Women and Girls Golf Week 2022

Women and Girls Golf week 2022 blazes a trail

Women and Girls Golf Week – now in its fifth year – has been praised for shining a light on the opportunities available to females of all ages and backgrounds looking to play or forge a career in the sport. England Golf explains.

Over the course of seven days from Monday 1 August, England Golf’ s digital campaign used the positive power of social media to champion the women ’ s game and offer new ideas to the next generation of players.

Across England Golf’ s social channels, 210 differentpeoplesharedtheir#WhyIGolfstory,resultingin 10 million impressions and 786 unique mentions of the campaign hashtag.

The week featured interviews with inspirational figures such as Solheim Cup legend Catriona Matthew,majorchampionGeorgiaHall,LPGAwinner Mel Reid and rising star of the LET, Alice Hewson.

With themes ranging from careers to volunteers, role models to competing, there were also contributions from well-known amateurs currently making their way in the game including this year ’ s Slingsby Golf Academy cadets Zara Phillips, Judy Murray, Anna Woolhouse and Dr Zoe Williams.

Clubs across England got on board to amplify the message and stage events ranging from a non-golfer evening at Beau Desert Golf Club in Staffordshire to a

‘Putting and Prosecco ’ night at Shooters Hill Golf Club in Greenwich.

The Muslim Golf Association also took over Leeds Golf Centre for a girls coaching session aimed at introducing the sport to a new audience.

Counties supported the campaign and individual golfers chipped in with their stories using the hashtag #WhyIGolf.

Prior to the week, England Golf also staged a #WhyIGolf event to coincide with the English Girls ’ Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Wilmslow Golf Club in Cheshire.

Beginner girls were introduced to the game, offered fun welcome lessons by local PGA pros and given the chance to chat with Rhian Barton, a female greenkeeper helping to break down barriers in her chosen career field.

Women and Girls Golf Week was set against the impressive backdrop of the AIG Women ’ s Open at Muirfield – the most prestigious professional tournament on the schedule.

Commenting on the week, England Golf’ s women and girls in golf manager Lauren Spray said: “It was fantastic to see so much positivity about the ongoing effortstobringthegameofgolftolifeforwomenand girls all over England.

“It’ s been such a breakthrough summer for women ’ s sport in this country with the Lionesses winning the Euros on home soil and so many outstanding female athletes starring at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

“In golf, we also have our homegrown superstars to be proud of, but the Georgia Halls and Bronte Laws of this world all started off as novice beginners and required their love of the game to befuelledbyvolunteersandcoachesattheirclubs.

“Golf is open to all, it’ s a healthy, vibrant and fun sport and this campaign is designed to showcase all that’ s good about the game. ”

“There are also a wide variety of jobs in the golf industry for women to pursue and it’ s exciting to watch this aspect of Women and Girls Golf Week grow over the last five years to the point where more and more people are switched on to the opportunities that are available. ”

Next year ’ s Women and Girls Golf Week activities will once again be centred around the AIG Women ’ s Open which will be held at Walton Heath Golf Club in Surrey.

Swedish Sweetspot is part of a global e ort to change golf

Swedish tech company Sweetspot has been chosen by The R&A, golf’s governing body, to provide business systems at Golf It!, its new community-focused golf and entertainment venue. The first facility will open in Glasgow in the summer of 2023 and will, among other things, include a nine-hole course, adventure golf and golf simulators. With the concept Golf It!, The R&A – which has160 a liated organisations, including national federations – aims to change the sport fundamentally. The concept’s first facility will be located on the banks of Hogganfield Loch in the North East of Glasgow with the purpose of making golf more accessible and inclusive. To achieve their goal, The R&A has carefully selected partners they consider the best in each area.

Golf It! is a significant investment that will make golf a more inclusive and accessible sport – for everyone. The venue has been specifically designed to attract a new audience to the game. Therefore working with a system that provides a clear understanding of behavior and how people interact with their activities is of paramount importance. This is where the Swedish company, Sweetspot, comes into the picture. The deal between the two parties extends over five years, where Sweetspot will develop and establish business systems on behalf of Golf It!. After a thorough and robust scoping process, the Sweetspot platform was the only system we found to have the capability to achieve our business goals. Our aim is to provide customers with the right product, at the right time and at the right price, which will ultimately make the game more accessible and a ordable. With Sweetspot we believe we can achieve this goal, says Russell Smith, General Manager of Golf It!

Sweetspot will create an overall solution for the whole concept that includes a checkout system where The R&A can follow di erent types of consumer behavior. The focus will be on revenue management and increasing the accessibility for more golfers by applying dynamic pricing.

– We are delighted to get the opportunity to work with the largest golf organization in the world. It’ s a great recognition of our company and product. They share our vision to modernize golf to get more people to experience the sport we love, says Henrik Ahlin, CEO at Sweetspot.

The R&A is investing £200 million over ten years in developing golf and supports the growth of the sport internationally.