My journey to become a more consistent golfer has been a combination of practice, playing - and following an impressively large list of golf influencers. They are fun to watch, aren’t they? Tagging along as someone plays 9 holes, swing drills, quick fixes for common errors, fashion and equipment advice - it’s all entertaining. And a little overwhelming when you’re trying to sift through what advice is relevant to your game.
As addicting as it may be following the great shots and misses of someone’s personal golf experience, have you thought about how watching other players' golf is affecting not only the technical aspects of your game, but your mindset on the course? If golf influencers are impacting your decisions during practice time and play, it’s important to find advice and personalities that resonate with you.
These five social media golfing accounts have been stand-outs to me, as both a woman and a beginner, working on gaining confidence and consistency on the course.
1. Cailyn Henderson
Cailyn Henderson (@chendo), a former collegiate golfer, showcases the perfect mix of education and entertainment through her self-talk about swing thoughts, club choice, working through pre-shot jitters and coaching her mom, who’s learning to play. Henderson is also the founder and co-owner of Fore the Girls (@forethegirls_golf), a company that encourages more girls and young women to try golf.
She and co-founder Margaret Wentz post a series of videos for beginners that explain how to correctly warm up on the range, set up for various shots, keep up with pace of play, and why you shouldn’t compare yourself to other golfers – accompanied by lots of encouragement and laughs between the two friends.
Part of their effort to make girls feel more confident on the course is through fashion. They design and sell adorable pink and white bucket hats and magnetic golf towels on their website and this year, Henderson and Wentz are expanding to a full line of golf clothing.
2. Kate Floss
Kate Floss (@golfair_by_kate), a former National Team Player, PGA professional and certified yoga teacher based in Germany, organizes golf-yoga workshops and retreats (her 2024 retreats are in Spain and Italy) to promote a golf wellness mindset through food, stretching, nature, travel and relaxation.
Rather than solely focus on the technical aspects of golf, Floss is all about the feelings golf brings. Mindfulness is important in both yoga and golf and finding the connection between the two strengthens your mental game on the course.
Her page is a refreshing mix of golf, nature and yoga poses designed to improve flexibility for golfers. It reminds us competitive people who tend to take ourselves too seriously (anyone else?) to slow down, exhale and focus on being outside, spending time with friends and quieting your mind.
3. Ladies Who Golf
Ladies Who Golf (@ladieswhogolfatl) is a group for career-driven women using golf to engage in philanthropy, network and build relationships with other women who share similar professional goals. Geared toward women of color and originating in Atlanta, Georgia, the group has now expanded to multiple U.S. cities with scheduled golf-related social and charitable events, group lessons and tee times organized by profession: Calling all attorneys to tee off at 9 AM.
Confidence in your career can translate to confidence on the golf course, and vice versa, and founder Keyeriah Miles fuses the two successfully by showing us how to utilize golf as a tool during the busy and demanding years of building a career.
4. Haley Bookholdt
Haley Bookholdt (@haleybookholdt), a former college golfer, is always on the hunt for “golf girls” when she’s out practicing at the range or playing a round, and thanks to her growing Facebook network Huge Club Girls, she’s helping thousands of other golf girls find each other, too.
Bookholdt shares enough about her personal life that she’s extremely relatable, like a friend who prioritizes looking cute on the course (which she always does, and shares where she gets her clothing), is a bit hard on herself (as we can all be), and gives helpful advice on how to feel more comfortable at the range (put your headphones on, jam out to your favorite song and pretend no one is there). Her page is less about her technical golf game and more about making golf outings an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
5. Women Who Golf
If you’re searching for local golf friends, Women Who Golf, a global online community on Facebook, is your spot. Founded by Tuscany Williams (@tusscany), who as a junior golfer, struggled to find women friends to play with, WWG supports golf events globally and connects women on hyper local levels. My group has pre-set tee times every other week at rotating golf courses within 20 minutes of my house.
This women-only community is a place to bond with golf lovers and feel celebrated when you hit personal milestones, share local events that you think others might enjoy, or spread the word about the most comfortable golf shoes for walking 18 holes. It’s an ongoing reminder that we’re all working on similar goals, we all need some encouragement at times, and there are thousands of women worldwide eager to tee off.
