Virginia Golfer September / October 2014 | Page 21

Women Golfers Key Players
in Game’s Growth
Diverse playing opportunities, social element and health benefits
seen as important drivers | by DAVID GOULD

iSTOCKPHOTO.COM

M

ales comprise 79 percent of
the U.S. golf population;
females 21 percent. So
declares the National Golf
Foundation, which also
tracks recruitment and retention. Those latter
statistics show women giving golf a try quite
readily, but quitting at a higher rate than men
do. That’s the American pattern, anyway—
data from other countries doesn’t match
our disappointing figures.
There are clues as to why in a recent
report entitled “The Female Factor.”
Subtitled as “Lessons we can learn
from countries with high percentages
of women golfers,” it was produced by
Stina Sternberg, a Swedish ex-pat who
serves as director of global golf for Golf
Digest. Her research reveals how greatly
the male-female golfer ratio varies as
you travel the world. It’s a small female
cohort in South Africa, where women
make up 10 percent of golfers, and a big
one in Germany, where they represent a
whopping 39 percent.
The U.S. loiters down toward the low
end, with our five million women adding
up to the aforementioned 21 percent
share. This is no better than 20 years
ago, despite the fact that in the past two
decades “the American golf industry has
spent an impressive amount of time and
resources on initiatives designed to bring
more women to the game,” as Sternberg’s
report laments.
What’s different about Germany,
Korea, the Netherlands and other nations
that enjoy high female participation? One
trait is that women in those countries see
golf as an athletic endeavor at least as much
as a social one, using golf as a serious part of
their personal fitness regimen. Judy Mason,
an LPGA professional who was selected
for a player development forum at the
recent Women’s Golf Festival in northern
Michigan, thinks the U.S. misses the boat in
promoting fitness.
“The social appeal of golf to women is
strong, but that’s the only facet we tend to
promote—probably a mistake on our part,”
Mason says. “Think of women at fitness

w w w. v s g a . o r g

clubs, the way they tend to be all-business
and how they measure their progress on
various machines or training circuits. It’s a
different process.”
Golf could use its walking component as
a key factor in fitness-oriented marketing,
she believes.
“Women I see do a lot of step-counting—
some use golf as a part of the daily count, but

golf in its marketing hasn’t helped women
make that connection,” Mason says.
Treetops Resort, host site of the Women’s
Golf Festival, reported encouraging
participation for the four-day gathering,
especially with this being its first year as an
official event. Next year’s edition will include
an opportunity for participants to play in
Treetops’ famed Thursday night Ladies
League, which has grown from a dozen players
d