LALI STANDER: Women’s golf on a crest as the sport widens its appeal

The women’s Major season wrapped up last Sunday with a dominant performance from American Lilia Vu in the AIG Women’s Open.

The 25-year-old left her challengers trailing in the dust as she fired six birdies for a final round five-under-par 67 to claim a six-shot victory at Walton Heath Golf Club. Vu banked a cool $1.35m, adding to the $765,000 she pocketed for her Major win in the Chevron Championship four months ago. 

The final Major of the season also put a big exclamation point behind what has been a memorable two years for women’s golf. It is no secret that golf as a sport had an unfortunately long history of prejudice and exclusion of women, but right now, the fastest-growing segment of the game is women’s golf. 

The total number of golfers worldwide reached 66.6-million in 2022 — up from 61-million five years ago — and the game shows no signs of slowing down as it gains popularity with women. And it’s all thanks to an unlikely catalyst — the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Across the world, golf was the first sport to be greenlit for reopening during the lockdowns. People flocked to golf courses to take advantage of the freedom the sport presented, and the women stayed. 

According to the National Golf Foundation, the biggest gain during the lockdown in the US — the biggest golf market in the world worth $84bn — was among the female golfers, with a 21% rise in participation. Even after restrictions were lifted and more sporting and leisure options became available, the numbers held up. Women now make up to 25% of all players in the US. 

Golf participation in Britain and Ireland enjoyed the same surge, and women made up 20% of its 5.6-million golfers in 2022. Even here on home soil, our female golf membership also stayed on an upwards trajectory and increased by 7.2% in 2022. Among the 150 players who entered the 2022 SA Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship there were 56 first-timers, while the four national girls’ championships were all over-subscribed.

Golf proved the ideal pursuit during the pandemic and the unexpected driver that led to an explosion in women’s participation in golf around the globe also ultimately benefited the women’s pro game. 

With more women playing the game, more women are watching the world’s best duel it out on television, and this is backed up by a Neilsen survey at the end of 2021 that determined that 84% of sports fans today are interested in watching women’s sport, in particular golf. 

The Sunshine Ladies Tour celebrated its 10th anniversary with six events boasting a whopping R13m in prize money and record entries from more than 30 countries, but the best demonstration of the explosion is the huge expansion of the LPGA Tour. 

In the last decade, the LPGA Tour has seen a 90% increase in total prize pool money and this year, the players competed for more than $101m in official purses across 33 events. 

Equally, the Ladies European Tour upped the ante in 2023, growing their schedule to 35 tournaments spread across 21 countries and a record-breaking €35m prize fund. 

As the sport sheds its old stereotypes, women’s golf is looking ahead to a brighter, better future but we now have the responsibility to keep that momentum fuelled. 

You can’t get away from the fact that golf is expensive and time-consuming, but the biggest question is how to attract new golfers. The real investment in growing any sport, is to start at junior level and with women’s golf on the rise, golf courses must create an environment that welcomes juniors and beginners.

This can be done: lower the membership fees, offer free tuition to juniors under 13, contract a female coach to host all-female beginners’ sessions once a week and most importantly, embrace some new ideas like the GolfSixes League. 

This shortened version of the game has proven to be hugely popular in the UK and Ireland, and will be rolling out in SA next year. What I love about the T-20 version of golf is that it’s an attractive alternative that is fun, short and all-inclusive, whether you are a beginner, a mom, a businessman or woman, a pensioner or a golfer with a disability. And best of all, you don’t even have to own 14 clubs to play.

For some golf is a game of numbers. For me, golf is a sport for all ages, a journey in learning life lessons like integrity, etiquette and respect, exercise, fresh air, a chance to learn to overcome challenges and the lifelong friendships you cultivate along the way.

So go and buy yourself a seven-iron, a wedge and putter and get golfing!