Women and Girls Golf Week - one month to go

The countdown has started to England’s Golf’s latest inspiring edition of Women and Girls Golf Week which this year runs from 1-7 August.

There’s now just one month to go until the start of the online and digital campaign aimed at celebrating female success stories on and off the course.

Once again, the campaign coincides with the staging of the AIG Women’s Open, held this year at Muirfield in Scotland, where the focus of the world’s media attention is on the female game.

A mix of professional golfers, celebrities, golf insiders and everyday club players will join us to tell their stories around the hashtag #WhyIGolf

Each day of the campaign focuses on a different theme to showcase the wide variety of ways women and girls of all ages can get into golf.

There are days centred on role models, competing, careers, and a call for ‘newbies’ to ‘join the club’ through golf club membership or by subscribing to iGolf.

iGolf is England Golf’s digital platform for non-club members who wish to obtain and maintain an official handicap index.

The campaign’s themes for 2022 are as follows:

· Monday 1 August – Careers

· Tuesday 2 August – Volunteering

· Wednesday 3 August – Health and wellbeing

· Thursday 4 August – Competing

· Friday 5 August – Role models

· Saturday 6 August – Newbies

· Sunday 7 August – Join the club

The campaign is now gearing up for its fifth edition and will look to build on the success of previous years during which the golf movement was united in promoting a positive image of women and girls in golf and challenging misconceptions around the female game.

In 2021, Women and Girls in Golf Week proved a huge hit with our online audiences.

Highlights included:

· A 29% increase in the number of campaign video views – over 370,000 video views were recorded across all England Golf digital platforms.

· A record 118,000 view of the #WhyIGolf story on Instagram – a rise of 18% on 2020 figures.

· An increase of 23% on the use of the #WhyIGolf hashtag which was posted 1,600 times in the course of the week.

· Over 500 contributors from England and as far afield as continental Europe, America and Australia posted their #WhyIGolf stories to bring the week to life.

· A record high of 13 million impressions through use of #WhyIGolf. A rise of 3.3 million from 2020.

Ahead of Women and Girls Golf Week, a special #WhyIGolf session will be staged at The Wilmslow Golf Club in Cheshire on Monday 18 July.

This fun event for beginner girls aged 5-18 comes at the start of an exciting week when Wilmslow plays host to the English Girls’ Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship.

Looking ahead to the 2022 edition, Lauren Spray, England Golf’s women and girls in golf manager said: “Once again, we are excited to tell the amazing stories of women and girls involved in golf and showcase their positive experiences in the game.

“I’m sure these tales can act as inspiration for other women and girls who may not previously have thought golf was a game for them.

“Inspiring others can take many forms. It can involve youngsters picking up a club for the first time and experiencing the thrill of hitting a ball, or adults volunteering at their local club and getting a buzz from being part of a friendly and sociable community of like-minded individuals.

“There are also a huge number of career paths available in the golf industry for women. Thanks to The R&A’s Women in Golf Charter, supported by England Golf, we will continue to drive the message that women have a fantastic opportunity to provide fresh energy and expertise in so many sectors of the game.

“Most of all the message we aim to deliver is that golf is fun, golf is inclusive and golf is a game that has something to offer every female out there who strives to reach their full potential both on and off the course.

“Over the five years we’ve run this campaign it’s been so heartening to hear the stories of hundreds of women and girls and watch the way they are helping to shape attitudes and continue to change the game for the better.

“Along with our industry partners, clubs, counties and existing golfers, England Golf is thrilled to be once again shouting from the rooftops about women and girls in golf and their positive role in growing the game.”

As always, England Golf is joined in its campaign by a number of organisations that support the drive to promote the female game.

Thanks again this year go to the following partners:

The AIG Women’s Open, activity alliance, BIGGA, Black British Golfers, Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, EDGA, GCMA, Golf Breaks, Golf Ireland, Golf Foundation, Justin Rose Ladies Series,  Medi8, the PGA, the R&A, Scottish Golf, Slingsby Golf Academy, Sport and Recreation Alliance, Sky Sports, Today's Golfer, Wales Golf, Women & Golf and Women in Sport.

We are dedicated to growing the game of golf in England. As one of the country’s largest sport governing bodies, we look after the interests of around 1,800 golf clubs and 737,000 golf club members. Golf is our passion. We develop and nurture the game by:

Promoting golf as an open, welcoming, inclusive and fun sport for everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or ability

Inspiring new golfers with our innovative campaigns

Encouraging new golfers to value the benefits of club membership

Working with partners to offer business support to clubs

Staging top-class championships and competitions for all ages and abilities

Coaching national squad players to follow in the footsteps of past graduates including Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Georgia Hall and Bronte Law.

Iain Macfarlane, Press Officer

Tel: 07703 828938

Email: pr@englandgolf.org