The IX: Golf Thursday with Carly Grenfell, March 7, 2019
By The IX Team
Ashley Mayo interview—Golf role models—Must-click links in women's golf
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Role Models in Sport
I’ve always wondered why more women and girls, when asked who their role model is, always answer with male athletes.
Looking up to Tiger Woods, LeBron James or Michael Jordan is fine. But I’ve always felt like there should be more females who look up to other females. I loved what the Women’s National Team did for the SheBelieves Cup, where each player selected the name of a woman who has inspired them and wore that name on the back of their jersey. Sung Hyun Park, the now World No. 1 women’s golfer, was recently surprised by Tiger Woods—her golf idol—which got me thinking more about this topic.
Woods is one of those athletes who is impossible not to respect and he is probably a role model for tons of golfers and people in general. But there are a handful of women in golf, like Annika Sorenstam, Laura Davies and Karrie Webb to name a few, who have also achieved what no other female golfers have. In many ways, what they’ve done for golf can’t be and hasn’t been touched.
I do believe that with more coverage, and better coverage, in women’s golf, this will shift. When more female athletes are talked about and their achievements reach a new level of amplification, the average person will develop more of an appreciation for athletes similar to them.
This Week in Women’s Golf
Reminder: First, the underlined words are the links. Second. CLICK these, even if you’ve already read them. Clicks = Attention from editors, producers and webmasters. Third, if you want to push out stuff you’ve written or read, email me! carlygrenfell@gmail.com
Park claims her sixth LPGA Tour victory at the HSBC World Championship.
There’s a new World No. 1 in women’s golf!
The USGA announced sectional qualifying sites for the 40th U.S. Senior Open.
This is a great story on the first woman from Slovenia to qualify for the LET.
Charlie Hull weighs in on the backstopping debate.
Sung Hyun Park was surprised by her idol Tiger Woods.
Registration is now open for the 2020 Drive Chip and Putt.
Jasmin Cunningham became the eighth African American female PGA Member.
Newell sisters embodying courage, determination in chasing their golf dreams.
Michell Wie is injured again. 🙁
Tweet of the Week
Five at the IX: Ashley Mayo
Ashley Mayo is the current Head of Brand at 8AM Golf where she oversees seven different golf companies. This company “identifies and supports a wide variety of brands that help golfers have more fun, both on and off the course. We value the traditions of the sport while relying on innovative practices to help move it forward and reach new audiences.” Be sure to check it out!
Mayo was interviewed in a recent podcast for Talk Birdie to Me hosted by Anya Alvarez and the LPGA Women’s Network. She dives into her career and shares her perspective on humanizing the sport. Here are five awesome quotes from the interview. To subscribe to the LPGA Women’s Network podcast or listen to the full interview, click here.
I) 8AM oversees seven different golf companies. These companies range from a media company, to an equipment company, to courses, to an app company, so it’s really, really different. They have basically industry in the golf industry under one company. As head of brand, I’ve been tasked with making sure each of these companies are presented in the best way possible so that any consumer or audience consumes the content or goods these companies provide in the most pleasant way, the most profound way, the most premium way, whatever the adjective is.
II) For me, I would say there were two primary reasons I was hooked on golf. One was Tiger Woods. He had just won the Masters in 1997 and he was really making the sport seem like a sport and not a leisure hobby. Number two, but maybe the most primary reason, was my sister. I had a built-in practice buddy. We practiced together and competed together. The first time I played golf alone, was in my late 20’s. We always had each other.
III) I would never underestimate the power of a girl gang. I always say that watching LPGA Tour golfers on a broadcast is far more interesting than watching men play golf because I learn more. I try to emulate what they do. For the PGA TOUR, it’s more shock and awe.
IV) The most important thing is just to remember that nobody cares. Nobody cares that you’re shooting 200. Just as long as you keep up and have a good attitude. That’s all anyone will ever remember. They do not care that you flubbed that shot, that you totally whiffed, just laugh about it and keep up.
V) Golf has taught me that I tend to give up too easy. Then I realize and I’m back in it. I’ll hit one mediocre shot on one hole, and if I hit another mediocre shot or a bad shot, I tend to start taking out my camera and start doing something else. Recently, I’ve worked on sticking with it. It doesn’t matter that I’m hitting my sixth shot on this hole; the boys can wait. A lot of times I don’t want to be the person holding someone up, but golf has told me to take a deep breath and stick with it.
