Women’s golf continues to thrive and the third instalment of a charity tournament is a fairly good indication of that.
The Otago Golf Club’s all-women tournament, a fundraiser for the Otago Hospice as well as a celebration of the women’s game, is at Balmacewen this afternoon.
It had attracted 102 golfers, 30 more than last year, Otago general manager Shelley Duncan said.
The tournament raised $25,000 for the hospice over its first two years and organisers have targeted $15,000-$20,000 this year.
It was introduced on the back of the Otago club’s introduction of a regular night for girls and women in 2018, which developed into the national She Loves Golf promotion.
Duncan said there had been a big push to make female members feel more comfortable in an environment that had been dominated by men for so long.
"And that’s not only on the golf course — it’s also actually coming into the clubhouse.
"I think that’s what our She Loves Golf programme has done. We’ve got girls who have played on a Tuesday then come back on a Saturday, played a few holes after the field and just walked straight upstairs and sat in the middle of the bar and had a drink.
"They wouldn’t have done that before. Our clubhouse on Saturday afternoons when I was growing up was men only in collar and tie.
"It’s definitely shifted.
"I think women feel more comfortable on the golf course, they’re more comfortable in the clubhouse, and just generally being around."
The Otago club regularly hosts 60-plus women at the She Loves Golf nights on Tuesdays.
New Zealand golf has a superstar role model for women in the form of Olympic champion and multi-major winner Lydia Ko.
Duncan suspected Ko’s major impact was happening at the younger age levels.
"I look at the wee girls that I’m seeing . . . you ask them about Lydia Ko, and they definitely know who she is and what she’s doing.
"I think for the older women, it’s maybe not so much, because that’s not where they’re wanting to go. They’re not wanting to be elite golfers — they’re just wanting to turn up and enjoy their golf and have fun with their mates, so I’m not sure for them it’s had as much an impact as it will for the younger golfers coming through that aspire to be the next Lydia Ko."
Duncan said today’s tournament would feature women of a range of abilities who were keen to have fun as well as raise money for the hospice.
"We probably spend as much time after golf as we do on the golf course. We’ll be out there for two and a-half hours, and we’ll be upstairs for probably a similar amount of time by the time we do raffles and auctions."
The tournament has a guest speaker, Otago cricketer Polly Inglis, while New Zealand Rugby board member Rowena Davenport will be lining up as a player after speaking last year.
