A recent study carried out by U.K.-based Professional Golfers Association (PGA), in collaboration with Ipsos, has highlighted a huge opportunity to grow the women’s game in the U.K. and Ireland. The study is part of a comprehensive initiative, known as “Golf for All,” that aims to delve into the evolving dynamics of golf participation while challenging conventional perceptions of the game.
Among the findings, the study has shown that a “golfer,” when excluding full/short course golf, is almost as likely to be female as male (47 percent vs 53 percent), while the profile of strictly on-course golfers shows a much larger percentage of males. This “eye-opening piece of data” highlights the huge opportunity for golf to engage the wider female golf audience more regularly across all different forms of golf, diversifying the fan base and encouraging a larger spectrum of females to view themselves as golfers, said the organization.
There is “huge scope” for the game to attract a large population of women who are already playing golf but do not already consider themselves as “golfers,” added the PGA.
Earlier this year, a survey by insurance company Golf Care showed that although attitudes towards women in sports are generally shifting, inequality is still lingering in women’s golf in the U.K.. The majority of survey respondents (77 percent) argued that inequality still exists within the game of golf, and 80 percent were women vs. 74 percent of men.
