Golf is a sport anchored in tradition. For many fans, this heritage sits at the heart of their connection with the game – and it’s the reason why anything that threatens it meets fierce resistance. Yet these traditions come with conventions that can act as barriers to entry for newcomers – such as strict etiquette, complex rules, stringent dress codes and lingering gendered legacies. These shape a perception of exclusivity and cultural rigidity that, for women, have historically been well founded given the unequal access to facilities and fewer playing opportunities.
Even so, the fairways are getting busier. Regulatory bodies report significant increases in participation, with the player base becoming more diverse. Golf’s return following the pandemic made the game uniquely accessible. The number of women taking up golf in the UK more than tripled in 2020, with almost 1.5 million women playing at least one round that year. This trend continues along a similar trajectory.
Following our recent survey of UK sports fans, we’ve taken a fresh look at the main drivers of growth among women, and in the sport more generally. While 15% told us they play golf, 14% said they actively watch golf. This is a rare example of a sport where fandom and participation strongly overlap. It’s only by playing the game that fans can relate to its technical challenge, and this level of lived engagement is what makes the sport so exciting to watch.
Players and fans are also more likely to be male with under 1 in 10 women saying they follow golf and a similarly low number saying they play. This speaks to golf’s challenge and opportunity – reduce friction for beginners (particularly women), and you also grow the size of the audience. While new formats and ways of engaging with the game continue to emerge, more is needed to overcome the perceptual discrepancy between the culture and the sport itself.
Lowering barriers to entry
As female engagement grows, it continues to fuel practical innovations that lower first-time friction and create pathways for innovation and inclusivity.
Until the World Handicap System (WHS) launched in 2020, an official handicap could only be obtained through club membership. The following year, England Golf’s iGolfsubscription marked a shift away from this model, letting non-members obtain a WHS handicap through the MyEG app. This minor shift had outsized cultural impact.
At the point of entry, where and how people enjoy the game has also broadened. Venues like Urban Golf, Pitch and Caddi Club package TrackMan simulators with bars, music and social games. These venues act as welcome settings for beginners and mixed-ability groups, challenging the perceptions of prestige and exclusivity. They also appeal to a younger and more diverse audience. The R&A reports that 36% of on-course golfers started via an alternative format, indicating the level of impact these venues can have on growing engagement among women.
Modernising club membership through inclusivity
While innovative formats have created easier pathways into the sport for women, this level of increased engagement is not reflected in the experience of many golf clubs in the UK. Small changes such as opting for gender neutral tees (as opposed to the traditional ‘men’s’ and ‘ladies’ tees) mark a shift towards inclusivity by focusing on playing ability and requirements rather than gender. However, these often feel like token gestures if the wider club culture is not keeping pace.
Clubs can drive further inclusivity by offering mixed-gender formats – golf is a sport uniquely positioned for this style of play. They could also schedule competitions at times that are more convenient and accessible to women of different ages – rather than the historic midweek slots typically only accessible for older members, which feeds golf’s reputation for being stuck in the past.
Unsurprisingly, our data tells us that older men are more likely to follow golf with over a quarter of men aged 65–74 following the game. It’s therefore clear that age is as much of a consideration as gender for both clubs and the game as a whole.
England Golf is taking action to address this and meet beginners where they are. Women on Par uses on-course challenges to build confidence, while the Golf Foundation’s Girls Golf Rocks runs national beginners’ programmes for girls aged 5-18. These initiatives signal a growing appetite among women for practical pathways into a traditionally male-dominated sport.
Even so, female club membership remains low in England (around 14%), highlighting the ongoing work for traditional clubs. The more women who participate, the greater the opportunity for viewership and engagement with the sport to grow.
Playing to the unique strengths of the game grows engagement
On a casual level, golf’s handicap and tee system make it an inherently equal game in a way that other traditional sports can’t achieve to quite the same extent. With an even chance of winning across rank and gender, golf becomes more accessible, inclusive and social.
Professionally, mixed events put inclusion on prime display. The Grant Thornton Invitational pairs LPGA and PGA TOUR players for equal prize money across team formats (scramble, foursomes, modified four-ball). What’s more, the inclusion of a mixed team golf competition for the first time in the LA28 Olympics is further proof that integrated elite golf is not only feasible but in high demand.
Demand is real (and growing) around the women’s game
In all sports, iconic athletes can have the power to redefine the size and shape of audiences. Tiger Woods didn’t just grow the game but paved the way for new generations of golfers from all backgrounds to fall in love with the sport.
Figures in the women’s game such as Nelly Korda are similarly turning those with no prior connection to the game into genuine fans. Her Chevron Championship win in 2024 averaged 936,000 viewers on NBC and peaked at near 1.9 million. The 2023 Solheim Cup (the female equivalent of the men’s Ryder Cup) also generated a record 9.5 million viewer hours. A third of that audience hadn’t even watched the men’s Ryder Cup, which shows that women’s golf is pulling in new fans, not just inherited ones.
This level of attention is matched by investment. The LPGA’s 2025 schedule features 33 official events and a record $131million in prize money – an increase of roughly 90% in four years. This is a clear signal that growth in the women’s game is not simply cosmetic but woven into its future trajectory.
Reshaping the future of golf
Driving participation and engagement in women’s golf could fast-track much-needed innovation. In challenging outdated cultural perceptions and barriers to entry, this is an opportunity for clubs, associations and brands to open the game up to a more diverse audience. Building on existing momentum means bringing golf’s unique strengths to the fore – namely the strengths that level the game and make way for a cultural shift. The women’s game sits at the centre of this shift and, if the right strategic action is taken, will act as catalyst for change that benefits the sport as a whole.