The world of golf has been somewhat slow to deliver an enjoyable experience for some women on the golf course. After years of playing golf at various clubs, I can tell a few stories, and when I look back, I do feel that I didn’t actually enjoy visiting every golf club.
I was fearful of being told off for walking into the wrong bar, I could never find the women’s changing rooms and was always left feeling they’d almost bolted on parts of the club to attempt to cater for female golfers. Jump into 2025 and yes, there are some incredible clubs who cater for everyone, but many would agree that there is a long way to go yet.
Clubs steeped in tradition don't intentionally make women feel unwelcome. It's often because they were built by men, for men, and decisions still reflect that. Similarly, it’s not that men don’t care about how the course plays for us, it’s the fact that they simply aren’t affected by the same issues that women come up against. All of these small things add up to women feeling that they are an afterthought, or that they’re simply not welcome.
Recently I played in a golf day and to get to the women’s changing rooms I had to walk through the function rooms and to what felt like the back store rooms. Another club I’ve visited has their changing rooms exit right where the bins are behind the kitchen. Just like men, a woman’s experience of golf begins the moment she gets out of the car. Many clubs could do so much more to make women feel welcome as their feet hit the tarmac.
Even if a club has done everything right and a woman feels like she’s walked into the perfect golf club, everything can change once she steps on the golf course.
These are 5 things that women notice immediately:
The 1st Tee Show
The 1st tee experience can be very different for men than for women. Firstly, waiting at the tee I’ve had groups ask if they can go ahead because they think they might be held up. The perception of female golfers is still stuck in the dark ages.
I’ve been to many courses where the starter will announce men off the tee, which is surrounded by beautiful planting and signage. Then he’ll duck back into his hut, waving his arms that my tee is further down. It’s often very uneven and positioned off to the edge of the hole, making the entire design of the opening hole feel wonky.
Women need to feel that the 1st tee is their stage and is as special as the men's. We should be asked the same course management questions from a forward tee as a back tee. Also, tee boxes should be bigger so the tee can be kept in decent condition. I’ve always found minimal room on the forward tees, meaning more wear and tear. Don’t get me started on where the tee markers were often pointing.
Don’t Worry It’s A Par-5 For You
It’s long, just make it a par-5 for the women. That’s how so many par-5s came about. But it doesn’t make it easier, just harder work. With slow play literally killing golf, it also means women will take longer to complete the hole.
When I walk back to “forward tees”, which are behind where the men are playing from, I’ve previously asked myself, “How the heck would the majority of women I coach carry it over the heather? They’d have to aim at the path!”
Making longer holes a par-5 for women does not enhance the enjoyment of playing the hole. A woman will still stand on the tee in the winter knowing that they can’t get there and play to their handicap.
So often this is the sticky plaster that is firmly shoved over the problem of the course length for female golfers. Add to that the handicapping system, which only really works if the player can reach the green in regulation, and you have a whole can of unhappy worms opening up.
The above video sums up how women are seen and treated at many golf clubs
The problem is that we have to wallop the first shot, then the second, then the third and so on. Women find themselves hitting a longer club into greens that are designed to be hit with an iron. Why can’t women play the hole in the same way the men play it? Women should be hitting a similar club into the green as their male counterparts for a similar experience. This would require repositioning of tee boxes to allow the experience to fall in line with how the architect originally designed the hole.
It’s not just the women’s game that suffers when par-5s are added. Mixed golf suffers when the pars are different, simply because the tee box is in the wrong place. Those casual remarks, “Well it’s ok for you it’s a par-5” or “You’re alright your tee is all the way down there and it’s still a par-5”. We don’t want a dumbed down course, just an equally enjoyable experience.
Hitting A Driver On A Par-3
Par-3s should be a challenge of skill. We even hear the men on tour talk about the best par 3s. The 7th hole at Pebble Beach (107 yards) and the 8th hole “Postage Stamp” (123 yards) at Royal Troon to name but a few. They are challenging and short. Nothing is more boring and uninspiring to a golfer than a long par-3.
Why is it that most women I coach have to hit a driver to par-3s in order to reach the green. Surprise, surprise when the ball doesn’t stop and runs through the back. These greens weren’t designed to have a ball run into them, they are designed to be hit by a more lofted club coming in from height and with a good amount of spin.
They’ve been designed for someone with a high swing speed. When a course thinks it’s helping by turning that par-3 into a par-4, it isn’t. Quite simply this makes the hole even more boring and more thought needs to go into making the tee shot fill the golfer with excitement. Par-3s should be an adventure not a chore.
Not A Toilet In Sight
Plenty of trees to hide behind for the fellas, but when a course has no facilities in the most remote areas, some of us will struggle. Not being able to “go” can have a ricochet effect on a woman’s game.
She won’t drink enough liquid as she knows she can’t pee anywhere, so her focus and performance will suffer. She won’t play 18 holes, as can’t risk it. If women have a heavy period they’ll avoid the place because it’s one thing squatting for a pee in the gorse, but another having to sort out flooding during that time of the month!
I’ve heard women at golf clubs who have thought about this and they say how lucky they are to have the loo on the 11th hole. If golf courses want more female members and especially younger members then this shouldn’t be an afterthought.
Rare Species
Not only have I not seen another woman on some courses, I’ve felt like a rare species that’s been spotted. You’ll see fewer women playing a golf course where the previously mentioned problems are obvious. Women want to enjoy their golf.
A course which has all the correct measures in place, such as Royal Birkdale, will attract women to join. They receive the same experience as the men and are equally valued. Women want to be members of golf clubs where there are lots of other women. The answer? Consider the above issues and ensure your club is ticking the pre-golf welcoming box and the on-course experience.
