Let's Do Something Groundbreaking!
My name is Hailey Davidson and I am working to become the first ever transgender woman to qualify and play on the LPGA Tour. Golf has been my passion for my entire life now and I have loved every second of it. From playing the sport to constantly thinking about, this has become my life. I eat, sleep, and dream golf. My dream ever since I was young was to play golf professionally for a living and I will stop at no expense until I can get back to playing professionally as my true self.
I am 26 years old and have been transitioning for 4 years now. Just because I am transgender I know that my dream does not have to end but rather just take a different route to get there.
In the end, I would really love to be a role model for so many other trans athletes out there because being one of the first to do something is extremely difficult. We are seeing transgender issues when it comes to the world of sports and this is something that I want to help change for the better. The LGBT community gave me life and happiness and I would do anything to give back. Sometimes we have obstacles put in our way and I want to show the world throughout my career that no matter you are going through or have been through, that you still can achieve your goals and dreams.
Here is a little bit about my golf background and more about what is needed to achieve this goal.
I have always had a huge passion for golf as I mentioned and it has been my love ever since I was a young kid. Well as a child I always had dreams of playing golf professionally but at the same time, I was battling an inner struggle. I worked at my game for my entire life and as a male, I played a lot of junior golf as well as two and a half years of college golf along with professionally for a period prior to transitioning.
My junior golf career was quite a busy one. I had made golf my life and as a result, my game progressed quite rapidly. By the age of 15 I was winning tournaments regularly and before I graduated high school I was in the top 125 in the nation for 18 and under as well as top 5 in the state of Virginia. I had every school record for golf in my high school and had two-course records, and both do still stand today. A 62 (-10) at Stoneleigh G&CC and a recent 63 (-9) at Big Cypress Golf Club with a front nine 27.
My first year was spent at Wilmington University in Delaware where I had received a full scholarship. I ended up playing in every single event but my game just was not there due to something going on mentally. I was not happy at all and due to this, I transferred to Christopher Newport University in the Virginia Beach area where I played for a year and a half. I did play in every event and had a few top 5 finishes but yet again I was facing this inner battle with myself.
After my third semester at Christopher Newport, I decided to transfer to Arizona State University and take classes online in order to focus on learning about who I really am. Not long after starting I moved down to Jupiter, Florida in order to chase my dream of playing professional golf.
During my time as a professional golfer, I only was able to play in 4 events due to finances and finishing my education. During these four events, I had a T3 (tied for third) finish in my first event, which was a Minor League Golf Tour event. My next two events I finished in the middle of the field with under-par scores in each round of the events. The final professional event I played as a male was the 2015 US Open Local Qualifier where I ended up shooting a 67(-3) and was in a ten-person playoff for the final spot to move on to sectionals. Unfortunately, I did not win the playoff but it was a good stepping-stone for me.
Whilst I may not have had that much experience in professional events as others, I know I have what it takes to play at the highest level. I was lucky enough to practice with the like of Daniel Berger, Azahara Munoz, John Hahn, Scott Langley, Bryden Macpherson, Austin Ernst, Russ Cochran and many other professionals on a daily basis which showed me that this did not just have to be just a dream for me but rather a reality. This was the greatest experience for me and through my time around the Gerry McIlroy (Rory McIlroy’s father), I knew that my dream was fully within reach.
While most would get pretty upset about a playoff loss, I seemed to have a sigh of relief come over me. Deep down I knew that if I had qualified that I would have continued to push forward as a male and in the end I would have been miserable. To me, this was a sign that it was finally my time to become who I really and be happy for once with a clear state of mind.
Not soon after I couldn't hold in my inner struggle any longer and I came out as transgender. This absolutely changed my life around. Mentally it made me such a happy person which changed my golf mentality but also my outlook on life. Unfortunately, I thought that by transitioning I had to give up on my dream of playing golf professionally and giving it my all.
Golf has always been the one thing that I knew that I could do but my results didn’t show it at times because mentally I was really struggling. I had seen sports psychologists like Bob Rotella growing up but honestly, my struggles were not golf related at all. This inner struggle was always in my head and really made my mental game quite weak when it came to golf. Well, I have grown to become such a strong person cognitively due to the fact that I now can be my true self.
