Part of the reason golfers love the game is its variety.

The morning maintenance crew sets up a new course every day, making each round a new challenge. New pin locations, varying green speeds and thickness of the rough are all alterable factors that change the way the game needs to be approached.  

These physical changes add excitement to each round, but beyond that, there is one key decision every golfer makes when he or she tees it up: picking which tee box to play. This has led to what I believe to be one of the most negative stereotypes in golf - the notion of "ladies tees." It's a term I'd love to see disappear. So would a lot of other women.

Let's start calling them the "forward tees." Calling these tees - which are traditionally red in color - the “ladies tee” insinuates that men shouldn’t play from there under any circumstances. While it’s flattering a tee has been reserved for us, it's disrespectful to assume women are less skilled, and it takes away from the game when, in fact, the forward tees can be fun to play for anyone.   

Through the years, tee boxes have evolved to fit age and skill level. With many courses now offering various junior tees, young children can learn the game from an appropriate distance. From these boxes to the championship level tees we see PGA Tour professionals playing, there’s space for every age and skill level. This variety keeps the game accessible and welcoming to all those who want to give it a go.  

I understand that, in general, men hit it farther off the tee than women, but with any generality, there are exceptions. I know plenty of men I can out-drive and plenty of men who out-drive me. But, as a college golfer, my ability level is such that playing the forward tees isn’t what I regularly do.

Growing up at a golf course, I understood the norms very well and accepted my place on the red tees without thinking twice. As I began playing and improving, I found myself wanting to move back and try different tees, but I waited for permission to do so.  

It’s ingrained for women to stay out of the way and play fast, but it’s time to step up and challenge that narrative to make the sport more inclusive.   

The tee box gender stigma stretches beyond everyday play into competitive events. Some of my favorite memories on the golf course have come from charity and pro-am events. I’ve been lucky enough to play in dozens of these events throughout my golf career, but never once have I played any tee other than the forward tees.  

These events' rules sheets typically break out men by age range and professional status while the women are grouped to the forward tees with no attention to age or skill level. While these events are just for fun, and playing a shorter distance certainly gives me an advantage, it highlights the assumptions bred into the game that women are less skilled and therefore always belong on shorter tees. 

Whether courses mean to label their forward tees the “ladies tees” or not, it has been the norm for so long that it is a tough habit for many facilities to erase. Thankfully, clubs like my home course, Audubon Country Club in Louisville, Ky., are making a concerted effort to eliminate “ladies tees.”

Audubon Country Club, where my father is the director of golf, has displayed a set of classic tees categorized by color since its opening. Blue was the championship tee, followed by green, white and red. As the red tees continued to be called the “ladies tees”, they noticed a need for change and created a tee box system of their own to erase the gender stigma.

Their new tees, named after various birds, have a specific meaning to the club. The championship tee has been coined the “Cardinal” tee, named after their logo, and will appear in red. The color red on the tips? Now that sends a new message loud and clear. This tee will be followed by the “Hawk” tee in black, the “Oriole” tee in orange and the “Blue Jay” tee in blue. The new and improved forward box will be named the "Dove" tee and will appear in white.

Audubon is setting a standard that eliminates the stigma behind “ladies tees” and instead gets the members excited about a new look on their tee boxes that has nothing to do with gender.  

This approach works at Audubon, but it isn’t the only way to solve the issue. Other clubs are offering recommendations of what tees to play based on score or handicap. By putting these guidelines on a sign at the first tee or on the scorecard, they offers player guidance on what tee fits their skill set without adding a gender bias. Isla Del Sol Golf Yacht and Country Club in Florida has gone to roman numerals to keep color out of the tee bias. In this Twitter thread, 78 percent of staff members at other clubs indicated they would be open to changing their current tee structure to help the game move forward:

As the game continues to grow, certain norms must continue to change. For members and other golfers who tend to play the same course over and over, playing various tees can add excitement to the game. Why not give it a try? Playing from a different yardage creates different looks on par 3s and approach distances, allowing you to see different parts of the course. If an advanced player - man or woman - is looking to lock in his or her short irons, playing from the forward tees is a simple way to practice that. Less overall distance will get you closer to the green than normal, forcing your short irons do the work to score.
  
Repurposing tee boxes is a small step to rewriting the script for women in golf. I have been lucky to see the growth of women’s golf in my life, especially post-pandemic, where more women and girls are playing than ever before. But we still have a long way to go.  

Changing the stereotypes on tee boxes is an easy step. It isn’t embarrassing for men to play from the forward tees, and it isn’t required of women to stay there.

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