Women’s Golf Day brings thousands to golf globally
More than 400 golf facilities in 27 countries hosted thousands of women and girl’s in celebration of the inaugural International Women’s Golf Day (WGD) on June 7.
“We were able to fulfill our mission to engage, empower and support women and girls through golf,” says Women’s Golf Day Founder Elisa Gaudet, president of Executive Golf International. “To think it transcended language, culture, religion and race is pretty incredible, especially with all that is going in the world. It was a celebration of golf, women and community, with plenty of camaraderie, too.”
This global golf initiative, which introduced women and girls to the game, also encouraged existing golfers to tee it up in a fun and non-threatening environment. The event included participation from golf facilities in China, India, Dubai, South Africa, Uganda, Tunisia, Morocco, Europe, as well as USA and Canada.
Eight months ago, Gaudet pitched the WGD concept to golf management companies, encouraging them to analyze the role of women as “economic influencers” in the game and the business of golf, impacting everything from country club memberships and home sales on golf courses, to increasing youth participation in the sport, according a press release.
“We were so proud to be a part of the inaugural Women’s Golf Day,” says Mark Burnett, ClubCorp chief operating officer. “Our golf and country clubs embraced this initiative with some amazing events and will continue their efforts in promoting the game with females, which is so important in impacting the future of the game.”
The initiative says that participants who are still posting positive comments about their WGD experience on social media. WGD participants are saying the experience helped them “step out of their comfort zone” and encouraged them to try something new, according to a press release.
“There are so many amazing photos and appreciative comments still being posted,” says Gaudet, “each conveys glowing thoughts about the event and the new friendships that emerged. This confirms to us, there will definitely be another Women’s Golf Day spanning the globe in 2017.”