I have been in touch with the LPGA Tour and they could not be any nicer. They gave me so much helpful information and also let me know that my dream does not have to stop all because I am transgender. I do have to meet certain guidelines before I am allowed to try to qualify for any events alongside the ladies out on tour. The guidelines would be that I have to be on hormones for at least two years and they do require that you have some sort of bottom surgery whether it is Gender Reassignment Surgery (GRS or SRS) or an Orchiectomy.
I am very close to meeting these requirements and my application was recently denied only due to the fact that I have not been able to afford the surgery and finally have it done. Personally, I wanted to know what I had to do to give my dream a real chance and while it was hard to be denied for the time being, I at-least know that it is a possibility once I surgically finish my transition.
What I would love to do is be able to chase my dream, because it is the one thing in this world that I know that I can do if I am able to give it my all. While I want to do this because it has been a life dream of mine, I also want to go for it in order to show all of the transgender athletes out there in the world that just because you are transgender does not mean that you have to give up on your goals and dreams.
This is a goal that I know I cannot achieve on my own but if anyone knows me, they know that I will give it my absolute all and will find a way to achieve this goal and Succeed. I know I am not the only one out there that has thought that transitioning would put a stop to what they ultimately want to do but I am here to support every single person out there and I know that if I can achieve my goal it would give so many others the courage to achieve theirs.
Unfortunately, due to the cost of the surgery, this dream may stay a dream rather than a reality. It is something that I have always wanted to do for myself but with it being the only thing holding me back from my dream, it has become something that I could not be more ready for. Being told that you can’t do something because of who you are and not your actual ability has been the hardest mental hurdle for me.
The total cost of the surgery is $22,050 and that cost is what is truly holding me back.
Again, playing golf at the highest level is the one thing I absolutely know that I can do and with a little bit of financial help my dream would not have to end.
I vow to each and every one of you that I will give it my absolute all, put in twice as much effort as anyone else and I will not stop until I can live out my dream.
I hope to get your support and thank you to each and every one of you for reading my story, sharing it and being a big part of something that could be groundbreaking for my career and the world of golf.
I am 26 years old and have been transitioning for 4 years now. Just because I am transgender I know that my dream does not have to end but rather just take a different route to get there.
In the end, I would really love to be a role model for so many other trans athletes out there because being one of the first to do something is extremely difficult. We are seeing transgender issues when it comes to the world of sports and this is something that I want to help change for the better. The LGBT community gave me life and happiness and I would do anything to give back. Sometimes we have obstacles put in our way and I want to show the world throughout my career that no matter you are going through or have been through, that you still can achieve your goals and dreams.
Here is a little bit about my golf background and more about what is needed to achieve this goal.
I have always had a huge passion for golf as I mentioned and it has been my love ever since I was a young kid. Well as a child I always had dreams of playing golf professionally but at the same time, I was battling an inner struggle. I worked at my game for my entire life and as a male, I played a lot of junior golf as well as two and a half years of college golf along with professionally for a period prior to transitioning.
My junior golf career was quite a busy one. I had made golf my life and as a result, my game progressed quite rapidly. By the age of 15 I was winning tournaments regularly and before I graduated high school I was in the top 125 in the nation for 18 and under as well as top 5 in the state of Virginia. I had every school record for golf in my high school and had two-course records, and both do still stand today. A 62 (-10) at Stoneleigh G&CC and a recent 63 (-9) at Big Cypress Golf Club with a front nine 27.
My first year was spent at Wilmington University in Delaware where I had received a full scholarship. I ended up playing in every single event but my game just was not there due to something going on mentally. I was not happy at all and due to this, I transferred to Christopher Newport University in the Virginia Beach area where I played for a year and a half. I did play in every event and had a few top 5 finishes but yet again I was facing this inner battle with myself.
After my third semester at Christopher Newport, I decided to transfer to Arizona State University and take classes online in order to focus on learning about who I really am. Not long after starting I moved down to Jupiter, Florida in order to chase my dream of playing professional golf.
