AS she tutors a group of boys and girls in the best traditions of golf in a town that is also closely associated with what are arguably the worst of them, Beatriz Recari is daring to dream of a future where they will all truly have equal opportunities.

The 26-year-old Spaniard has been a winner on both the LPGA and Ladies European Tours this year but her highest profile success was as part of the Europe team whose Solheim Cup win, she hopes, can help re-invigorate the latter. "The Solheim was a great win," she said during this week's visit to St Andrews and the first Allianz Golf Camp that is being attended by youngsters from all over the world. "Liselotte [Neumann, the team captain] said she hoped with the win we'll get the attention we deserve. And it helps the Euro Tour to get more sponsors, events and to grow themselves as a secondary tour."

Yet for all that it produced one of the greatest golfers in the sport's history in Annika Sorenstam - one of Neumann's vice captains - the tour continues to struggle.

The time is right to discuss why that is, given that the equivalent men's tour has never produced a player of Sorenstam's capacity to dominate - the Swede spent a significant chunk of her career matching Tiger Woods major for major - and this could not have been better demonstrated this summer.

It was one in which the off-court discussion at Wimbledon focused on the 40th anniversary of the Women's Tennis Association and the brilliance of the campaign led by Billie Jean King which means that it can now justifiably claim to be the world's best sport for women.

Just a fortnight later, the contrast could not have been greater as Peter Dawson, secretary of and chief apologist for the R&A, squirmed his way through a series of interrogations over the male-only policies of both his organisation's parent club and that at which it chose to stage this year's Open Championship.

It seems almost unfair to ask Becari, a young woman who has just broken into the elite of her sport, to  comment on such gender politics. it is worth noting, though, that King was only 29 when she took on the tennis establishment and rallied fellow players to a righteous cause.

Furthermore, you sense that Recari, hailing as she does from the city of Pamplona, where women are permitted to join men in running with bulls, is not one to shy away from difficult situations.

Immediately after claiming a top-10 finish last weekend in women's golf's fifth major, the Evian Championship, which had to be reduced to a 54-hole event due to a combination of meteorological and financial considerations, she readily acknowledged that golf is nowhere near that evolutionary stage. "The WTA is a good example of where a women's sport has got to the same level as men - they play for the same prize funds - so ideally for us in golf that's a long-term goal, or short-term hopefully," said Recari. "Every year we're increasing the schedule. Men play 50 weeks and we are competing 32 next year. We still have some to fill in [but] it would be ideal to compete for equal money. [However,] the more attention we bring via the Solheim, the LPGA, the more sponsors, the more viewers we get, [the greater the prospect that] everything can come together.

"Hopefully one day, when I'm still competing, we will be competing the same week as the men for equal money. I admire what the WTA have done and hopefully all our tours can build towards that."

King would doubtless tell her that merely expressing hope will not be enough and that much campaigning needs to be done, but that only reinforces the importance of programmes such as those taking place in St Andrews this week.

In many ways the ratio of 14 men to a solitary woman among the accompanying "mentors" [mostly parents] reflects the work that needs to be done to redress the balance for future generations.

However, the presence of seven girls along with eight boys - all of them successfully applied for places at this camp via Facebook.com/AllianzGolf - can be seen as hugely encouraging in a town which takes such pride in accommodating golf's mustiest, crustiest and gustiest.

In fairness, the Fife burgh is also home to the egalitarian St Andrews Links Trust which properly recognises its duty to promote the sport in the right way, as demonstrated by its part in playing host to the Allianz Golf Camp.

Recari is doing her bit by supporting it as enthusiastically as she is, within the context of recognising the image problem her sport has to overcome.

"Allianz is working in the right way in a junior camp like this and I have to admit I was surprised to find that almost half the young people, in the camp, were girls," she acknowledged. "It's important to raise the awareness of the game. For a long time golf was known for the snob factor: it was expensive; it was for wealthy people. I want people to know it's as expensive as other sports and far more approachable for all people and for anyone than it has ever been.

"It's a great sport to play: very social; you can compete with anyone. There's no age limit, there's no aggression and you don't get injured as much as other sports. You play for five hours, you can enjoy company and you can play for a long time.

"My dad didn't play that much but I could still go out with my dad and play a decent competitive game. You can't do that in tennis. You're going to smash your dad by the time he's 50 or 60. It [golf] has it all. In the end you compete against yourself which is the best part. You have a lot of mental battles . . . you can't force your opponent to miss. It grabbed me from the start; it had it all. There's so much to this sport, you're always so far from perfection. I want people to discover it and embrace it."