By Vijaya George


SHE came to Dubai eight years ago on a visit with a friend ... and stayed on. BACK then, she was just an amateur golf player looking for a job to while away her vacation. Today, this tall, soft-spoken lady from South Africa is recognised as the only female golf professional in the Gulf. SANDY MEYER! The name stands out in bold letters on the golf bag she slings over her shoulder, clubs bobbing up and down, as she walks briskly down the course after a round of practice.

Sandy's love of the game began several years ago, back in South Africa, when she was just a 10-year-old. "Both my parents used to play golf," she says. "I used to carry the bag for my mom. Then, I started to hit the ball. And we used to have the South African Junior Golf Foundation, which offered free coaching classes and organised a lot of junior tournaments for children during summer. I used to go there all the time."

What began as a mere hobby has today become a full-time career for this 31-year-old, who coaches golf enthusiasts at the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club. In a region that plays host to the world-renowned Dubai Desert Classic, and where the future of golf looks, in Sandy's opinion, "huge", her position as the only female PGA-certified golfer in the Gulf is enviable. More so, because a significant number of women -- both local and expatriate -- in the region, have taken to playing golf.

Statistics released by the UAE Golf Association -- the governing body of amateur golf in the region, which does routine surveys on golf trends and works towards promoting the game in the UAE -- show that of the 5,000 odd golf players in the region, over 500 are women. Nick Tarratt, General Manager of the Association foresees a 10 percent increase in the number of female players, especially younger women, in the region each year.

For Sandy, that would mean tightening up an already "busy schedule" that accommodates "coaching, organising tournaments, handling paper work, meeting members and doing a lot of PR as well." It's a tough job that promises to get tougher as most women prefer a female coach and since there is only one such professional in the region, Sandy is obviously in great demand.

"Ladies generally ask for a lady," Sandy explains. "That's because we women are a lot more emotional. When it comes to learning, we need a lot of encouragement and golf is certainly not an easy game. And I think a lot of men generally prefer to be taught by men because they tend to be more technical. They want to know why this and why that."

The road to playing golf has not been an easy one for women. Riddled with gender bias, golf courses designed primarily for men that just make do for women and ever reminded of the reality that the female body is physically not as strong as its male counterpart, it has taken insurmountable grit and time for women golfers to break through the bastions of male-dominated golf.

But as Sandy says "People's attitudes are definitely changing. In the last year or so, women golfers have been doing very well ... and in the next four or five years, women are going to come in ... because they are starting to get a lot more support from sponsors, especially in places like Europe (where they never used to)."

From what one hears, it seems apparent that women in golf probably become more aware of their gender limitations than in most other fields of play. Women play with lighter clubs, their course is a good 50 yards shorter than the men's and they are allotted more handicaps (i.e more chances to play than men) to level out the gender differences.

Sandy, however, doesn't get any extra chances when she plays with the rest of her male colleagues at the Emirates PGA. "I have to play from regular tees," she complains jokingly. "They say to me 'I'm too good to play off the ladies'. Maybe they don't want me to beat them. If I beat them, they'll never live with that."

Sandy's only played in amateur golf tournaments. In her capacity as a professional, she only coaches. Certified golf professionals either go into full-time playing, coaching or merchandising. An individual is deemed a golf pro by the Professional Golf Association when her playing reaches a stipulated standard and she has been taught how to fix clubs, teaching and merchandising skills, organising golf tournaments and the rules of the game.

"It's very important that you get equipment that suits you," Sandy advises. "When you go for merchandise, always go through a professional who can measure you up and will know what will work best for you." Generally, men tend to use heavier clubs because the amount of velocity and strength they use to hit the ball is much greater and, therefore, require a shaft that can withstand the pressure while women use lighter clubs.

From her own experience, Sandy feels that her male and female students "react differently to the game. "Golf is difficult. It is hard," she says. "To stand out there and hit the ball for the first time is like trying to drive a manual car or learning the piano for the first time.

"I think a lot of women want to try the game but are intimidated by it, at least, initially. Men are usually excited. But women are nervous. They are a lot weaker. That's why you don't have male and female professionals doing the same tournaments. Their golf tournaments are very different."

Unfortunately, gender differences seem to stand in the way of having men and women golfers share the same course for professional tournaments. The Dubai Desert Classic is no exception. "Not for the DDC. It is a men's tournament. You don't have women playing with men on a professional level because there are no handicaps at this level. So I don't see women coming," says Sandy.

But if the golf pro was given the chance to make a change in golf some day, "I'd design golf courses just for women, where men are not allowed to play," she says, breaking into an impish grin. "Right now, it's for men and just make do for women." That point can be argued, male golfers may say. But we'll leave that discussion for another day.

For now it's all eyes on the Dubai Desert Classic and a living legend called Tiger Woods.

What began as a mere hobby has today become a full-time career for this 31-year-old, who coaches golf enthusiasts at the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club. In a region that plays host to the world-renowned Dubai Desert Classic, and where the future of golf looks, in Sandy's opinion, "huge", her position as the only female PGA-certified golfer in the Gulf is enviable.

The road to playing golf has not been an easy one for women. Riddled with gender bias, golf courses designed primarily for men that just make do for women and ever reminded of the reality that the female body is physically not as strong as its male counterpart, it has taken insurmountable grit and time for women golfers to break through the bastions of male-dominated golf.