The Firm & Fast Golf Podcast · Shane Derby

Matchless - The Rise of Womens Golf with Stephen Proctor

·1 hr 19 min·5 clips

Joyce Weathered and Glenna Collett dominated from 1922, and Glenna's 1924 season was almost perfect.

Shane Dargan opens by welcoming Stephen Proctor back and introducing Matchless, Proctor’s third book, due from Berlin Books in October 2025. Proctor says he is doing well and notes that Florida is punishingly hot at this time of year. He adds that this summer has felt a little milder than some previous ones. Travel becomes part of the conversation, since he spends much of July and August in places that are usually cooler than Florida. The main subject is the rise of women’s golf from the 1860s onward. Proctor presents it as a story that grew on both sides of the Atlantic, not only in Britain. He spends time on the early pioneers whose names are less familiar now than the players who followed them. Mabel Stringer becomes one of the central figures. Her family was damaged by an embezzlement accusation, even though her father was later acquitted. Proctor uses that episode to show how fragile reputation could be in that era. Mabel then turns to golf writing and becomes a full-time correspondent. He stresses that she was also a strong player, even if illness and injury limited her own competitive life. Her work for the Gentlewoman and other publications helped bring women’s golf into public view. She also reported major moments such as Cecil Leach’s debut at St Andrews in 1908. Within the Ladies Golf Union, she comes across as the approachable, welcoming counterpart to sterner personalities. The discussion later moves to Eleanor Helm, who carries some of that reporting work forward. Proctor also points to the dominant duo at the top of the game, Joyce Weatherwood and Glenna Collette, as the clearest competitive landmarks of the era. Across the hour, he keeps coming back to the idea that writers, organisers, and players all helped build the game. The episode ends with the sense that women’s golf was made by a network of people, not a single breakthrough.

As heard by us

A clear, grounded look at the rise of women's golf, led by the people who shaped it.

Stephen Proctor follows the rise of women's golf from the 1860s into Matchless with a steady hand, moving between Britain and America without losing sight of the early figures who carried the game forward.

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For Matchless and the rise of women's golf from the 1860s, start here.

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