Golf Australia: Winners of the inaugural R&A Women in Golf Charter Awards

On Friday, November 29, Golf Australia proudly hosted the inaugural R&A Women in Golf Charter Awards night, a formal evening of celebration and recognition. Hosted during the ISPS Handa Australian Open week, the evening looked to honour the progress the golf industry has made in advancing gender equity and pay tribute to those who have made an outstanding contribution to make the game more inclusive for women and girls.

Winners pictured above: Zonely, Deb Kember, Windaroo Lakes GC, Busselton and The National.

Most Influential Woman in Golf

This R&A Women in Golf Charter award celebrates an exceptional woman whose influence and advocacy has significantly shaped the landscape of golf for women and girls. Her leadership has been instrumental in advancing the R&A Women in Golf Charter and through her dedication and passion, she has led sustainable initiatives, broken barriers and built an inspirational legacy.

The winner of this award was Brisbane Golf Club’s Deb Kember for her leadership and guidance at the club and across the sport more broadly.

Kember is the first woman to become President of Brisbane and is also the founder of the Golf Leaders Network, a network of office bearers within golf clubs formed in 2022.

Women and Girls Program of the Year

This award recognises the club/facility with the most outstanding Women and Girls MyGolf or Get Into Golf Program based on the number of participants, the quality of the program, and the customer experience.

The winner of this award was Queensland’s Windaroo Lakes Golf Club for its ‘Golf Fore Women’ initiative which provided a supportive and fun pathway for women of all skill levels to learn and enjoy the sport.

Most Progressive Club/Facility of the Year

This award is to recognise the club/ facility that has shown the most significant improvement in its efforts to support, promote and engage women and girls in golf over the past year.

The winner of this award was The National in Victoria.

Excellence in Community Engagement

This award recognises a golf club/facility that has made a significant positive impact on their local community through women and girls golf initiatives and actively utilised social media platforms to enhance the visibility, engagement, and storytelling of golf.

The winner of this award was Zonely, an inclusive golf community based in NSW, which is changing the way people connect and find community through sport and activity.

Best Initiative for Increasing Overall Women and Girls Engagement

This award is to recognise the club/facility with the most innovative and successful initiatives that have increased overall participation and created a welcoming environment on and off the course.

The winner of this award was Busselton in Western Australia for a ‘chip and sip’ program that drew 300 women to the club in a year.

Creating positive change for women and girls

“The R&A Women in Golf Charter is a strong statement of intent to take measures designed to achieve positive change for women and girls,” said Tamara Mason, Golf Australia’s Head of Women and Girls Engagement.

“The inaugural awards night provided an opportunity to for us all to be grateful that decision makers in golf tried a different approach to include women and girls – and they were successful.

“Clubs who are signatories to the R&A Women in Golf Charter have proactively decided that, in order to attract women and girls to the sport and their club, they have to do things differently.

“This includes reviewing club operations, the leadership model at the club, club competition schedules, membership structures and golf activity options.

“Decision-makers at the clubs have the support of Golf Australia staff to navigate these conversations with their boards and committees and take action to make the desired changes come to life.

“The awards night was recognition of those who have been working towards making positive change over a lengthy period of time and they should be congratulated for their efforts.”

Find out more about Golf Australia's Vision 2025 and their commitment to growing women and girls' golf here.