Increasing Female Participation: This Girl Golfs

29 July 2015

The GCMA is delighted to support This Girl Golfs, a video campaign from Sports Publications (National Club Golfer / Lady Golfer / Golf International) that sets out to change female perception of golf and encourage participation.

We believe that the various elements of the campaign – including several different videos and blogged testimonials on the website – will provide golf club managers with excellent marketing tools to help kickstart initiatives to boost female participation in golf.

Despite there being some great female players on the world stage, such as Charley Hull, Laura Davies, Mel Reid and Paula Creamer, golf is often wrongly perceived as a Man’s game. #ThisGirlGolfs is designed to shift this perception and inspire participation by highlighting women that are already playing the game at all levels. Golf is a game for all. Unlike any other sport, golf’s unique handicap system allows people of different abilities to play and compete together, making it a great game for women and men alike.

Check out #ThisGirlGolfs on Twitter

The PGA and England Golf are supporting #ThisGirlGolfs as part of their ‘Raising Our Game’ strategy. Committed to increasing the number of people that play golf regularly and reversing the decline of club members, England Golf recognise that Women and Girls are key to this success.

David Joy, CEO of England Golf, commented:

“We are aware, like many other sports, golf faces some issues, there are significant trends in declining participation at all levels that we can’t ignore. With the help of #ThisGirlGolfs campaign, we hope to work together with the golfing community to encourage more women and girls into the sport and enjoy the benefits the game can give.”

Sandy Jones, CEO of The PGA added:

“Golf is actually a very accessible, welcoming and enjoyable environment and we want to get that message across to women who may not have considered golf as an option. This is a great opportunity to both raise the profile of golf, break down myths and misconceptions and to actively encourage women of all ages to see golf as a realistic choice – whether that is for personal, professional, business or social reasons.”

#ThisGirlGolf features a series of different women and girls of all ages and backgrounds showing how they fit golf into their everyday lives and enjoy the game. Including established pro golfers Charley Hull and Henni Zuël, Ellie Lace, 15 year old amateur golfer and BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty, We see tour professionals traveling to practice sessions on the tube, girls honing their skills at urban driving ranges, a young girl sneaking into her brother’s bedroom to borrow his clubs and a father taking the time to teach his daughter how to play.

Hamish Grey, Chief Executive of the Scottish Golf Union, added:

“We are delighted to be supporting #ThisGirlGolfs which will be a key part of our own Get into Golf campaign to encourage more adult women into the game. It’s a hugely exciting time for women’s golf in Scotland with last week’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open and the forthcoming Ricoh Women’s British Women attracting some of the biggest names in the game to our shores. We hope these events, coupled with #ThisGirlGolfs will capture the imagination of the wider community and help inspire more women to give golf a go.

Charley Hull, professional golfer, commented:

“I have always had a love of golf, picking up my first club aged two. It’s a fantastic game to play with friends, a great way to relax and get outdoors. It’s been great to be part of #ThisGirlGolfs I hope it will encourage girls to head down to their local driving range or golf club and give it a go.”

Female golf: the current picture in Britain

In Great Britain, female participation accounts for 12% of total participation (adults who play at least once a year) for the last two years – a decline from 15% in 2011.
Just over 50% of England’s population is female – only 13% of English golfers are female and 14% are affiliated members of England Golf
In Germany, 38% of golfers are female; in France 28%; in Sweden 29%
Since 2004, female membership has fallen by 27% at English golf clubs
On average, there are 70 women members each club in England
640,000 females said they were interested in taking up golf in a 2014 survey (Syngenta – ‘The Opportunity to Grow Golf: Female Participation’)
98,000 females are currently members of golf clubs in England
88,700 females play golf at least once a week in England; 146,300 play once a month
The average age of a female golfer playing once a week or more in England is 50
Females between the age of 16 and 35 account for 25% of female core participation
The average annual female membership for 2014 was £848 – for a junior girl it was £117
Over half of men who have sons say that their son(s) play golf; 12% of men who have daughters say that their daughter(s) play

Statistics: Sports Marketing Surveys (SMS), England Golf & Syngenta

Sports Publications publish National Club Golfer, Lady Golfer and Golf International.

