“Why don’t more women golf?”
Winnie Wong asked herself this question two years ago when she first considered taking up the sport. It was a thought quickly followed by: “How do I even get started?”
The 28-year-old tax specialist from Sydney only knew golf via her male colleagues, but had no idea how to get into it herself. “Luckily, my phone heard me, and I got a sponsored ad for a golf coach,” she says.
Winnie’s now-coach Tammy Wong – who she first came across on social media – founded Birdie Links, a program designed to target beginner female golfers.
“100 per cent golf for women is on the rise, I’ve seen a significant increase in females taking up the game,” Tammy says.
Golf Australia’s latest participation report confirms this theory. It found 60 per cent of new golfers are women, making up 42 per cent of all golfers nationally. Female registrations account for 90 per cent of beginner golf program Get Into Golf participants and interest is growing 11.6 per cent year-on-year.
“It can feel like a scary, male-dominated game, but everyone out there was a beginner once, and there is only one way to learn,” Winnie says.
She hasn’t had a bad experience on the green and has felt welcome at her golf club. She believes “now is the most accessible time” for women to join.
This sentiment explains why women’s golf communities expressed disappointment over a controversial golf advertisement by US brand Good Good Golf and Callaway last week. The ad depicts a man tackling a woman over a golf club, and prompted female golfers to speak up to say the ad was not only not funny, but was not an accurate portrayal of the sport’s culture.
Tammy says her community creates a safe environment for women to learn and play – Birdie Links has 120 members and is growing.
“The hurdle for women is that because of the strict structure of the golf club, it doesn’t lend itself to the busy, working woman. What I do is try and bridge that gap,” Tammy says.
The PGA-certified coach says one of the most common reasons for newcomers is women wanting to play with their husbands or boyfriends. The other is women whose kids have grown up.
“They’re not running after their kids any more. For mums, it’s a hard thing to recognise but also an exciting time to pick up a new hobby and golf has the time for,” Tammy says.
A pathway for mothers
Hannah Bentley, a 34-year-old mum from Melbourne, originally picked up the sport to network but wanted to continue after giving birth to her son.
This led to her involvement in the creation of a mums-and-bubs clinic – mothers can bring their babies along to play – run by the Australian Women’s Golf Network (AWGN), where Bentley is an ambassador.
“The mums-and-bubs clinic became a reason to keep going out on the green. It’s been good to curate the journey from where I was in my life,” she says.
The hour-long clinic hosted by the Australian Women’s Golf Network includes a female coach and offers a flexible and accommodating space for mothers to give golf a swing or return to the game, especially when traditional golf doesn’t always fit around the demands of motherhood.
“It’s so good to be surrounded by people in the same life cycle,” Bentley says.
She also adds that it’s a great way to introduce a younger demographic, where golf is becoming more popular. “Find your space,” she says. “For me, that was AWGN, and then it gave me the confidence to go out on my own.”
A retiree’s retreat
Brisbane local Karen Campbell, 61, says she’s “hopeless” at golf, even though it’s in her blood. Her nanna was the ladies captain of the Rockhampton Golf Club and her father was the president of the Bribie Island Golf Club.
“Although I’m not a natural athlete, I actually suck at sport. We all giggle about me being in the E team for netball at high school because there wasn’t an F team. I’m that bad,” Campbell says, laughing.
Campbell was a business manager working 60- to 70-hour weeks, but after a health complication was advised by her doctor to retire.
“I thought, ‘safety in numbers’, so I hustled most of my really close girlfriends – I think there’s about 20 of us. I said, ‘Look at what the men are doing. They’re all going away, they’re all having these embargoed days when no one calls them because it’s a golf day,’” Campbell says.
Now, Campbell participates in golf holidays run by GirlsTrek alongside guide and friend Melinda Russell, 61.
Russell, who has been a GirlsTrek guide for about 12 years, realised in the last two years there was a growing appetite for women-led golf holidays.
“This is a great community. We get women to climb more mountains, but now my real passion is getting more women not only to play golf, but to be involved in what happens at the golf club,” Russell says.
“We love that it’s our own time, our own trips. The guys have been going away on golf trips for years … you can come with a group when you go away, but importantly, you can come on your own, because it’s such a really friendly environment. And then at night, you’ve always got something to talk about: a bad shot, a good shot, the course, lunch,” Russell says.
Campbell adds: “And let’s face it, who wouldn’t like a nice four-hour walk with some great storytellers and a beverage at the end of it?”
Winnie echoes this sentiment and says that golf is what you make it. It can be as intense or relaxing as the player intends. “In the summertime, I’m out playing nine holes once a week, and sometimes it’s two rounds,” she says.
“If you’re on the fence, do it. Men shouldn’t have all the fun.”
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Abby Seaman is a digital producer and lifestyle writer at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
