Two girls. One who could put together an outfit before she could put together a swing. One who could swing before she'd thought twice about the outfit. Jules and Em. Fashion and form. Somewhere in the middle of that Venn diagram, Off Course got made.
Jules wrecked a knee skiing. Then, separately and inadvisably, dove into a pool that turned out to be more concept than depth. Em went up on a trampoline and came down on an ankle that has not quite recovered the plot since. There's more to the list. We'll get to it.
What we'll say for now: a lot of the sports we loved stopped loving us back. Golf kept its door open. We walked through it, mostly because the other rooms were closed, and stayed because it turned out to be the most fun we'd had in years.
Here's what we figured out along the way. Golf has its hands full. The gear, the etiquette, the language, the dress codes, the unspoken everything. It can be a lot. Especially when you're new. Especially when you're a girl. Especially when there's no one next to you saying, "no, you're allowed, keep going."
Off Course is that someone.
We respect the game. Genuinely. We keep pace. We don't chat through someone's backswing. We pick up when we should pick up. We wave faster groups through with a smile, not a sigh. The manners are part of why the game is good.
What we don't do is gatekeep. We don't make you earn your spot before you get to enjoy it. We don't roll our eyes at the beginner googling "what's a 7-iron" in the carpark. That was us. Sometimes that's still us.
Aunt Trudy's Tip: "Pace, posture, presence, my darlings. Keep moving. Mouths closed during the swing. Pick up if the hole's getting away from you. Wave the quick group through with a smile. The course is happier, you're happier, everyone goes home friends."
This is the club. We're glad you're in it.
Join the OC Club....The Club you never know you needed.
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