Women in Golf Are Not Arriving. We’re Reshaping the Room
I’m not a seasoned golfer. I don’t play competitions. I’ve only recently started lessons, and I am still very much finding my rhythm. But the bug has bitten hard.
What has surprised me most is not just how addictive the sport is, but how many women are quietly arriving at the same starting point. Beginners. Returners. Curious professionals. Women who were never “invited” into traditional golf culture before, now carving out space anyway.
At driving ranges, coaching sessions, simulator bays and in WhatsApp groups organising casual tee times, there is a sense of momentum that feels bigger than a trend. It feels like a shift in who golf is for.
When you step back and look at the data, behaviour and commercial patterns emerging around the sport, that instinct is backed by something real. Women are not just joining golf. We are reshaping how the game is played, who feels they belong, and how it is being used socially and professionally.
Women’s golf participation is growing globally; and structurally
Globally, women’s participation in golf has grown meaningfully since 2020. In the United States, women now account for roughly 25% of all on-course golfers, the highest level in the sport’s history. Industry trackers estimate that more than six to seven million women and girls played golf in 2023, with participation remaining elevated rather than reverting to pre-pandemic levels.
Importantly, this growth is not limited to traditional 18-hole courses. It is accelerating in formats that better reflect modern lifestyles:
- Simulator golf
- Short courses and nine-hole leagues
- Beginner clinics and social range sessions
- Flexible, low-pressure formats that feel accessible rather than intimidating
Junior participation tells the same story, with girls consistently among the fastest-growing segments internationally. This is not a temporary spike. It is a structural shift in the sport.
Why this wave of women in golf feels different
Previous attempts at “growing the women’s game” often focused on elite performance or formal inclusion initiatives. What is different now is that this shift is being driven by culture, access and community.
Access has changed. Golf no longer requires a four-hour commitment, a full membership or nerves of steel. It now includes indoor coaching studios, after-work social leagues, simulators in shopping centres and beginner-friendly environments where learning feels safe.
Community has replaced isolation. Many women are entering the sport through friends, group lessons, corporate beginner sessions and women-led leagues. Belonging has become the gateway, not competence.
Visibility has also improved. Women golfers, coaches and creators are far more present across digital platforms. LPGA storytelling has strengthened, and brands are investing in female narratives that make the sport feel relevant rather than exclusive.
What coaches are seeing on the ground
Amy, a young professional golfer and coach at the Mount Edgecombe Coaching Academy, described what she is seeing first-hand:
“What I’m seeing is a completely different type of female golfer coming through. More beginners starting later in life, more professionals using golf as a networking tool, and more young girls who simply expect to belong in the sport. The energy is different. Women are no longer asking if there’s space for them in golf. They’re arriving and shaping the space themselves.”
Her experience reflects a broader shift happening across clubs, academies and informal golf spaces.
Golf as a business, leadership and networking space for women
Viewed through a business and leadership lens, this shift becomes even more significant.
Golf has always been a relationship sport. Deals have been discussed on fairways. Partnerships built between shots. Trust established over four hours of walking and talking. What is changing is who has access to those informal rooms.
As more women take up golf, the traditional “old boys’ network” does not disappear overnight, but it does begin to dilute. More women playing means:
- More mixed groups
- More female-led corporate golf days
- More informal mentorship
- More peer-level conversations between senior professionals
There are very few environments left where hierarchy softens, phones go away and conversations stretch long enough to become real. Golf still offers that. Increasingly, women are confident enough to occupy that space.
Women are reshaping golf culture itself
Women are not just entering golf. They are influencing its culture.
Women-led golf spaces tend to be more encouraging, less ego-driven and more socially connected. Beginners are welcomed rather than judged. Progress is celebrated rather than perfection demanded. That culture is attractive not only to women, but to younger players more broadly.
Women are also reshaping how golf looks. Fashion, branding and identity in the sport have evolved rapidly, with women’s categories driving much of that change. Consumption patterns are shifting too. Shorter formats, tech-enabled experiences and behind-the-scenes storytelling are gaining traction, particularly within women’s golf ecosystems, aligning closely with modern attention spans and digital behaviour.
Where the gaps still exist
None of this means the gaps have disappeared.
Many courses are still designed around male distances. Equipment innovation for women continues to lag. Some club cultures remain outdated. Media coverage of women’s professional golf is still inconsistent. Leadership representation across governing bodies and commercial decision-makers remains uneven.
These are not reasons to dismiss the progress. They are indicators of where the next phase of growth must focus.
Why women in golf matter beyond sport
If women in golf are treated purely as a lifestyle story, the strategic implication is missed.
This shift touches sport, hospitality, luxury retail, wellness, travel, leadership development, corporate networking and brand partnerships. Women golfers are driving spend across apparel, coaching, experiences, events and memberships. They are changing what corporate golf days look like. They are influencing how brands position themselves in sport. They are shaping where credibility, attention and influence increasingly sit.
Golf as a chosen culture, not an inherited one
On a personal level, this shift is not abstract.
It shows up in every beginner lesson booked by a woman who never thought she would try. Every group chat organising casual tee times. Every professional who picks up a club not because she grew up playing, but because she wants to enter new rooms with confidence.
Golf is no longer only an inherited culture. It is becoming a chosen culture.
When enough women choose it, not to fit in, but to participate on their own terms, the sport changes. Not loudly. Not disruptively. But fundamentally.