Australia Brisbane - Golfers come out swinging after player's sex-change
Golfers come out swinging after player's sex-change
A BITTER feud has erupted at a prestigious Brisbane golf club after it was revealed a leading member of the club was undergoing a sex change.
Male members of Wynnum Golf Club were disgusted when they learned married dad-of-one Don Asher, 52, had begun hormone treatment to become a woman.
They forced Mr Asher to quit the men's team after he turned up for a tournament wearing a dress.
After an emergency meeting at the club, Mr Asher was given permission to play for the ladies team. Yesterday he said he has never been happier, despite the hostile reaction of his former friends.
"It feels as though everything is right at last," he said.
"It was hard when certain male members were trying to kick me out of the club, but the women have been absolutely lovely."
Mr Asher, of Cleveland, in Redland City, has not yet undergone the full sex-change, but hormone tablets have enabled him to grow breasts, and he recently changed his name to "Dasher".
His wife and 27-year-old son are standing by him. But some of the older members refuse to play when Dasher is on the course, and there has also been concern from some female members over his use of the women's toilet and shower facilities.
Club manager Damon Moody said he was bound to accommodate Mr Asher's sex change, under anti-discrimination laws.
"Mr Asher broke the club's male dress code when he started wearing dresses," he said.
"But members need to realise that there are regulations in place that we have to follow."
Ladies' president Vivien Lewers said the women generally had shown a "great understanding" towards Mr Asher's sex change.
"We made Dasher re-do his handicap playing off the women's tees so there could be no unfair advantage," she said.
"He's one of us now and even joins us for lunch at the clubhouse. I think a lot of the men's reactions come from ignorance and fear."
And with his muscular 175cm frame and strong drive, Dasher, who works as a customs officer, has already won a number of women's competitions, playing with a handicap of 18. "He's a great addition to our team," Mrs Lewers said.
In the future, Dasher said he'll consider having the full sex change operation. "I've felt I was in the wrong package since I was three years old and yet I've only just felt able to come out as who I really am," he said.
"It means a great deal to me that the club has let me carry on playing, despite the bad feeling."