Gender still a complex game for golf

A special column by Anand Datla

June 03, 2015: I woke up this morning to a Google update that left me floundering in a complex web of emotional traffic. My delightful daughter turned 15 today, and the gendercentric story of Bruce Jenner turned Caitlyn Jenner invaded my consciousness with a sudden urgency. It is deeply puzzling to me that after many thousand years of existence, our species is still confounded by the topic of gender. If you haven’t already read about it, Jenner transitioned from Bruce to Caitlyn recently and his golf club of fifteen seasons is groping with what kind of rights they might afford her.

Only recently, the papers in India spent column space on Manabi Banerjee, apparently the first transgender school principal in our country. The BBC reported it too showering attention to the event, magnifying it for a global audience.

Naturally then, it seems that our species has evolved enough to understand that opportunity ought to transcend gender. Unfortunately though, there is an apparently collective struggle to allow this understanding to seep into our lives. We’d rather celebrate these events as an oddity, than evolve enough for such developments to become the norm rather than an exception.

In this specific case of Jenner, she had spent the better part of the past 15 years playing golf at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California. Her time at the club as a man helped build some lasting relationships, over time shared on and off the course.

Unfortunately though, in a sadly anachronistic way, Jenner isn’t allowed to use her old locker room or even the same eating areas. It is no wonder that the networks in the USA picked on the story and enjoyed a field day playing it up.

But then devoting space to Jenner will serve us no purpose. After all the SCC isn’t even a pale spot on the horizon, considering the gender challenges that have held back luminous clubs such as Augusta and St. Andrews.

Both those hallowed portals have spent a considerable amount of time reflecting and coping with the need for a balanced existence, preoccupied as they were by a strangely misogynistic chromosome that ran through their defective DNA.

While it is clearly a pity that an amateur like Caitlyn is dragged into the arc-lights for dubious reasons, women have been equally responsible for bringing this upon themselves.

Seasoned champions have used the issue of gender to further their own bank accounts, instead of using their global statuses to deal with the issue in a pragmatic, unbiased manner.

In tennis for instance, the women lead by Billie Jean King have battled for equal prize money instead of a level playing field.

It is a real pity that these women decided to value their existence on the weight of currency rather than take the conversation to a more philosophical level as it should always have been. In doing so, the women have agreed to discrimination at a price. Be charitable with the money and we shall cede you some space seemed to be their argument.

Money is just one of many outcomes from sport. And golf by avoiding the tamasha of oversized cheques has always been a game that promoted excellence and the prized trophy at the end of their tournaments to set a dignified example.

Women ought to be fighting for right to access and presentation and not merely money. Money is a factor of success and any athlete that can draw a crowd will eventually break the bank.

Annika Sorenstam’s greatness does not stem from her wealth, as much as it does from her awe inspiring performances. For those that care to remember, some feared that Maria Sharapova might follow the trail of Anna Kournikova, amassing more gold dust than glittering honours.

But over the years, the Russian has proven that she is one of the most mentally resilient players in tennis, by collecting multiple major trophies, turning herself into a legend in the sport. Enormous wealth, far beyond the realm of imagination for many male athletes, has been but a by-product of her determination and ferocity.

The game of golf has come a long way since its elitist beginnings. It is time now for the game to draw away from petty conversation and march ahead by indulging the masses. And gender has no place in this inclusive conversation for the growth of this wonderful game.

The secret to unlocking the divine treasures of the game lay in rising above and beyond the mundane. Golf should be embracing people without a mention of colour or gender to extend the near religious experiences of the beautiful game to every human being willing to turn it into a painstaking habit.

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