Women’s sport in the south west has taken another leap forwards after Henbury Golf Club near Bristol won a national award for its powerful implementation of change during the most transformative year in the club’s 134-year history.
The sport’s governing body, England Golf, awarded Henbury its top women’s golf honour – the Women In Golf Charter Club Award – this month at its annual Awards night at The Manchester Deansgate.
Out of over 500 English golf clubs to sign the Charter, which is driving major progress across the UK towards a more female-friendly sport, Henbury claimed the top spot at the 2026 England Golf Awards after a year of profound cultural and structural change which has resulted in a significant equality shift between its Men’s and Women’s sections.
Previously, just as at many golf clubs across the UK, Saturdays at Henbury GC were a symbol of exclusion, with men-only competitions making the golf course effectively inaccessible to women until late in the day.
But pioneering work by a team led by the club’s former Women’s Captain Jill Thorpe brought a new level of equality to weekend golf at the club in 2025, following Henbury’s signature of the WIG Charter the previous year.
The number of the club’s Saturday competitions open to all is now four times greater than before, and this has introduced a more vibrant, relaxed atmosphere at weekends. Female representation in leadership roles within the golf club has also more than tripled in the last year.
Henbury’s twelve months of seismic change attracted the attention of the England Golf judging panel.
Emma Highwood, Head of Women’s Development at England Golf, said: “Leading from the front, Henbury Golf Club showed how the Women In Golf Charter can be used to drive meaningful change at golf clubs from the top down. They put the right foundations in place, and proved how powerful the Charter can be as a tool for inclusion.”
Jill Thorpe, a Henbury member for 28 years, said: “Across England, people have finally realised that it is not a big issue as to whether it’s a man or a woman standing on the tee! The WIG Charter Club programme has successfully inspired brilliant initiatives which hundreds of amazing golf clubs are now implementing to make golf more inclusive for women across the UK, and the annual Awards recognise the best examples of that. We are very proud that Henbury has been celebrated as having achieved the most in this area, over the last twelve months, but the changes at our club will continue.
“For example, in 2026 we are preparing to change to tees which are defined by your ability, and not your gender. It doesn’t matter whether you are male or female, of course. What matters is that you enjoy the challenge of the golf course, whatever your ability.”
Thorpe continued: “For too many years women golfers at Henbury Golf Club paid the same for their memberships as the men, but didn’t have equal access to the golf course at weekends. We have transformed that in a single year.
“With hundreds of English golf clubs having signed the WIG Charter so far, and with more signing up each month, this has been a fantastic nationwide success in changing attitudes. We know that Henbury Golf Club is not alone in wishing to change its old, outdated habits” she ended.
The club’s General Manager Tim Good said: “Even before we signed the Women In Golf Charter our female membership already stood at approximately 20%, well ahead of the national average. Now, our target is to pass the 25% mark by 2030.
“The changes which we made last year led to this award and Jill Thorpe’s team, including Janis Sinton, Tom Williams and other inspiring people at the club, have also been influential in leading the club’s ambitious Equality, Diversity & Inclusiveness programme.
“Given the work which we have pledged to continue in 2026 to make the club even more attractive to women and girls, Henbury is committed to become one of England’s standard-bearers for female golf as we head into the second half of this decade.”
The club’s success also attracted the attention of BBC Radio Bristol, which interviewed Janis Sinton and Jill Thorpe following the Award.
Henbury Golf Club is situated inside a 90-acre tract of classic, undulating English woodland, adjacent to the historic Blaise Castle Estate north west of Bristol. Its 18-hole golf course is frequently rated as the city’s finest and best-conditioned golfing challenge. The club, which welcomes visitors, is easily accessible from the A4 near Shirehampton, and is just ten minutes from M5 Junction 17 at Cribbs Causeway.
See www.henburygolfclub.co.uk for all golf club details.T