St Andrews, Scotland: Golf venues across Great Britain and Ireland have been invited to participate in a ground-breaking campaign that will provide them with the knowledge and materials to recruit and retain female golfers, helping to safeguard the sport for the future. 

Launched by The R&A in connection with the Women in Golf Charter, #FOREeveryone is the start of a long-term programme of support for the industry and will begin with the distribution of a toolkit resource, designed to provide guidance on operational and marketing improvement to help attract more women and girls to the sport. 

The campaign is supported by England Golf, Golf Ireland, Scottish Golf and Wales Golf, as well as The PGA and Golf Club Managers Association, and represents a cohesive drive by the national associations to create a more inclusive culture, nurturing greater female participation and encouraging more women into roles within the golf industry. 

At this stage, clubs and facilities are being asked not only to sign-up to The R&A Women in Golf Charter but to contribute actively towards commitments that can change the culture of golf to the benefit of all of those who play and love the sport. 

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said: “We believe that golf has to do more to speak to a female audience and ensure that we have better levels of participation and employment in the golf industry. There are some good examples of best practice but if we are to adequately address these issues it will require a shift in culture among many more golf facilities to become more accessible, appealing and inclusive. 

“The #FOREeveryone campaign and the toolkit and assets, which have been distributed to golf clubs across Great Britain and Ireland, seek to address that issue head-on by ensuring clubs have the knowledge and materials to help them to evolve. 

“Launched as part of the Women in Golf Charter, we hope that #FOREeveryone can inspire tangible change and provide a supporting mechanism for clubs well into the future.” 

Uniting behind a single narrative and brand mark, the campaign will harness the efforts of stakeholders to achieve a better gender balance. This will not only improve the way women and girls experience golf but also challenge some of the prevailing stereotypes held by those who have yet to pick up a club. 

Broadly speaking, the #FOREeveryone campaign is calling for a forward-thinking approach that drives tangible change across the industry: enhancing gender diversity, addressing participation decline and improving the financial prosperity of facilities and organisations – for everyone.

Further initiatives, including a drive to encourage lapsed and non-golfers to give the sport a try, will be unveiled in the coming months.

The Women in Golf Charter was established in 2018 to encourage more women and girls to both play and pursue a career in the game and has so far seen over 390 golf facilities and industry organisations commit to making changes in order to achieve these goals.