Norwood Park Golf has become the first club in Nottinghamshire to sign up to the R&A’s Women in Golf Charter.
The Southwell-based venue has pledged to drive participation among women and girls, as well as encouraging more females to pursue a career within the golf industry. Over the past 10 years, female membership has increased by 106%, while girl membership has seen a 550% increase.
Norwood Park Golf already has an extensive history of supporting both county and national initiatives, including supporting England Golf ‘Girls Golf Rocks’ programme, which targets beginner girls aged 7-14 years to learn golf in a fun and friendly way. Norwood was a pilot centre for the national project in 2016, and has since developed weekly coaching groups, outreach work in schools and fun events at the club.
Many of Norwood Junior Girls are now County players (Junior Member Maddie Smith was recently selected for the England Golf Regional Training Squad), while the club’s PGA Professional, Richard Strange, is the lead County Girls Coach, with Norwood the training base for the County Girls Squad
The club also operates a membership pathway to support the retention of women and girls, with the ‘Pink Ladies’ weekly coaching groups and Par 3 Club provide the ideal stepping stone into full membership.
The club has put in place plans to measure the success of each pledge, as well as having set timescales linked to each commitment. It has received the backing and full support from England Golf, which will provide assistance via its network of Club Support Officers to enable the club to develop and expand their policy in the months and years to come.
Emily Rowbottom, Club Support Officer, England Golf (Midlands East), said:“It has been fantastic to work with Norwood on their Women in Golf Charter. Committing to women and girls’ golf is nothing new for Norwood; they have worked very hard in the past on recruiting and retaining women by throwing themselves into national campaigns as well as creating their own initiatives. Becoming a Charter signatory formalises their commitment for now and in the future and I look forward to following their progress.”
The club has also appointed a ‘Charter Champion’ to help co-ordinate the development of the plan. Golf Development Officer Jackie Macey, who has a wealth of knowledge within the industry, having worked in golf for over 30 years, and is excited about leading the Women in Golf Charter campaign.