This Thursday, Dec. 5, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) released updated gender guidelines for player eligibility. According to the new rules, only transgender women who have not experienced any part of male puberty either beyond Tanner Stage 2 or after age 12 (whichever comes first) are eligible to compete. Additionally, they must meet standards set by the Medical Manager and Expert Panel.Players who have undergone gender-affirming processes must have continuously maintained the concentration of testosterone in their serum below 2.5 nmol/L. The testosterone level requirement is not new.Players competing in elite events who do not meet the LPGAs Gender Eligibility Criteria may be required to forfeit ranking points, prize money, and other status or items awarded to the Player based on those results.The United States Golf Association (USGA) has also implemented new policies that closely mirror those of the LPGA.While trans men are not mentioned in the LPGA guidelines, the USGA states that trans men can compete in womens golf events as long as they have never used exogenous testosterone or other similar anabolic androgenic substances and provide a written and signed declaration confirming this.In a press release, LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said Our policy is reflective of an extensive, science-based and inclusive approach. The policy represents our continued commitment to ensuring that all feel welcome within our organization, while preserving the fairness and competitive equity of our elite competitions.These guidelines would exclude any women who did not undergo gender-affirming care as adolescents or teens to stop the progress of puberty, as well as cisgender women and intersex individuals who have naturally higher levels of testosterone. Currently, 26 states have enacted restrictions or bans on gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary youth. The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing a case out of Tennessee, U.S. v. Skrmetti, which could have wide-reaching implications for access to gender-affirming care nationwide.The issue of trans athletes in sports has become a flashpoint in the political arena, especially during the 2024 election, with Republicans spending over $200 million on anti-trans ads. However, there are roughly only 100 trans student athletes competing in public schools across the country out of an estimated 8 million student athletes. While the exact number of professional trans athletes is unknown, it is likely a very small fraction of the estimated 25,000 professional athletes in the U.S.Professional golfer Hailey Davidson shared her frustrations with the new guidelines on Instagram. For the record, I was not involved nor asked to be involved in any of the studies that any golf organization has just used to ban me, the only active golfer who is actually effected (sic) by these policy changes, Davidson wrote.In October, over 275 past and present professional womens golfers signed a letter presented to the LPGA and USGA, asking to repeal policies that allowed trans women to compete. The post LPGA and USGA new gender policies would exclude a majority of trans women players appeared first on News Is Out.