The Landscape of Women’s Golf: A Journey Through Time

Golf evokes the image of a sublime landscape. It’s real even in a painting or picture. But there’s another kind of landscape—the mind’s work. Margaret Atwood notes in Survival “landscapes … are often interior landscapes; they are maps of a state of mind.”

The 79th Women’s Open Championship held from May 30 - June 2, 2004, at Lancaster Country Club evokes a national landscape. This is one section of the course that we enjoyed walking.

There’s also an interior landscape mapping the progress of women. Here is a small section of that landscape.

1900: Women competed in golf in the Olympics.

Women’s golf in the early 1900s: Pioneering the sport with style and grace.

1978: Nancy Lopez is the only female golfer to win Rookie of the Year, Player of the Year, and the Vare Trophy for lowest-scoring average in the same season. She entered the Hall of Fame in 1987 at age 30.

Nancy Lopez in 1978: A historic season for women’s golf.

The 79th Women’s Open Championship held from May 30 - June 2, 2004, at Lancaster Country Club showcased the evolution of women’s golf. Women are making history right here in our own backyard, continuing the legacy of those who came before them. Everything is better in Pennsylvania.