Golf Genius kicked off its 12-month Digital Series designed to help national governing bodies pool knowledge and drive best practice, with a webinar focused on increasing women and girls’ golf participation around the world.
The webinar attracted 267 attendees from 21 countries as the future of the women’s game took centre stage.
Among the organisations represented were one of golf’s international governing bodies, The R&A, alongside Scottish Golf, England Golf, Golf New Zealand, Golf Australia, Golf NSW, Japan Golf Association, PGA of New Zealand, PGA Holland, PGA of Australia, Golf Ireland and the WPGA Tour.
Delivered as part of Golf Genius’ new Digital Series, the session brought together Molly Moore, PGA (love.golf), Alistair Spink, PGA (love.golf), Matt Reagan, PGA (Operation 36) and Mark Smith (Stamford Golf Club) alongside a diverse cross-section of the global golf industry, including representatives from three National PGAs, 21 National Governing Bodies, three Tours, 132 golf clubs, four regional associations and four simulator golf venues.
The session explored three key themes: the role of experiences in building a habit; the coach as the community anchor; and how incremental learning drives retention. The discussion drew on the experiences of the panellists who have helped create 240,000 new participants globally through Operation 36, including 96,000 women and girls.
Aston Ward, Chief Operating Officer, Confederation of Professional Golf, said: “If golf is going to grow sustainably, we need to create great experiences that attract more women and girls and give them reasons to keep coming back. The session was excellent and a very interesting chance to find out more about organisations and people working in different markets, understand the challenges they face and take away practical ideas that can be applied locally. We really believe sharing like this can help move our community forward.”
Research shared during the webinar found that the introduction of incremental play increases the number of women who play and practise weekly by 54%, based on a survey of 419 women who had participated in Operation 36 across the US and Canada.
A live survey of attendees also highlighted some of the challenges facing organisations looking to grow female participation. Among the findings:
- 48% reported having a strategic goal to increase female participation by a certain amount
- 23% said their organisation currently runs no women and girls’ programmes
- 44% relied on manual workflows to track and report on the success of their programmes, with only 5% using a dedicated golf participation dashboard
The findings highlight some of the key areas Golf Genius is looking to support through the provision of insight, best practice and market-leading technology.
Mark Ingrey, Facilities Manager, Golf NSW, said “Growing women and girls’ participation is one of the biggest opportunities for golf, and organisations can learn a great deal by sharing what works. Golf Genius’ webinar series provides a valuable platform for associations to share how they are using technology, learn from one another and exchange best practice. It has been great to see the initiative evolve into a much broader programme, with relevance for clubs and grassroots facilities too. This session was a great example, bringing together practical experiences and ideas that organisations can apply in their own environments.”
Golf Genius’s Craig Higgs said: “The response to this first international webinar has demonstrated the appetite across the golf industry for practical insight and shared experiences. The strong level of webinar attendance shows the importance of the conversation around growing women and girls’ participation. Increasing female participation is fundamental to the future of the game, and through the Digital Series we want to help organisations deliver measurable growth in participation by turning insights into action.”
The webinar marks the beginning of Golf Genius’ new Digital Series, following the recent launch of the third edition of the Digital Playbook. The programme of reports, insights, workshops and webinars will explore the future of golf’s connected digital ecosystem through to The Open Championship at St Andrews in 2027. The series continues in September with the Global Simulator Golf Market Report, examining the growth of the global simulator golf market.
To watch the Building Thriving Women & Girls Communities webinar, click here