On "Wide-Hipped Matrons" and a Putter Named Stella

There are still golf clubs where women are not only not allowed as members, but aren't even allowed on the premises. And there are still courses that restrict women to tee times in the slow part of the day. But at least it's not 1938 anymore. Why do I mention that date? While researching some of the top women golfers from the pre-World War II era, I found an article from an October 1938 issue of Time magazine. The article is about the 1938 U.S. Senior Women's Amateur Championship, and here is its first sentence:

Four maiden ladies and 71 wide-hipped matrons, who looked as though their lives revolved around lemon pies and peonies, gathered around the first tee of New York's Westchester Country Club last week, chattering like magpies and nervously fanning the air with their drivers.

Wow. Hard to believe that there was a time when condescension such as that was mainstream. With nearly 70 years of history gone, though, it's kind of funny ...

The article went on to state that "the first day only one lady broke 80. She was Mrs. Edward L. Howe of Princeton, N. J., who posted 79."

"Mrs. Edward L. Howe" was actually Dorothy Campbell, the first international star of women's golf. At various times in her career, through a marriage, a divorce, and another marriage, Campbell was known as Dorothy Campbell, Dorothy Campbell Hurd, Dorothy Hurd, Mrs. J.V. Hurd, Dorothy Howe, and Dorothy Campbell Hurd Howe. At birth her parents named her Gladys, but changed her name to Dorothy two months later. It's a wonder she ever remembered who she was.

Campbell still holds records at the U.S. Women's Amateur, and was famed for a remarkable short game that revolved around a putter she named "Stella." Read the Dorothy Campbell bio.