More women than ever before are engaging with golf according to the recent and much quoted research project by the PGA. From hitting balls at the driving range, playing a round of adventure golf or getting out on the course, golf is fast becoming the cool new hobby that women are taking up in their droves.
This growth in popularity has seen an explosion of golf content being produced by professionals and amateurs alike, along with more social media groups and pages dedicated to providing a space for women to talk about their new found love.
When it comes to social media, I am much more of a lurker than an active poster and I enjoy following lots of different content creators and groups, which as a coach provides me with valuable insight into what is being talked about, and what trends are moving the needle popularity wise. Here is my take on what social media tells us about this new era of women’s golf.
Fashion
A lot of women absolutely love their fashion, and golf fashion is big busine. Fashion chat consumes many group spaces, posts, and accounts. Personally, it doesn’t really interest me that much. Of course I like to look nice, but I don’t think I’ve ever been what would be considered as someone who’s fashionable.
Growing up I thought getting fashion sense or a clue of how to look good would be like puberty and one day I would wake up and know what to wear, but alas that never happened.
I am, however, always happy to see other people finding a hobby, or passion that excites them and that they love investing in, life becomes so much richer when you have that, and for many women what they wear to play golf gives as much pleasure as playing the game itself.
I asked one of my newer women to golf, who always looks lovely, why she likes to follow the trends and enjoys the best golf clothes:
“All the gear and no idea is not quite true...if you feel good in your clothes it can inspire confidence in your golf. Look like a golfer play like a golfer! And it doesn't need to cost the earth. Looking for sale bargains and pre-loved is a way to dress for less”
The top social media platforms are awash with influencers showcasing their latest fashion buys or ‘hauls’ as they are called, or videos with the hashtag #GRWM, which for the uninitiated means, ‘Get ready with me’ so you are treated to seeing how they put their outfit together and are ready to play.
It’s not just the women that love their golf fashion, the men are in on the act too with many brands leaning more towards creating fashion focused looks that perform on the course. Take the much talked about brand Malbon whose tagline is a ‘lifestyle brand inspired by golf’. Thanks to the recent fashion revolution, golf is shedding its stuffy image of khaki trousers, polo shirts and woolly jumpers to something fresh and cool which is helping to attract a whole new audience to the game.
More Cautious To Invest In Equipment
I wish this wasn’t true, and of course it isn’t the case for all women, but after working in the industry for well over 20 years, in my experience, women tend to be far more cautious about spending big money on clubs compared to men.
Now I’m sure there are unquestionably some socioeconomic reasons behind this, for example, if you walk into many golf facilities you will likely be greeted with a very male dominated retail space, which may subconsciously make women feel less comfortable, leading to less being spent.
As a TaylorMade Women’s Advisory Board member, myself and fellow women on the board spend a lot of time discussing how to make retail spaces more welcoming to women and products that are affordable and prioritise performance.
That being said, even when presented with lots of options and equipment that will benefit their game, women will often err on the side of caution and make do with less suitable equipment, bargains or hand-me-downs. I believe some of this has to do with confidence and taking up space in the world of golf and not believing their level of golf warrants spending the money, a touch of imposter syndrome perhaps.
There are still many myths around golf equipment such as that you need to be a good golfer before having a custom fit or that it costs more when neither of those things are true. Another possibility is that women are not as easily sucked in to buying the hype around new products and the promised gains promoted by the brands. Men are quick to flash the cash when the promise of longer straighter drives are a possibility with a shiny new driver, whereas many women simply don’t value the same playing aspects, which leads me on to my next point.
It's A Social
Having tried every type of group format, program and initiative for every demographic, I am confident when I say that for the vast majority of women, if you were to ask them why they play golf they would consider the social element and atmosphere as the most important reason.
That’s not to say they don’t love the opportunity to compete but doing that in a comfortable and fun environment is what creates happy golfers. If you are looking for a sport to meet new friends and social opportunities, golf really is a fantastic choice.