By Mike Hyde

More from Your Community

GCMA Teams Up with 59Club as an Official Education Partner

5 Dec 2025By Mark Shanley

Press Release The Golf Club Managers Association (GCMA) is delighted…

Announcing the Winners of the 2025 Women in Golf Awards

4 Dec 2025By Mark Shanley

The Women in Golf Awards announced its 2025 winners at…

‘Governance is key’ — David Holmes

3 Dec 2025By GCMA Content Team

Drawing on over two decades of experience, David Holmes shares…

John Steele

John Steele is a former professional athlete, sports coach, Olympic Leader and is the Executive Director of Sport at Loughborough University. He has been Chief Executive across a range of sectors. Drawing on leadership experience of nine different Olympic and Paralympic Games (including the amazing events at the Rio Games), John reflects on the lessons from this unique period in British sport and relays his fascinating views on creating high performing teams.

Indeed, inspired from PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, by the most successful performance ever for Team GB, he has a whole host of new business and leadership insights into how this was brilliant performance was achieved and how it can translate back into your organisation.

John moved into the corporate world, before he enjoyed an outstanding career as a professional rugby player achieving international honours. After his playing career, he turned his hand to coaching and achieved the highest accolade for a British club coach by winning the European Cup with Northampton Saints. He then became Executive Director on the Saints Board during a period of unprecedented growth, and served on the England Rugby Board during the successful world cup campaign of 2003. It was no surprise that John’s talents were called upon to drive through a change and modernisation programme as CEO of the Rugby Football Union – a challenge that became controversial and ended in his departure from the post after only a year, but with his dignity and professional pride intact.

Headhunted by UK Sport, John took up post as CEO the day before London won the 2012 Olympic bid – and this promising start was sustained as he embarked on developing the UK’s high performance sport system, which he led for a six-year period of unprecedented success through the Beijing and London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Post-London 2012, with the Olympic legacy in place and an obligation to continue inspiring a generation, John took up his post as Group Chief Executive of the Youth Sport Trust. He has also succeeded Steve Cram as Chairman of the English Institute of Sport, an organisation described as ‘the team behind the team’, which delivers a range of performance impacting solutions to over 40 Olympic and Paralympic sports and some non-Olympic sports.

This will close in 0 seconds

Dr Jo Salter MBE

Dr Jo Salter MBE is famed for becoming the first female fast jet pilot, having flown the Panavia Tornado ground attack aircraft during her services in the Royal Air Force. Joining the RAF aged 18, Jo has since taken Air Cadets into the skies as part of Air Experience Flights, become the Director of Global Transformative Leadership for PWC, and most recently become a Global Advisory of GenAI for PwC.

Jo has piloted flights in the Air Cadets Air Experience Flights and inspired countless budding armed service members to pioneer a male-dominated sector, having been the leader of an all-male squadron. Since leaving the military behind, Jo has established a strong business career working in roles such as Head of Technical Services for NetConnect, European Operations Manager for Automated Power Exchange and Managing Director of Saltin Ltd.

Having developed first-class expertise in leadership, analytical thinking and performing under pressure, Jo is now a highly sought-after public speaker to share stories from her time in the skies.

Jo is a passionate Trustee of The Royal Air Force Club and an Ambassador of the Global Angels charity, an organisation that gives communities around the world access to clean water, education, healthcare and encourages female and youth empowerment. Jo has also authored two books, titled Energy: 52 Ways to Fire Up Your Life and Become an Energy Angel and Energize: Spring Clean Your Mind and Body to Get Your Bounce Back Today and Every Day.

In recognition of her achievements throughout her career, Jo has also been named as one of the 50 Most Inspiring Women in the World by Harpers & Queen. She is now working as the Director of Global Transformation Leadership at PWC, after working in other roles such as Director of Risk Technology Strategy, Director Chief of Staff to Head of Technology & Investments and the Director of People & Organisations.

In 2022, Jo was invited personally by Tom Cruise to attend the premiere of Top Gun: Maverick. Most recently, Jo received an honorary doctorate of Arts from Bournemouth University.