Women are driving golf’s growth since the pandemic

More than one-third of junior players today are girls and Miller, now a golf coach in Buffalo and a member of the Legends of the LPGA Tour, has watched the number of women she instructs soar. “I think they’ve finally realized that women want to play as much as men do,” Miller said of golf industry leaders, noting that, particularly since the pandemic, more women than ever are keen to learn golf — whether it’s for business or pleasure.

Indeed, the pandemic spurred a stunning surge in interest in the sport among women. According to the National Golf Foundation, from 2020 to 2022, more than 800,000 American women took up the sport to bring the total to 6.4 million female golfers. While the number of female golfers rose about 15 percent, the male golf pool increased by just 2 percent in the same time frame. As a result, the historically male-dominated, multibillion-dollar golf industry — including elite courses, equipment companies and clothing brands — is responding accordingly.

“It’s kind of a perfect storm for female participation right now,” said Joe Beditz, executive chairman of the National Golf Foundation.

Why more women are taking up golf — on and off the course

Before the pandemic, Tanya Oliveira, 52, a grocery store manager in Woodbridge, Va., had little interest in golf. Being a front-line worker, however, was hard on her mental health, “and golf ended up being what saved me.” She found herself golfing four days a week, mostly at public courses in Fairfax County. Before long, she was hooked on the sport.

Many women have similar stories about how and why they got into golf. Golf was deemed one of the safest sports in the early days of the covid-19 crisis, and the increase in remote work allowed people additional time to take up new hobbies. One study found Wednesday visits to golf courses increased 143 percent from 2019 to 2022.

“A lot of younger women who are still working are finding they have the time to pick up something like this, and they find value in networking among women, as well as bringing their clients or business associates to the club,” said Alison Lam, the president of Ladies’ Golf Club, located in Toronto, and the sole women’s-only private golf club in North America.

Social media, too, has spurred greater interest…