WOMEN’S GOLF CLUB TESTING
 One of the many changes that we have made to Rankmark’s testing is process is the addition of 18 test categories.
We are especially excited about the addition of women’s test categories.
We are proud to offer unbiased test results for overall women’s club performance as well as two additional categories for price. From now on, every test that Rankmark conducts will include women’s clubs.
Early in my career, I had the pleasure of working with the Player’s West Tour. The Player’s West Tour was a women’s developmental tour that graduated more players to the LPGA tour than any other tour (at that time). Ever since that time, I have held women’s golf in very high regard.
Much to my amazement, so many of the “major” manufacturers still do not make women’s golf clubs! The vast majority of companies that do manufacturer women’s clubs focus a great deal of their efforts on producing a lighter (and shorter) shaft. And of course, let’s not forget the patronizing use of colors…
I will concede that there is a (small) percentage of clubs out there for women that go the new women golfer. We have also talked to a number of manufacturers that are considering a women’s product line.
Women’s golf has come a long way. Many of today’s top LPGA players and countless others behinds the scenes have had a very positive affect on the game, but there is still a very long way to go.
My issue with the current market for women’s clubs is really threefold:
- For women just learning to play that are taller than 5’2”, club selection is a challenge
- Manufacturers product offerings do not appear to recognize that women golfers that have been playing for a while have different needs from that of the beginner
- Very rarely do manufacturer’s consider performance as absolutely crucial to the success of a women’s club line
In our first test that women’s products were included, we saw a number of women choosing men’s clubs (albeit because of the shaft length or stiffness) when they had the option to play clubs designed for women.
The women’s golf market is seriously overlooked category. It is long overdue its day in the sun. Our body of testers includes women from private and public courses. We aim to have a nice cross section of women golfers at each test that includes young golfers that are new to the game, as well as the more experienced women golfer whose game often eclipses that of most men.
Since I am also a twenty plus year veteran of the industry and have actually worked pretty high up the food chain for a club manufacturer. I know my appeal to manufacturers may fall on deaf ears. With that said, I feel strongly that Rankmark should help develop as many aspects of the game as possible. We’d like to see some performance based women’s equipment that truly recognizes that not all women golfers are created equal. Shaft companies might also want to take note. Not all women golfers need a shaft with a great deal of flex!
As an aside, when I was working with the National Golf Course Owners Association, one of the issues we spoke about in reference to women’s golf was the fact that there is usually not even a trash can or ball washer on the women’s tee box… most men, have never even thought about this, lest I digress.
On a much more positive and optimistic note, I had the pleasure of hearing Pam Swenson speak a while back at an International Network of Golf (ING) event shortly after she took office as the head of the Executive Women’s Golf Association (EWGA). (www.ewga.com) This organization is really the premier women’s golf group in the country with over 180,000 members and Chapters all over the country.
We spoke with her again when we were at the 2009 PGA Show and she is doing a great job (in my humble opinion) of organizing women in golf to have a voice and make a difference in a primarily male dominated industry. Keep up the good work, the golf industry as a whole really needs the EWGA.
We were honored to have Caroline Jones attend our 3 wood test. She is the President of the Orange County Chapter of the Executive Women’s Golf Association She was all smiles and told us that she enjoyed testing. Thanks for coming out and hope to see you and the group at the upcoming Driver testing.
So manufactures take note, just because you make a pink or light blue club, doesn’t mean that women are going to like, or even use it.
We simply wish to provide valuable information to all golfers, whether new to the game or seasoned low handicapper. We do, however, find a huge void in the “performance” aspect of the women’s clubs. We sincerely hope that we can help manufacturers recognize the importance of producing clubs that cater to the entire women’s golf market, not just the stereotypical image of a woman golfer, that quite frankly, belongs in a previous era.
As always we welcome your thoughts and comments. Thanks for visiting and keep coming back!
More Women's Golf Coming Soon!
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