golf

Last weekend I had the opportunity to take a golf lesson from PGA apprentice Emily Edens of Get Golf Ready, a program that aims to teach beginners, in just a handful of lessons, everything they need to know to play golf.

If you're worried about heading to the course for the first time, Emily insists that there's "no need to be intimidated." Golf is a sport dominated by men, but more than 60 percent of the students who enroll in Get Golf Ready are women. If you've always wanted to try golf, these tips will prep you for your first lesson.

1. Dress the part: Certain public courses will let you play in jeans and a t-shirt, but nearly all private courses have a strict dress code. It varies from course to course, so call ahead or go online to see what you'll need. When in doubt, khakis and a simple collared shirt do the trick.
2. No need to overinvest: There's no need to head to the first lesson fitted in fresh gear with brand-new clubs. Check with the course ahead of time to make sure clubs are available to rent or borrow, and be creative with the clothes already in your closet. Sneakers will suffice in place of golf shoes, and don't worry about grabbing a golf glove ahead of time. After a few times out on the course, you'll determine if golf is an investment you're ready to make.
3. Don't expect cardio: Your arms will be a little sore after your first time, but your golf lesson alone won't offer you cardio for the day. Instead of waiting to go to the gym after, get in your heart-pumping workout a few hours before your lesson. Since you'll have taken care of stretching after your workout, you won't have to waste time during your lesson. This way, you'll be able to get down to business and focus on instruction.

Keep reading for two more tips for your very first lesson.

Augusta National is no longer a boys' club. The prestigious and controversial golf club, which holds the Masters tournament each year, has finally admitted two women: former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and banker Darla Moore of South Carolina.

Built on a former indigo plantation, Augusta opened in 1932, and for a long time the club was stuck in a darker past. As the club's founder, Clifford Roberts, put it, "As long as I’m alive, all the golfers will be white and all the caddies will be black." Roberts died in 1977, but the club didn't allow nonblack caddies until 1983, and black members were not allowed until 1990. While Augusta's official rules haven't included racial discrimination for some time, the club has long maintained its prerogative as a private institution, and until today, women were not allowed to join the ranks of the club's 300 or so members.

Previous to its decision, Augusta had few supporters of its discriminatory policy. Back in April, both President Obama and Mitt Romney said they personally thought women should be admitted. It's a good sign for gender equality that two women will don Augusta's iconic green jacket along with some of the country's most prominent business leaders. Former chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations Martha Burk, who started a campaign against Augusta in 2002, agrees. She said today: "Oh my God. We won. It's about 10 years too late for the boys to come into the 20th century, never mind the 21st century. But it's a milestone for women in business."

I know. Golf? I, too, was guilty of judging the sport as a slow, boring, old boys' club. But what was once TV programming to induce weekend napping is now one of my favorite sports to play, and not just for the health benefits. In fact, the greatest driving force behind why women play is for business reasons. There are more than six millions female golfers just in the United States, and here are five reasons why I think you should be one more — for the sake of your career.

• Great networking opportunities. Golfers have a median household income of more than $80,000, and 93 percent of them own at least one home. Those statistics coupled with the fact that golf is a luxury sport (it's about $40 on average to play one round) makes its players generally affluent and successful. In the four to five hours to finish a round, you never know when you could befriend someone with the right connections.

Keep reading for four more reasons why you should take up the game.

San Francisco has a case of Giants fever; it's the first time in seven years that our city's baseball team is making it to the playoffs, and people are stoked! This weekend while "watching" the game, I asked if the World Series was on — hey, people seemed really excited! — and had to have baseball leagues, playoffs, and pinch hitting explained to me several times. But just because I fit the stereotype of women and sports not mixing, it doesn't mean I can't spin them a little for my own enjoyment.
A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I spent an afternoon at the batting cages. Besides being a great date, hitting a ball that was coming toward me at 35 mph was a fun workout, and it helped me appreciate the sport. But why stop at the cages?

• Fore (play!): Since I'm pretty bad at mini golf, "real" golf is not happening for me — I'll take pirate ships and windmills over a sand trap, any day. Driving ranges, on the other hand, are a whole different story: no course that takes hours to finish or confusion from picking one of 14 different clubs. Instead, you get to whack a bucket of balls as far and as straight as you can. Sounds easy, but a driving range will test your posture, strength, and eye-hand coordination. Added bonus: your sweetie can always sneak in close to help with your swing.

I have two more ideas, so keep on reading!

You love your dog and you love to play golf, so why not combine your two passions into one? The Doggie Driver ($17) was given to me and my hubby because we (him more than me) love to get putting. It's not going to feel as real as hitting the driving range because you're using tennis balls instead of golf balls, but this driver really helps you get more power to your swing.

The tennis ball sits in the little holder at the base of the club, and unless you swing your heart out, the ball will stay wedged in the holder. Make sure your dog is big into fetching, because once you get the hang of it, that ball goes a-flyin' up to 100 yards! My advice is to bring your dog to a huge open field, unless your backyard is enormous. The first time I got the ball going, I hit it clear over my fence and into my neighbor's yard, never to be seen again. My pooch was not pleased.

What's the best thing about the Doggie Driver? To find out and see a video of this club in action, read more

The 44th president has played 24 rounds of golf (who's counting?) since he came to office. How many women have been invited along with the golfer in chief? One. This weekend, President Obama's chief domestic policy adviser Melody Barnes became the first woman to play golf with the president.

Last week, Obama sounded pretty enlightened about modern gender roles. He said that after he had kids, he realized that Michelle should not be solely responsible for running the house just because she's a woman. But it seems that Obama has been having a hard time translating these enlightened ideas to sports, as he typically plays basketball and golf with men only.

Hanging out socially with the boss is always good for career advancement, and it's a bit disappointing that the president was perpetuating the idea that these traditionally all-male activities are still for for members of the "boys club." Hopefully any of the sporty women on staff will now feel welcome to play in these very visible games.

Have you ever felt excluded from activities (social or work-related) because you're a woman?