Women golfers could have an important role to play in introducing children to golf and nurturing young players, a new survey featured in the March/April issue of ‘Women & Golf’ magazine has revealed.
Nearly half of all women golfers in the UK have children who play golf, the survey found.
Highlighting opportunities to grow the game around female participation, the special article, entitled ‘The Golf Club that Women Want,’ also reveals that among the many non-playing adults who expressed an interest in trying golf, more than half were women.
Based on groundbreaking research commissioned by golf course supply company Syngenta and produced by GfK, the world’s fourth largest market research firm, the article in Women & Golf highlights key findings from the survey and showcases case studies of golf courses successfully attracting and retaining new female players.
“This is an important piece of research as it articulates what women want in a golf facility, underlines their important role in nurturing young players and, notably, demonstrates a level of interest among non-players that represents a significant opportunity for the golf business,” said Alison Root, Editor of Women & Golf.
The ‘Growing Golf in the UK’ survey questioned 3,500 UK residents, men and women, aged 15 and over including 1,477 golfers and 2,145 non-golfers and lapsed players. Participants were questioned on a wide variety of related subjects including social demographics and family, other sports and hobbies, as well as club facilities and standard of course condition.
Key responses from current women golfers include:
- 67% prefer to play with only family and friends
- up to 59% of female golfers said they sometimes feel intimidated by other members as well as club staff
- 48% said their children play golf.
One of the most eye-catching findings was that of all the non-players surveyed who said they were interested in taking up golf (men and women), more than half are women; 56%, in fact.
Significantly, 47% of non-playing females said they would be encouraged to try golf if with friends and family – a viewpoint underlined by the three case studies featured in the Women & Golf article, including the ‘Here Come the Girls’ and ‘Girls Allowed’ projects in Suffolk, the Ladies Academy at Maidenhead Golf Club and Crown Golf’s ‘Start to Play’ scheme.
Eric Brown, Global Turf Business Manager of Syngenta, said, “The research clearly highlights that women prefer to play with friends and family, and this is important for clubs to understand in terms of how they retain existing female players and create opportunities for new players.
“It’s good for every business to listen to their customers and understand their wants and needs. We hope golf clubs and courses will be able to use some of these findings – and the lessons of the case studies featured in Women & Golf – to inform their own decisions and develop customer-centric solutions and services to encourage more women to play golf.”
Women & Golf www.womenandgolf.com