Testament to this, is the wonderful Facebook group, the Women’s (Ladies) Golf Lounge set up by Yvonne Brooke during the pandemic in 2020. Stuck at home and missing golf Yvonne decided to set up a page to talk and connect with other golfing women.
The sense of kinship from missing golf and being able to chat to other women about their favourite hobby in a safe space, quickly saw the group's popularity explode. Everything golf gets shared, from swing videos, questions on what to wear, where to buy equipment, to golfing achievements. Most importantly is how kind, helpful and genuine everyone is when posting or answering questions, any whiff of nastiness gets shut down from the members.
From its humble beginnings, there are now meetups throughout the year, golf trips and coaching seminars where online friendships get to meet and play golf together face to face, truly wonderful stuff.
In a similar vein and following the success model of the Golf Lounge, The Jazzy Golfer, who rose to prominence on Instagram documenting herself taking up golf and providing social commentary on the women’s game, set up the UK’s Women’s Golf Community, also on Facebook, with the aim of helping female golfers to connect. They have regular meetups at their adopted ‘hubs’ up and down the country. This group has become the place to go when starting out and looking to meet others and many post their progression updates along with videos.
What strikes me most about these spaces is women’s openness to ask questions and to provide honest, detailed, and helpful answers to fellow group members. While men will typically seek answers through YouTube videos and online research, women appear to want to connect and get real life opinions and experiences from their fellow female golfers.
Influencers
No conversation about social media would be complete without talking about influencers. Love them or hate them, they don’t seem to be going anywhere. The last 10 years has seen the growth of the female golf influencer, and against my will I have witnessed the rise of many. In fact, I’d say I know the recipe to be one now:
- Be thin and pretty
- Cater to the male gaze but claim you wear what you want because you are empowered
- Be a beginner at golf
- Be bad at golf but laugh a lot about being bad at golf, like it’s the funniest thing in the world, because you are just so silly and fun
- Collab with more prominent male golf influencers
- Get an agent
- Become a brand ambassador
- Become more serious, maybe a few pictures or videos of you frowning and shaking your head upset about a cause like the patriarchy in golf
- Get slightly better at golf
- Start a podcast
- Land guest speaker spots at women’s golf events
- Get TV commentary gigs
- Congratulations you have achieved highest Influencer level
Yet knowing the recipe and baking the cake are two very different things and having had a bit of video editing experience myself, I know how hard these women must work day and night to keep the content fresh, engaging and entertaining.
The question of who it entertains mostly though is quite simply, men. Whenever a follower demographic has conducted on female golfing influencers, men have always comfortably been the predominant demographic. So, however much these women may claim to be ‘growing the game’ for girls and women, it is questionable and I strongly believe it is the community groups over on Facebook that are doing far more to promote and create a sense of connection and welcoming visibility.
One of the negative sides to the female influencers who go all out to cater to the male gaze is the effect it can have on the perception of fellow female professionals in the industry. Just last year a grandfather booking a lesson for his teenage grandson at our Golf Academy didn’t want a lesson with one of our female pros for fear she would look like Paige Spiranac, and will therefore distract his grandson.
I could not believe it. I had so many questions as to why he thought that was an appropriate question to ask among many others! For those not in the know, Paige is arguably one of the most famous female golf influencers of all time and is particularly popular with men for the revealing clothes she wears while golfing.
I admire Paige for her quick wit on commentary on the game, she knows what she is doing and how to stay current. That being said her image being associated with female golf professionals did result in a loss of work for a hardworking golf coach, but I’m saying creepy grandad bears more of the responsibility on that one.
Overall, social media highlights the dynamic and evolving landscape of women’s golf, emphasising the importance of fashion, spending and social connections, and the nuanced role of influencers. These spaces combine to create something for everybody to enjoy and engage with, which is undoubtedly positively contributing to the growth of the women’s game.
