Photo Credit: © Can Stock Photo / olimpik
Take a look at most golf courses, and what do you see? A lot of men out golfing! The statistics may vary, but there are upwards of 25-million golfers in the United States. Only about 6 million of those are women. Additionally, according to the National Golf Foundation, a child has a .4-percent likelihood of becoming a golfer if neither parent plays, 26 percent if one parent golfs, but if both parents are golfers, the likelihood increases to 38 percent.. This finding leads to three main questions:
How to grow the sport to include more women? How to “grow” new golfers? How to engage families to golf?
There are many reasons why people don’t golf, including time, money, golf-course rules, concerns about ability, and the perceptions about traditional golf. It’s up to parks and recreation professionals to remove these barriers, change the way golf looks, and make the golf course an inviting place!