Over 150 Irish golf clubs that achieved Gold Standard in the Women in Golf Charter were presented with their awards at Carton House during the opening round of last week’s KPMG Women’s Irish Open.
In 2018 the R&A launched the Women in Golf Charter, which aims to increase women and girls’ participation and membership in golf, encourage more families to enjoy golf as a leisure activity and encourage more opportunities for women to work in the golf industry.
Golf Ireland was an early signatory, and in 2021, with the help of significant funding from Sport Ireland’s Resilience fund and the R&A’s Covid Support fund, it launched the Women in Golf Charter Awards.
Clubs that received funding had three years to implement the commitments in the Women in Golf Charter Gold Award, implementing a series of commitments that aim to deliver gender equality in golf clubs, from participation to leadership and everything in between.
These clubs are currently at the vanguard of delivering cultural and structural change by making golf a more equal and inclusive sport.
“Achieving the Gold Standard in the Women in Golf Charter highlights our clubs’ commitment to making golf more inclusive and accessible. This milestone reflects our shared goal of ensuring golf is a sport where everyone can participate and feel welcome. We are proud of the progress made and look forward to continuing this journey towards greater equality,” said Golf Ireland CEO, Mark Kennelly.
In order to achieve the gold standard, clubs needed to ensure full membership is available to both genders, along with equal access to time sheets and competitions based on membership categories, not on gender.
There were also a minimum requirement of 30 per cent female representation on the club management committee, and One Club Model for proprietary clubs.
“Sport Ireland is a proud supporter of the Women in Golf Charter. The promotion of gender equality across Irish sport is a key pillar of our work,” said Sport Ireland Chief Executive, Dr Úna May. “The increase of women and girls’ participation and membership in golf is fantastic news and hopefully it encourages more families to get involved.
“Sport Ireland wants to congratulate each of the 150 clubs on achieving the Gold Standard in the Women in Golf Charter and to encourage all golf clubs to continue on the journey of delivering gender equality in participation and membership.”