Authentically welcoming women and building a female community at your club

Inclusion is hugely important in society and in business… but for PGA Professionals, it is both a great social decision and a great business decision to bring more people from different backgrounds into the world of golf.

This International Women’s Day and beyond, two PGA Professionals who are focused on driving gender parity in the world of golf are Alastair Spink (Fynn Valley Golf Club) and Linzi Dye (West Kilbride Golf Club).

Spink gave his advice on how to ensure new female golfers receive an authentic and warm welcome:

“If you're planning to attract more women to your venue, can I suggest before designing and promoting any new projects, coaches take time to consider their golf club surroundings,” he says. “It's important to remember that irrespective of our gender ‘we are not our target audience’ and so potentially not best placed to appreciate what new female golfers may need to feel comfortable and relaxed in a new environment.

“We have all been socialised within golf, most of us from an early age, and so can be guilty of not understanding what new golfers may see and feel. We've spent most of our lives totally immersed in the golf environment - many of our friends play golf, we talk 'golf' all day, we speak 'golf' to our customers and colleagues and so will often (quite naturally) view the world through a 'golf lens'.

“For the ultimate insight, encourage them to record their thoughts via an audio/video walkthrough on their phones - this can be really powerful, and lead to that spontaneous feedback that can often be forgotten when relaying their thoughts to you after the event.

“I think you might be really surprised when you hear what they tell you - it's made such a difference to me. I now look to welcome new golfers just as I would welcome someone new into my home - that first point of contact, and how you make someone feel, is so critical and can make or break the experience before you even have a chance to start your coaching session.

“Whatever we think, golf clubs can be very intimidating - don’t overlook it, listen to what your target female audience is telling you, action it and take time to consider your day-to-day practices through your new neutral lens.”

Linzi’s top tips for building a female community:

Make it fun
"We break away from traditional golf coaching and any female group coaching that I do, I try to make it as fun as possible. I've found that delivering coaching through playing constraint-led games and spending time on the course tend to be more engaging. Quite often other golfers will tell me that they hear my groups before they see us coming and that we always look and sound like we're having great fun.”

Make it sociable
“I love organising an event for my golfers. It creates a great buzz in the lead up to the event, whether it's a golf outing, a fun match against other women or a Christmas night out. The event itself has a great way of pulling women together and creating moments that the women will bond over and reflect on, until the next one! I feel each event helps strengthen the relationships between all of the women involved. Still one of the best events we did was our Christmas Scramble and Silent Disco! And we still talk about our very first Booze Cruise in 2018.”

Create a support system
“Don't underestimate the power of the WhatsApp group chat! Love them or hate them, I really think they can be instrumental in creating a supportive network. Whether it's arranging to play golf, asking questions about their own golf or something non-golf related, there's an instantly accessible group of women ready to help. It acts as a virtual safe space as well as a place to send golf memes etc!”

For more information on International Women’s Day visit https://www.internationalwomensday.com