GBN talks to Women’s Golf Day founder Elisa Gaudet about the impact of the global event whose latest renewal has been expanded to a week-long celebration of the women’s game
Women’s Golf Day is about to take place for the eighth time next month. How do you feel it has been received within the golf industry and the wider golf community since its inception in 2016?
When we launched the first Women’s Golf Day we had the research and data to prove it should be a success, but the proof was born out by the number of courses who signed up and the new and existing women who came and participated. Each year the number of countries, courses and participants has continued to grow and that in turn has attracted the attention of the major governing bodies, country federations, golf brands and non-golf brands.
Do you think Women’s Golf Day will be judged a success when it no longer has to happen, or can it continue to be a day, or as it is now, a week, where golf venues are encouraged to lay on specific events for women and women golfers are able to celebrate what it means to be a woman who plays golf?
I think that day is still a way off, but perhaps Women’s Golf Day will evolve as it has this year to cater for the way golf is changing. We’re now a week-long format to allow courses that want to run events on the weekend the chance to get involved. We also actively encourage men to get involved in events we organise, like WGD Palooza, to hear what our partners are doing to make golf more inclusive. It’s important that we come together as a community of golfers to understand the needs of everyone who plays and is yet to play golf. In the larger picture WGD is bringing women to the forefront of the conversation and creating more opportunities.
How many women participated in the first Women’s Golf Day in 2016 compared to 2022 and what kind of numbers are you hoping for in 2023?
We didn’t actively track the number of female participants at the get go. Our primary role has been to help locations connect with their female golfers and to create opportunity for non-golfing females to try golf using Women’s Golf Day as a tool to achieve that. To give you an idea of the rate of growth, we had 14 countries in year one and that shot up to 80 last year. We have new ones coming on board all the time – we have our first course in Zambia this year. The number of locations sits at around 1,000 with the last push for locations to register.
Not that the two are linked, but do you have any idea what the stats are say, in the US and/or the UK, on the growth of female participation at a club level since Women’s Golf Day was first launched?
The biggest change came with the Covid pandemic. The number of females taking up golf increased significantly in the USA during that time as it did in the UK. In general, all countries are seeing a change in participation numbers, which is positive for the sport.
Here in the UK, we’ve recently seen the staging of the first Women in Golf Awards and the first Women in Golf Summit for golf industry professionals. Do you feel like a groundswell to improve the representation of women as players and as employees and employers within the industry has been created as a result of things like Women’s Golf Day?
What is happening in our industry reflects what is happening in the wider world. I can’t take any credit for the work that others have created, but the more events, activities, and representation there is the more opportunities are created. This is really important in terms of creating visibility and an opportunity to discuss the wider issues facing women in all industries. The golf industry as a whole acknowledges that it needs to attract more women at every level of the game and wants to elevate the ones it already has. his is really clear when I am invited to speak at golf and not golf industry events. The room is ready to engage.
How important has social media been not only in terms of sharing stories and events about WGD, but in spreading the word about Women’s Golf Day around the world?
It has been an incredibly important and powerful tool for us. The numbers we hit during Women’s Golf Day are phenomenal. In 2022 we had 112m impressions. It’s hard to comprehend! For me personally, when I see the images and stories on social media while Women’s Golf Day is happening of women all over the world sharing their love of golf it makes all of the hard work we do all year long worthwhile. We have had some incredible social interactions over the past few years including women in Uganda sharing hand washing tips in the pandemic, our first events in Japan, parties in Poland – you name it! As well as being acknowledged by industry leaders and legends like Jack and Barbara Nicklaus and Annika Sorenstam.
What kind of job do you think golf clubs are doing when it comes to making women feel welcome? And what could they do to improve on that?
Every club is different. And that’s one of the main problems. A woman can expect an entirely different experience from town to town, let alone from continent to continent. I am pretty confident that if a venue is part of Women’s Golf Day then they have made a clear commitment to making women welcome. Personally, I would love to see more care and attention played to the way we are welcomed to a venue. Treat women like they are golfers, not there to pick up the kids or their husband!
Do you think that the growth of Topgolf and other golf-themed entertainment venues are helping to ease women, especially the younger generation, into the game who otherwise might have felt reluctant to enter a traditional golf environment?
Absolutely. Topgolf has put the fun back into the sport for everyone. It is very social, does not take the same amount of time as 18 holes and less intimidating. It’s all about the experience, which consumers have clearly shown by the increase in off-course participation. In the USA, 24% of golfers on course are women, whereas women make up 41% of off-course golfers, according to figures from the National Golf Foundation.
How successful do you feel the efforts of golf’s leading bodies, whether that be England Golf, The R&A and The PGA, been in promoting the game to women and girls? What more would you like to see them do going forward?
We are proud that The R&A was our first partner. Their commitment to growing the game around the world is commendable and the recent participation numbers confirm that their strategy is having an impact. I think the most important factor is consistent delivery of golf programming and targeting women and girls outside of golf. Time will be a factor for anyone going forward. Men, women and juniors don’t have as much leisure time or there are many things competing for their time. We know what the benefits of golf are, and asking questions and creating programming that is interesting and speaks to the values important to women and girls is a start.
Finally, how can venues and people get involved in Women’s Golf Day this year and what kind of events would you most like to see being staged?
There is still time to register! Venues can hold an official WGD event on any day from May 30 to June 6. This shift to a week-long format came as a result of demand from the UK and Japan in particular to accommodate working women by holding events on the weekend.
The event format and the ones that have been most successful and when the event is split with two hours for golf, new players take lessons while existing golfers play a 9-hole shotgun scramble. The second half is socialising. The location decides if their event is public or private and if they charge a fee to the participants or it is free. The socialising whether that’s a speaker, a fashion show, lunch or even a cocktail party gives the participants the chance to get comfortable with golf and ask questions.
As well to #MakeAFriend, which is what golf is all about – that community feeling that we all enjoy. We encourage everyone to #BringAFriend after all we all have a friend we wish played golf.
To find out how to register an event for Women’s Golf Day 2023 (May 30-June 6) visit www.womensgolfday.com. Locations can use code ‘UK23’ when registering to get the Premier package for the price of a Featured package.
