Ground Under Repair: Balancing Conformity and Non-Conformity in Women's Golf in Britain at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

This thesis examines the place of women golfers in Britain at the turn of the twentieth century and the developments they were making in the game. Looking at the changes and evolution of women's golf in Britain through the lenses of gender, sociability, Britishness and international competition, class, and amateurism and entrepreneurship it seeks to demonstrate the important place women created for themselves within golf. Drawing primarily from contemporary golfing magazines, books written by golfing women of the era, and newspaper articles about women's golf, this thesis explores the way British women golfers changed perceptions of themselves as well as the game of golf itself through their participation in it. The main argument of this thesis is that golfing women at the turn of the twentieth century used their actions to balance social ideals of conformity and non-conformity in order to make small, meaningful change within the game and in broader society, while also keeping their appearances as "proper" women of the upper-classes.

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's Degree

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Grimwood, Elanor

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• McSpadden, James

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Oda, Meredith
• Pason, Amy

• Britain
• Golf
• Nineteenth Century
• Sport
• Twentieth Century
• Women

Statement dc:rights

• Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 United States

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11714/8508

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarwolf.unr.edu:11714/8508