the 7th hole while no one was even on the 8th. Yet, even with other groups clearly off pace, Dave was done micromanaging. Once our group of women finished, his so-called “concern for pace of play” suddenly vanished. When we finished, we spoke with the front desk and manager, who apologized but seemed surprised and said, “That doesn’t sound like him.” That response made it clear that either they didn’t believe us, or that this behavior only surfaces when management isn’t watching. To top it off, while we met up with our other coworkers and stayed afterward for a drink, I realized we were the only women on the course that day. Based on how we were treated, I can’t imagine that’s a coincidence. This was one of the most uncomfortable and disheartening experiences I’ve had at any recreational facility. Until this course takes accountability and addresses how its staff treats female golfers, I cannot and will not recommend it to anyone.
