The Importance of Maintaining Women’s-Only Golf

Experiencing the frustration of a three-putt in golf can make players want to give up their clubs, but the game is known for its fairness. To create a level playing field across skill levels, golf uses handicaps for amateurs.

However, the Ladies Professional Golf Association allows men to compete as women, which is akin to faking a handicap. This practice is not considered acceptable.

In a recent event, 194 players participated in the LPGA’s Qualifying Series, with the qualifiers moving on to the final stage this month to vie for an LPGA card. Among these competitors is Hailey Davidson, a transgender male golfer who has met the requirements to compete after completing hormone therapy and a gonadectomy. Davidson has advanced to the 2025 Epson Tour.

As female golfers, we have faced challenges such as stereotypes, lack of funding, and fewer sponsorships. Allowing a transgender male to compete against women, even after hormone therapy and surgery, is seen as unfair as women’s bodies are unique, which is why women’s golf tours exist.

While transgender athletes should have opportunities to compete, there should also be women-only leagues to ensure the safety and fairness of female athletes. Women have voiced their concerns over the eligibility of men in women’s golf to the LPGA, USGA, and IGF but have not seen changes in the policies.

Competing at the highest level of golf has been a great honor for us, the professional golfers. We deserve to compete in a fair and equitable environment that recognizes our hard work and skill.

Lauren Miller, Hannah Arnold, Dana Fall, and Amy Olson are professional golfers and ambassadors for Independent Women’s Forum (iwf.org).