These female golf journalists are leading the way when it comes to covering the sport.
It hasn’t always been an easy road for women in sports media. For reference, I’d recommend watching ESPN’s 30 for 30 film, Let Them Wear Towels. Listening to the stories of female sports journalists who paved the way – women like Robin Herman, Melissa Ludtke and Christine Brennan – illustrates how far we’ve come.
In fact, some of today’s most influential sports writers and commentators are women. This trend holds true in golf. Meet a few of the female golf journalists who are leaving an impact on the game:
Kelly Tilghman
Tilghman has been with the Golf Channel since it launched in 2006. She began her broadcast career as an on-course reporter, but quickly became the first woman to do full-time play-by-play for PGA Tour events. This was a major accomplishment given the lack of women in play-by-play roles across all professional sports. Though other women, including Karen Stupples and Annika Sorenstam, have gone on to fill play-by-play roles, Tilghman is unique in that she made her name as a journalist rather than as a professional player. Tilghman also served as the play-by-play voice for one of my favorite video games, EA Sports’ Tiger Woods PGA Tour, from 2008 until 2011. She had a close relationship with Arnold Palmer and did a beautiful job speaking about his legacy earlier this year.
Paige Mackenzie
Mackenzie is one of my favorite Golf Channel analysts because of her fun personality and insightful commentary. She began working at the network in 2013, and she currently serves as a co-host on Morning Drive. Mackenzie has written about how much she enjoys her job on her blog. “It is the first time in years that I have been part of a ‘team’ working towards a common goal and I have enjoyed the collaboration more than I could have ever anticipated,” she wrote. During Mackenzie’s seven years on the LPGA Tour, she dealt with back injuries that interfered with her game. She was also the victim of a stalker, which is, unfortunately, not uncommon among female athletes and sports journalists. The New York Times published an important piece on the subject in March.
Karen Crouse
In contrast to Mackenzie and Tilghman, Crouse didn’t become a golf writer because of her love for the sport. Rather, she was assigned the beat by her editor at the New York Times who thought it would be interesting to have a non-golfer cover the game. Crouse has said that her outsider perspective has allowed her to pick up some interesting storylines that may have otherwise been overlooked. This includes a thoughtful piece she wrote about the reaction of female golfers to Paulina Gretzky’s Golf Digest cover. Crouse, who was a collegiate swimmer at the University of Southern California, did eventually take up golf, but she continues to cover the sport from a unique point-of-view.
Stina Sternberg
I’ve written about Sternberg before and I’ll likely do it again … that’s because she’s an inspiration to women in golf media. Currently, she serves as the Global Golf Director of Golf Digest, where she’s also a columnist. She began her career at the magazine in 2008 and spent several years as a Senior Editor before assuming her current role. She was also an editor of the now defunct Golf for Women. Among Sternberg’s contributions, one of my favorites is her 2010 video on rules for golfing with women. I’d recommend you watch it (and possibly share it with a few of your golf partners.)
Stephanie Wei
While the other women I’ve written about are all backed by major publications, Wei has taken a different route to success as a golf journalist. The former college golfer is the creator of the wildly successful blog, Wei Under Par. She covers all manner of golf-related news and runs a few great social media accounts. As one of the younger members of the golf press, Wei’s unconventional, all-access approach to coverage has gotten her into trouble with the PGA Tour. In 2015, her credentials were revoked for sharing a Periscope video of Jordan Spieth at the driving range before an event. Now, Wei is back on Tour and still pushing the boundaries of golf journalism.
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