EP 08: On Par with Men: An LPGA Hall of Famer’s Quest to Elevate Women in Golf

This episode originally aired as part of the Women Igniting Change® podcast. While it reflects the foundational work that shaped this journey, The Audacity Tapes represents a deeper, bolder evolution of these conversations — centered on truth, conviction, and courage. Original episode description below: Kay McMahon, often hailed as the most influential figure in the world of golf, holds a distinguished position as a Ladies' Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Hall of Famer. However, her true passion lies in teaching, and through her company, Edukaytion Golf, she's determined to change how golf is taught. She believes that the golf industry has perpetuated the misconception that golf is a challenging sport, deterring many, especially women, from ever starting.   This hesitation to embrace golf can put women at a disadvantage, given that golf courses often serve as venues for valuable business networking. Kay aims to encourage more women to confidently take up the sport and open doors to business opportunities.   To achieve this, Kay emphasizes the importance of introducing girls to golf at a young age and providing them with female role models who engage in the sport casually and professionally. Despite the support Kay received from her male teammates during her time as a female pro golfer, golf remains predominantly male-dominated, with slow progress in women's inclusion. Even golf course designs favor men. Kay thoughtfully discusses how men can serve as allies to women in golf.   In today's episode of Women Igniting Change, Kay introduces her Golf 8.5 method, simplifying the steps involved in forming a golf swing. According to her, it's the first step toward confidently stepping onto the golf course.   Quotes “We don't always listen to ourselves. People say, ‘Go do this; this is what you're good at,’ and you say, ‘No, that doesn't sound like it's right.’ It's hard to sometimes sit back and just listen and say, ‘I'm pretty good at this.’” (6:29 | Kay) “The interesting thing was that they were very supportive, all the men when I was out there. They were very supportive.” (8:26 | Kay) “If we change how we teach it, we're going to get more golfers, especially more women, into the game.” (13:01 | Kay) “When you walk into that boardroom, you might not know what you're doing, but you’d better walk in like you know what you're doing and you own it. I'm going to say this about women: we get to this point where we might be strong in the boardroom, or in corporate America, or globally corporate, but all of a sudden, we get on the golf course and get meek again.” (17:43 | Kay) “Golf courses are really designed for men.” (21:29 | Kay) “I think we really need to encourage high school girls to start playing earlier, too…Not every girl is going to get on the LPGA Tour. But every girl doesn't have to be left at the office as they get into corporate America.” (25:44 | Kay) “I was offered one of my first jobs with IBM because of two things: I was a woman; I could play golf. And that makes a big difference. People think the deals are made on the golf course. No, what you're doing is you're developing those relationships, you're out there doing something with somebody else. And I think that's a big deal.” (26:28 | Kay) Links Connect with Kay McMahon: Website: https://www.edukaytiongolf.com/ Blog on website: https://www.edukaytiongolf.com/blog Other social links: https://www.facebook.com/kay.mcmahon.1447 https://www.facebook.com/eduKaytiongolf/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/edukaytiongolf/ https://www.youtube.com/user/EduKaytionGolf https://www.instagram.com/edukaytiongolf/ https://twitter.com/edukaytiongolf Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm