By Leslie K. Hughes
The National Golf Foundation reported in 2023 that women and girls are the fastest growing demographic when it comes to golf. It’s not surprising. There are so many benefits to getting this demographic involved at an early age. In fact, I argue that it is young women that stand to gain the most from the game of golf.
From a practice in patience to learning life skills that promote healthy exercise and self-confidence, this sport offers a valuable experience for growing young women that can’t be found in other team-focused sports.
If I could go back to young me and give her one thing, it would be confidence. It opens up all kinds of doors.
Golf has a way of instilling an incredible amount of self-confidence inside of you, because all you’ve got to rely on out there is yourself. It forces you to overcome adversity, work towards goals that take a long time to accomplish and weather the ups and downs, good breaks and bad breaks – all by yourself.
As you overcome the many challenges you’ll face in developing your golf game, a new sense of confidence will find you on the other side. It’ll extend in other aspects of life as well. The more younger women are exposed to these types of challenges that require dedication and patience to overcome, the more they’ll feel accomplished and believe in themselves.
Golf is one of the most honorable sports, deeply rooted in honesty and integrity. The Rules of Golf rely heavily on self-regulation because it’s impossible for an official to witness every shot from every player on the course at a given moment.
Golf is also one of the most mentally demanding sports. You must be focused, think strategically, and be ready to adjust when a shot doesn’t go your way (because this will absolutely happen at some point). It takes a lot of decision making and trust as you prepare for each golf shot, then to repeat the process no less than 60 times (if you’re good) is mentally taxing.
All of this helps develop critical thinking skills that allow children to not only make decisions for themselves, but the instant feedback of each shot helps them analyze their decisions and make adjustments moving forward.
Golf has long been viewed as a form of active meditation or mindfulness.
It’s something that can help you tune out the other stressors in life and focus on the present moment – on the game in front of you. Being present and not spiraling into the black hole of stress and anxiety is something that young women can benefit from greatly by learning at a young age, because there’s no avoiding it once they get older.
On top of that, golf is an outdoor sport, and nature does wonders for mental health. Spending time outdoors and away from screens is more important now than ever in our digitally focused world.
Golf is great for this. It involves miles and miles of walking. Each round on the course helps boost cardiovascular health while also strengthening muscles and improving flexibility.
Getting in the habit of moving your body for the right reasons at a young age is so important.
Though golf is more of an individualized sport when it comes down to it, it is very much a social sport in the way that it is played: in groups. There are not many better ways to befriend a stranger than spending four hours on a golf course with them.
By young women getting involved in things such as junior golf leagues or other local games, it’s an easy avenue to build social skills and make friends with common interests. Ask any golfer, some of their best friendships and connections are formed on the course.
These are strong roots to have not only for the present, but also later in life as these young women grow and find that the golf course may become the ideal place to connect with other professionals for networking.
Golf is a sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. As a young girl, I used to play with my grandfather, who was in his 80s. There aren’t many activities that a young child and a grandfather can do together, but golf is one of them.
It truly is the only sport where professionals and amateurs can share the same space at the same time. Think about it, would any of you ever want to practice against Caitlin Clark right before she suits up for a game?
With golf, Nelly Korda and I can appear on the same tee sheet in the same group, and even play against each other on a level playing field (thanks to the World Handicap System!). You won’t find that in any other sport, where amateurs and professionals fit so seamlessly together on the golf course. Now, I’m not saying I’ll beat Nelly any time soon, but it sure is cool that me and her can play on the same level if we wanted to.
There is no shortage of benefits for young women playing golf. By encouraging them to pick up a club and get out there, we empower them to gain the tools necessary to navigate the inevitable challenges of life and build a strong future not only for themselves, but for others.
If you or someone you know is interested in introducing young women to golf, the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation runs programming specific to girls golf, in partnership with the LPGA and USGA. Learn more here.