During my time as a professional golfer, I only was able to play in 4 events due to finances and finishing my education. During these four events, I had a T3 (tied for third) finish in my first event, which was a Minor League Golf Tour event. My next two events I finished in the middle of the field with under-par scores in each round of the events. The final professional event I played as a male was the 2015 US Open Local Qualifier where I ended up shooting a 67(-3) and was in a ten-person playoff for the final spot to move on to sectionals. Unfortunately, I did not win the playoff but it was a good stepping-stone for me.
Whilst I may not have had that much experience in professional events as others, I know I have what it takes to play at the highest level. I was lucky enough to practice with the like of Daniel Berger, Azahara Munoz, John Hahn, Scott Langley, Bryden Macpherson, Austin Ernst, Russ Cochran and many other professionals on a daily basis which showed me that this did not just have to be just a dream for me but rather a reality. This was the greatest experience for me and through my time around the Gerry McIlroy (Rory McIlroy’s father), I knew that my dream was fully within reach.
While most would get pretty upset about a playoff loss, I seemed to have a sigh of relief come over me. Deep down I knew that if I had qualified that I would have continued to push forward as a male and in the end I would have been miserable. To me, this was a sign that it was finally my time to become who I really and be happy for once with a clear state of mind.
Not soon after I couldn't hold in my inner struggle any longer and I came out as transgender. This absolutely changed my life around. Mentally it made me such a happy person which changed my golf mentality but also my outlook on life. Unfortunately, I thought that by transitioning I had to give up on my dream of playing golf professionally and giving it my all.
Golf has always been the one thing that I knew that I could do but my results didn’t show it at times because mentally I was really struggling. I had seen sports psychologists like Bob Rotella growing up but honestly, my struggles were not golf related at all. This inner struggle was always in my head and really made my mental game quite weak when it came to golf. Well, I have grown to become such a strong person cognitively due to the fact that I now can be my true self.
I have been in touch with the LPGA Tour and they could not be any nicer. They gave me so much helpful information and also let me know that my dream does not have to stop all because I am transgender. I do have to meet certain guidelines before I am allowed to try to qualify for any events alongside the ladies out on tour. The guidelines would be that I have to be on hormones for at least two years and they do require that you have some sort of bottom surgery whether it is Gender Reassignment Surgery (GRS or SRS) or an Orchiectomy.
I am very close to meeting these requirements and my application was recently denied only due to the fact that I have not been able to afford the surgery and finally have it done. Personally, I wanted to know what I had to do to give my dream a real chance and while it was hard to be denied for the time being, I at-least know that it is a possibility once I surgically finish my transition.
What I would love to do is be able to chase my dream, because it is the one thing in this world that I know that I can do if I am able to give it my all. While I want to do this because it has been a life dream of mine, I also want to go for it in order to show all of the transgender athletes out there in the world that just because you are transgender does not mean that you have to give up on your goals and dreams.
This is a goal that I know I cannot achieve on my own but if anyone knows me, they know that I will give it my absolute all and will find a way to achieve this goal and Succeed. I know I am not the only one out there that has thought that transitioning would put a stop to what they ultimately want to do but I am here to support every single person out there and I know that if I can achieve my goal it would give so many others the courage to achieve theirs.
Unfortunately, due to the cost of the surgery, this dream may stay a dream rather than a reality. It is something that I have always wanted to do for myself but with it being the only thing holding me back from my dream, it has become something that I could not be more ready for. Being told that you can’t do something because of who you are and not your actual ability has been the hardest mental hurdle for me.
The total cost of the surgery is $22,050 and that cost is what is truly holding me back.
Again, playing golf at the highest level is the one thing I absolutely know that I can do and with a little bit of financial help my dream would not have to end.
I vow to each and every one of you that I will give it my absolute all, put in twice as much effort as anyone else and I will not stop until I can live out my dream.
I hope to get your support and thank you to each and every one of you for reading my story, sharing it and being a big part of something that could be groundbreaking for my career and the world of golf.