"I don't think I ever rated me being a woman as being important."
Dunedin golf professional Shelley Duncan has given her life to the sport, but it was not until the recent IWG World Conference on Women & Sport that she realised just how paramount her role is to the sport.
Duncan attended the conference, after winning the Susie Simcock Leadership Award, spending time with more than 1000 like-minded people from across the world examining woman and sport.
For three days, they spoke about everything from gender equality to inclusiveness to the LGBT community, and it was eye-opening networking with people from countries where women could not even play sport.
"I personally don’t think much about men and women — I just treat people as I find them," Duncan said.
"I sort of realised after being at that, that it is important that I have a voice and I work hard to keep working that end game, I guess, which is equalness for everybody.
"I think one of the things that I took away from that was as long as we can provide an equitable and welcoming environment for women, that’s a huge step.
"Not only in playing golf, but on boards and in roles."
Growing up on the "sixth fairway" of the Otago Golf Club’s Balmacewen course, Duncan was destined for the sport from the beginning.
At 18 years old, she went to the United States on a golf scholarship in the 1980s, becoming the first New Zealand woman to follow that path.
It was years later when she was reading American tennis great Billie Jean King’s book that she realised college sports scholarships for women only began in the 1970s.
"I didn’t realise that my scholarship for a woman then was such a big deal. I just assumed that they’d have them forever."
She returned to New Zealand, working in the advertising department at the Otago Daily Times, and it was a conversation with Allied Press director Nick Smith, a former Otago cricketer, that spurred her to give turning professional a go.
For two years, with financial help from Smith, Graham Gosney and Sir Eion Edgar, she travelled throughout America and fulfilled a lifelong dream to play in the US Women’s Open.
When she returned to New Zealand, she started her golf coaching apprenticeship at Balmacewen, but with Simon Thomas contracted as the club’s professional, Duncan moved to Taieri Lakes for three years.
She came back to Balmacewen in 2006 as a contracted golf professional, before becoming employed as the director of golf in 2016 and the general manager in 2021.
In a male-dominated sport, Dunedin has Duncan, Annette Goodman (St Clair) and Jane Kubala (Taieri Lakes) as golf course general managers.
"There’s hardly any women professionals who run golf shops," Duncan said.
"It’s good for me probably to be a bit more visible in that space too."
She predicted nationally between 5% and 10% of golf coaches were female, but it was always something Duncan was drawn towards.
"I was always watching other people swing and thinking about how they could do it better and so I’ve always had a passion for that side of it as well."
There had been many changes in the women’s game from her playing days to now, she said.
The biggest change was the development of clubs and equipment properly built for women.
Women’s golf had more television coverage, social media allowed children to follow their idols and Lydia Ko was an incredible national ambassador.
"Lydia Ko, without a doubt ... you say to most kids, ‘Lydia Ko’, and boys and girls, they know who she is."
Slowly, more women were getting involved in Golf New Zealand’s She Loves Golf — a relaxed initiative to learn the game.
Nearly 80 women attended the sessions at Balmacewen.
"I think a lot of it is about being together and then obviously they feel very comfortable coming into the club house, going up into the bar.
"There’s certainly a shift, and I guess as a woman in the industry, I probably wasn’t mindful enough of the role that I should play around promoting."
Change had been good — but there was still more to come.
The club was trialling a change of tee colours to remove the stigma around men’s and women’s tees, and it will host an LGBT pride tournament this year.
There was still separation between the club’s 600 members — 500 men and 100 women — and Duncan wanted to see more connection across the club.
"You only need to look at our Saturdays. Our women play together, our men play together.
"We are a sport built on a huge amount of tradition, which I value, but you only have to look at the numbers to understand that we need to do things to make women feel more included."
Golf could be an intimidating sport, she said.
While it might not seem that way on the course, it could be overwhelming walking into a sea of men in the clubroom.
It was a sport filled with protocols and etiquette, and Golf New Zealand was working hard to create a better and more sustainable future.
"If we could create a welcoming, equitable environment where everybody was treated the same, regardless of gender or whatever ... that would make it much, much better."
