‘Many golf clubhouses are still not welcoming to women’

The most successful women’s golfer in history has said that golf clubs need to think about the design of their clubhouses if they want to attract more women to them.

In particular, Annika Sorenstam said ladies’ locker rooms appear to be a “last minute thought”, while the pro shop can also be unwelcoming.

Studies in recent years have shown millions of women could be attracted to play golf, but in the UK members of clubs are predominantly adult males.

Speaking as she took part in a Virtual Women’s Leadership Forum hosted by the R&A and Mastercard, the 10-time major winner said she feels the wrong message is currently being sent out to women the minute they arrive at most clubs around the world for the first time.

“I have some ideas, but not necessarily programmes,” said Sorenstam in reply to being asked about what she believed could be done to encourage more women and girls to get into golf. “I think there are already a lot of programmes out there that have incentivised women to play.

“But, just from a club standpoint, I think the language – even the basic things like a pro shop – is a big deal if you are new to golf. Also the ladies’ locker-room, it’s almost as though it’s a last-minute thought. There’s just nothing to it. It’s small. It’s old. It’s very dated. It’s just not welcoming. It’s not fresh.

Annika Sorenstam. Image by Tristan Jones

“I think there are few things we need to do to invest in these clubs and I’m not talking about fancy country clubs. Let’s make golf attractive in the sense of being welcoming. It’s not just about hitting seven irons and holing putts.”

Her comments echo those of golf course architect Kari Haug, who wrote in 2018 ‘only in recent years has women’s golf apparel been designed with ‘technical’ fabrics and comfortable cut, but availability of these garments is still limited.’

“There’s a lot of things we can work on to make golf clubs a place you want to go to. I think the dress code needs to change. If you want to get people involved, you can’t have all these rules. There are a lot of things we can do and a lot of it is the perception of golf. Let’s start making golf cool again.

“Let’s look at other sports and see what they are doing to make it welcoming for young people. There has to be a fine line where we can preserve history and tradition because I think that is what golf is about but, at the same time, how can we modernise it and share what we have?

“We’ve seen 20 percent of rounds increase since the pandemic, which is interesting. I guess there is something good coming out of something bad. In golf, equipment sales are up and memberships are up and it is considered a great Covid sport.

“I think it is important that we all take advantage of this surge in the game. We all know that golf has a lot of benefits being outside and I think it is something that has naturally occurred due to this pandemic.

“As an industry, I think we need to talk about the benefits of golf for women. Maybe from the health perspective. Maybe from the mental perspective. Maybe from a social perspective.

“In the industry, let’s get women into jobs, maybe on board seats and promote women in the management positions. We have to make it more welcoming for women, we have to support them. It’s not going to happen overnight, but I think the opportunities are there, so let’s keep moving forward.”