MAKE THE SWITCH
TEEING OFF
page 39
to One on One Athletic Club
NEW TENNIS DIRECTOR
ARMAND MOLINO
WELCOMES YOU
WITH A
2-FOR-1 SPECIAL
ON ANNUAL TENNIS
MEMBERSHIPS
$216 FOR TWO ADULTS
Roberta Madorsky tees off.
• Permanent court time
• Leagues beginning September 7
• Travel teams and USIA teams
• Group tennis clinics for all levels
• Private instruction
• Complete locker facilities
• Kids' Center/Nursery for child care
• Snack bar and lounge
ONE
ATHLETIC CLUB
a new era
Call Debby today for information
626-9880
Promotion ends 8/31/93. Membership is for one year.
Offer not available to previous members of One on One since 1/1/93.
Thompson, teaching profes-
sional at Knollwood
Country Club in West
Bloomfield, more women are
taking up golf and staying
with it.
"Golf is a game that any-
one can play at any age,"
says Thompson. "Women
past the age of 30 or 35 used
to be intimidated by the
game; they would start tak-
ing lessons, find it very diffi-
cult and then quit. That's
just not happening as often.
"They still find it difficult,
but they're continuing their
lessons, practicing on the
range, and enjoying the
game with other women
players like themselves."
Playing at an 8-handicap
and heading toward a 7,
Knollwood member Roberta
Madorsky of Bloomfield
Hills believes that more
women are playing golf
because it's becoming more
acceptable for women to see
themselves as athletic and
still be feminine.
"Golf is athletic," says
Madorsky. "Women are
learning that it's OK to hit
the ball hard, to drive the
ball 200 yards, to practice
and take lessons. It's part of
the change in a woman's
total attitude in how she
sees herself. -
"A bonus from this change
is that more men and
women are playing on the
course as couples and in
mixed groups. (Husband)
Irwin and I golf together at
least once a week for 18
holes and often squeeze in
an extra nine during the
evening."
According to Dennis
Spaulding, head profession-
al at Tam-O-Shanter in
West Bloomfield, not only
are more women taking up
the game, they are also tak-
ing a greater responsibility
for their own game.
"Today, women select
their own golf clubs rather
than relying on someone's
hand-me-down set," says
Spaulding. "And more
women are taking lessons
from a professional rather
than learning how to play
from their husbands or
fathers, who may or may
not know what they're
doing.
"They are also more confi-
dent, and not looking over
their shoulder to see who
may be looking at them play
or practice."
According to Missy
Pollack of Ann Arbor, a Tam
member, as more women
play the links, attitudes are
changing. Although the
impetus for equal access to
the golf course was legisla-
tion, gender issues regard-
ing membership remain a
problem.
"Clubs often get around
the gender issue by having a
couple designate one spouse
as the member, usually the
man, and the other as the
non-member," says Pollack.
"For some clubs, this may
mean only members can
vote, serve on the board, or
get a Sunday morning tee
time."
While many clubs are still
in the process of restructur-
ing their rules regarding
membership, voting rights
and access to the golf
course, Wabeek in
Bloomfield Township
recently resolved such mat-
ters.
Last year, Andrea
Culberson of Bloomfield
Hills appeared before the
Wabeek board to request
equal starting times for
women.
"One previous rule was
that unless a woman
worked full time, she was
not permitted to tee off on
Saturday before 11 a.m.,"
says Culberson. "However,
non-working men had no
such restrictions.
"At the time, there were
loud cries that the board
had opened Pandora's Box
and all sorts of trouble
would ensue, including slow
play and lack of etiquette,"
recalls Culberson. "What's
happened is that women are
getting more respect as com-
petent players and as work-
ing members of the club's
committee structure."
Most clubs have long
accepted the quasi-member-
ship role of a woman who is