To say that August has been a good month for women and girls’ golf in the UK would be an almighty understatement. Here's what we think it all means for the women's game.
To say that August has been a good month for women and girls’ golf in the UK would be an almighty understatement. The last few weeks have been huge, and as though something out of a fairy tale, it all culminated in Brit Georgia Hall lifting the Women’s British Open trophy.
By Charlotte Hope
Women & Girls’ Golf Week
August kicked off with Women & Girls’ Golf Week, a week-long campaign that aimed to celebrate the successes of women and girls in different roles in golf and to challenge the misconceptions and stigmas that surround the sport. The week was supported by England Golf, Scottish Golf, Wales Golf, the Irish Ladies Golf Union, and The R&A, and was designed to unite the golf industry behind the aim of growing the women and girls’ game. And it did just that. Over the week, we heard stories from successful career women, celebrities inspired us with stories of what they love about the game, and we learnt some of the amazing volunteers behind the sport- all captured using the hashtag #WhyIGolf.
Growing Social Media & TV Coverage
Totting up millions of impressions through social media (12 million through Twitter alone), Women & Girls’ Golf Week far surpassed anyone’s expectations, even reaching as far as Australia. And as content kept pouring in, the week was highlighted on BBC Radio 5Live and featured by Sarah Stirk on Sky Sports. Given the minimal amount of coverage of women’s sports in general compared to our male counterparts, this in itself is a huge success and can only mean positive things for the future.
Stirk was just one of many celebrities who got involved with Women and Girls’ Golf Week, alongside her colleague Henni Goya, the BBC’s Naga Munchetty and Katherine Downes, talkSPORT’s Georgie Bingham, TV and radio hosts Eilidh Barbour, Jenni Falconer and Seema Jaswal, tour professional and event host Sophie Walker and social influencers Cat Meffan and the Jazzy Golfer.
#WeLoveGolf
An all-female PGA coaching team headed to the Ricoh Women’s British Open to deliver hundreds of free lessons during the tournament week. As the first female PGA coaching team at either The Open or Women’s British Open, the team were also on a mission to get more women and girls into the sport they love with the help of The PGA’s new golf development campaign, We Love Golf.
Launched in May this year, We Love Golf is an initiative by The Professional Golfers Association to help more women and girls learn about golf and the benefits associated with playing the game. It is a community of people – from PGA Professionals to complete beginners- who want to share their passion for golf and break the negative stigma surrounding the sport. Anyone can join in the conversation using #WeLoveGolf on Facebook or Twitter.
The Ricoh Women’s British Open
The pinnacle of this month so far though, without a doubt, is the moment that Georgia Hall became the Women’s British Open champion at Royal Lytham & St Annes. As the perfect ending to Women & Girls’ Golf Week, her win couldn’t have been more perfectly timed.
Hall is one of only five British major winners in history and is the only player to ever win the British Girls, British Amateur, and British Open. If Hall’s endearing personality, positive attitude, and quiet confidence weren’t already enough to make her a fantastic ambassador for women’s golf, then those victories more than speak for themselves.
European Golf Team Championships
And then last weekend came the European Golf Team Championships which saw some of the biggest names in professional golf -both men and women- compete head to head as part of the innovative multi-sport Glasgow 2018 European Championships.
The new format- which was a roaring success with fans and players alike- featured a 50/50 gender split in the field with male and female professionals competing for equal prize money- finally! There was both a Men’s and Women’s Team match-play Championship, and an 18-hole foursomes stroke-play Mixed Team Championship.
Sweden picked up the gold whilst France picked up silver in the final of the women's matches, but it was an all-GB battle for third place. The Great Britain 3 team of Meghan MacLaren and Michele Thomson won the bronze medal match by 3&1 over the Great Britain 1 team of Ricoh Women’s British Open champion Georgia Hall and US Women’s Senior Open champion Dame Laura Davies.
So, What Next?
Looking back at the start of August, I’d almost go as far to say that the start of this month has been somewhat of a turning point in women’s golf, and the prospects for the game are looking more positive than ever. Now it’s time to channel this energy and enthusiasm to grow the game for good…
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