More than a third of UK golfers are women

More than one in three golfers in the UK are women, a considerable rise from pre-pandemic levels.

In 2017, for example, the adult female percentage of members of golf clubs in England, Wales and Scotland was between 12 and 13 percent.

New figures on golf participation in Great Britain and Ireland in 2021 reveal that 34 percent of full length golf course users (nine or 18 holes) are now women.
Research undertaken by Sports Marketing Surveys (SMS) on behalf of key golfing bodies including The R&A, England Golf, Golf Ireland, Scottish Golf, and Wales Golf demonstrates how the sport continues to thrive despite the reopening of competing leisure activities.

Two new participation reports show that 5.3 million on-course adult golfers – the second-highest number since monitoring began over 30 years ago – played on full length courses in Great Britain and Ireland in 2021. This includes a marginal increase in Ireland and a slight reduction in Great Britain.

More data on this can be found here.

John Bushell, managing director of SMS, said: “We always knew that 2020 had set a very high bar so it’s hugely pleasing to see that demand for golf remained so high in 2021. The figures show a clear majority of those who played for the first time in 2020 staying in the game, as well as new entrants continuing to pick up clubs for the first time, suggesting those initiatives developed before and during the pandemic are continuing to bear fruit. We congratulate all involved in the delivery of golf in Great Britain and Ireland and look forward to watching continued efforts to foster growth in the coming years.”