Heather is first female manager in this golf club’s history

A Hampshire golf club has become the latest to appoint a woman as its boss for the first time in its history.

Heather Tubb has been named as the new general manager of Cams Hall Estate Golf Club.

The game of golf is traditionally male-dominated with less than 15 per cent of participants in the UK being female, but there has been less research on the proportion of women who work in the golf industry.

Analysis by this magazine in 2007 found that there were approximately six times as many men managing golf clubs as women, although in recent years a number of clubs have appointed women as managers for the first time.

Southampton-born Tubb, 49, is still one of only a handful of women running a golf club in Hampshire.

The 25-year-old Cams Hall Estate is a 27-hole waterside venue surrounded by the north-western reaches of Portsmouth Harbour. Tubb is a familiar face among members at the picturesque club, having been part of the management team there since 2007.

She brings over 22 years’ experience in golf and hotel management to the role, in a career which has taken her to a variety of venues including Abbotsley Golf Hotel in Cambridgeshire, where she was assistant manager.

Heather has a simple piece of advice for those looking to succeed in a hospitality career.

“Be a people person,” she said. “It may sound like a cliché, but in my case it’s true. I am definitely not one of those managers who hides behind a desk! I think it’s far better to be visible, dealing with things face-to-face – especially at a busy club like Cams Hall.

“Apart from the sporting aspect, people come to golf clubs these days for all sorts of reasons – for parties, to meet friends, enjoy a Sunday lunch or maybe as an alternative place for a work meeting.

“Both at Cams Hall and across all Crown Golf clubs, we’re striving to make golf more welcoming and inclusive for people from all walks of life. That’s now my responsibility here.”

Heather, whose husband Jonathan also manages a golf club for Crown Golf, is looking forward to the next 15 months at the club.

“We are growing women’s golf rapidly here, and we are proud that we have one of the largest ladies’ sections in Hampshire. We’ll be working hard to make the club even more family-friendly as we approach our official 25^th anniversary in October 2018, including a drive to increase our junior section.”

Alison Root, editor of UK golf magazine Women & Golf, said: “There is a growing number of females holding senior positions at golf clubs and why shouldn’t there be? All these ladies, including Heather, are clearly very good at their jobs. It’s taken a while, given that we are in the 21st century, but this is just another example of how barriers are continuing to be broken down and how the game is becoming more inclusive to women throughout the whole industry.”