Ever had one of those bad dreams where you're trying desperately to get somewhere but obstacles keep coming up and you're afraid you won't make it?
For golfer Laura Davies, unfortunately, this scenario wasn't a dream. It happened when she was on her way to induction ceremonies for the World Golf Hall of Fame.
You may have heard the story by now: After finishing play Sunday at the U.S. Women's Open in Pennsylvania, Davies had a flight delay in Philadelphia and didn't get to St. Andrews, Scotland, on Monday until the post-induction reception.
So this, essentially, was Davies' Hall of Fame experience: racing to get there, walking in late, making some brief remarks, getting polite applause ... and then everyone goes back to their cocktails.
Gee, what a career highlight, huh?
England's Davies -- the dry-witted and self-deprecating person she is -- has since acknowledged her disappointment and actually apologized for not being there earlier. But her LPGA colleagues, most notably Australian Karrie Webb and Americans Beth Daniel and Meg Mallon, have angrily criticized the Hall of Fame, saying this was completely avoidable.
That seems a reasonable lament. That's also where this gets complicated.
Webb and Daniel both told reporter Randall Mell of The Golf Channel that they separately contacted the Hall of Fame in September -- when it was announced that the 2015 induction ceremony would be at St. Andrews -- with concerns about the schedule. The ceremony would be roughly 24 hours after the conclusion of the U.S. Women's Open, and across the Atlantic Ocean. As members themselves of the Hall of Fame and admiring colleagues of Davies, they were worried about her missing such a big moment.
In a best-case travel scenario, Davies would be rushed and exhausted getting to the ceremony after a red-eye flight. In the worst case, she'd miss the induction entirely.
Webb and Daniel said they were assured the necessary arrangements would be made to get Davies to St. Andrews on time, and also to help any of her close friends playing in the Women's Open to get there.
When that didn't happen, Webb, Daniel and many other LPGA players felt it was another example of the lack of respect for women that remains in golf. They saw it as the Hall of Fame not truly caring enough whether Davies was there or not.
2day I'm deeply embarrassed 2 be a member @GolfHallofFame More effort should have been made 2 ensure @LFCLJD made it 2 her own induction!
— Karrie Webb (@Karrie_Webb) July 13, 2015The Hall of Fame's side of the story is this: What happened was very unfortunate, but in no way meant to convey any lack of concern or respect for Davies or her schedule.
The Hall of Fame is based in St. Augustine, Florida, and previously its induction ceremonies were held there. But the World Golf Foundation, responding to those who hoped to see the event in other places, decided in March 2014 to have induction ceremonies every two years on a Monday at the site of a big tournament. Last fall it was announced the 2015 site would be St. Andrews.
Along with Davies in the 2015 induction class were A.W. Tillinghast, the famed course architect, who died in 1942; David Graham, who is retired from playing; and Mark O'Meara, who is competing in The Open this week and so was going to be in St. Andrews anyway. The only inductee who would face a hurdle to get there was Davies -- if she made the U.S. Women's Open cut.
She did. Davies, the 1987 champion of the event, is trying to make her 13th appearance in the Solheim Cup for Europe later this year. Playing at the U.S. Women's Open is still a big deal for her, and it's absurd to think she should have bypassed that to avoid potential travel delays to the ceremony.
Then the question comes as to why the induction ceremony couldn't be held Tuesday night, just to avoid any problems. According to World Golf Hall of Fame communications director Dave Cordero, that wasn't feasible.
Cordero said in an email that Monday was the only night available during The Open week at St. Andrews because there was an R&A Past Champions dinner Tuesday night and a champions exhibition event Wednesday. Plus, with the tournament starting on Thursday, it's understandable why it couldn't be held Wednesday night.
Also, Cordero said, the Hall of Fame induction was broadcast live on The Golf Channel and on SkySports in the United Kingdom. So there was a lot in place that kept the event pinned to Monday.
Cordero also explained that the Hall of Fame and Davies discussed the issue and all involved felt confident that -- while it would be a close call -- she could make it with a 10 p.m. Eastern time flight out of Philadelphia on Sunday. But that was the flight that was delayed four hours.
Then there was a scramble. It was reported Arnold Palmer attempted to dispatch his private jet to London to get Davies to St. Andrews on time. Her bags were already checked through to Edinburgh, and it was too late anyhow.
So was it up to Davies to have spent thousands of dollars to charter a private jet to get to overseas? Should the Hall of Fame have done that for her? Was everyone involved counting way too much on either her missing the cut or not having any trans-Atlantic travel delay?
Obviously, private jets aren't cheap, and it's safe to say LPGA players use them a lot less than their PGA Tour counterparts. However, it's hard to believe that in the high-roller world of golf that somehow it couldn't have been worked out well in advance to get Davies to St. Andrews without relying on commercial airlines.
Ultimately, there is something else profound that is being exposed in this whole incident, and I think it's the most important to talk about.
I've covered women's golf events dating to the early 1990s. In general, LPGA players do not gripe much publicly about anything. They have it drilled into them how much they should praise their sponsors and the courses they play on. How they need to interact constantly with fans. How much more tenuous their livelihoods are than their male counterparts' are because women's golf isn't as popular or lucrative.
There have been controversial issues in golf over the past few decades -- women membership at Augusta National or the Royal & Ancient Golf Club -- where I think, if anything, most LPGA players have been way too quiet. Docile and deferential have seemed to be the character traits expected of them.
The fact that this Hall of Fame issue has so passionately angered prominent names in women's golf doesn't just reflect their affection for Davies. It tapped into a more general belief that women just don't matter as much in this sport, that they should always expect to be more an afterthought, that they're supposed to be grateful to be included at all.
I think the Hall of Fame genuinely is very sorry this happened. When you examine the logistical issues faced, you can see where it's not fair to bash the organization and the people involved and say they don't care. Deep down, I also think you have to wonder why it wasn't absolutely imperative to the Hall of Fame that Davies get to the ceremony.
And you can see, through this incident, that the steady drip-drip-drip of feeling "less-than" does take a toll on women professional golfers. When Webb told Golf Digest's Ron Sirak, "I've had enough of discrimination in my sport," she's not just talking about the Davies situation. She's not someone who's made a career out of complaining. She's just weary of an entire atmosphere.
This wasn't about the enormous differential in prize money between men and women, or all-male clubs, or men's grills at courses, or the disparity in media coverage and sponsorship deals, or men's-only tee times, or any of the many issues that women pretty much just deal with because, hey, that's the way it is.
This was about a special day for a beloved colleague that didn't happen the way it was supposed to, and the frustration and anger felt because of the belief that her being a woman was part of why it didn't.
Maybe that's actually not the case. But the fact that reasonable and highly professional people feel that way is the root of a problem that golf can't easily fix and must keep trying to address. Because it's very real.