Top Women’s Golf Organizations – Find Out Where to Play!
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Where Can I Find Other Women to Play Golf With?
Finding other women at your level can be a challenge once you start learning and become interested in playing the game of golf.
Statistics from the National Golf Federation state that only 23% of all golfers are female which means that there are fewer of us that actually play golf.
But the good news is that these days, the industry is providing many more opportunities for women and girls to play than when I started – back 25 years ago or so.
Helpful Tips for Finding Other Golfers
Here are some of my personal tips from experience on where to find other golfers:
- Check with your local golf course or club for beginner clinics, ladies nights, or social/golf events. These provide a wonderful way to meet others at the same level and can be fun and less intimidating.
- Ask the golf instructor if they know of any other beginners that you can connect with.
- If you have some experience and want to play on the course, join a ladies league or a co-ed league. You’ll see either 18 hole leagues and 9 hole leagues. From my experience, the 18 hole leagues are typically more competitive than the 9 hole leagues. Ask the pro shop or contact the person in charge and ask questions before joining to get a feel for the group as some may also require handicaps.
- Try the Meetup App for social golf groups. If there are none in your area, try adding your own group and see if anyone joins.
- Join the Beginner Golf for Women Facebook Group. We’re now over 3,200 members from all over the world and continue to grow every day. It is wonderful seeing the connections that are being made within the group as well as all the helpful tips, inspiration, and support shared by the members.
- Invite a few friends out to learn and play with you. To continue on my own mission to help provide support and opportunities for golfers (especially women), I invited a group of my paddle tennis friends out to the golf course just this past week. Many were somewhat new to the game and play maybe a few times each year, but are interested in playing more. Sometimes all it takes is providing the opportunity to play and people will join you!
Over the years, though it was hard, I made it a priority to keep playing (even if only a few times a year when the kids were young). I am grateful for the fact that I continued my golf journey. I was open to playing with many different people and along the way I have met some amazing men and women who I had the chance to play golf with.
If this is a challenge for you in your golf game, keep at it and keep trying. You’ll eventually find others. They are out there, don’t give up!
The following is a list of women’s golf organizations. Check it out as there may be a local chapter near you.
The LIST of Women’s Golf Organizations – Where Women and Girls Can Learn and Play Golf
1. American Junior Golf Association (AJGA)
The AJGA is a golf organization for young women and men aged 12 – 19 years old. They offer competitive matches and tournaments for juniors and help prepare them for high school and college level golf. They are “dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf”.
2. Fore The Ladies
This group is new to the industry but has been in the news a lot lately. They are on a mission to bring women together and try the game of golf in a fun and social environment. Many of their events include swing clinics, closest to the pin and longest drive competitions, golf yoga, putting tips and instruction as well as lots of giveaways and goodies. Introducing golf in these fun environments is a great way to get more women exposed to the game. They have hosted a handful of events and clinics around the country and are adding events throughout the year.
3. LPGA Amateur Golf Association
This is the longest-standing continuous women’s sports membership organization in the world. It is 45,000 members strong. The LPGA Amateur Golf Association has locations in 110 cities in the US and Internationally and continues to grow. They offer clinics, instruction, events, and opportunities to compete for women who are passionate about golf. They provide a place for women to “connect, learn, play and belong”. Though they have local chapters, they also have opportunities to play on a national level.
4. LPGA * USGA Girls Golf
Girls Golf is a partnership between the LPGA Foundation and the USGA. It is a national junior golf program that is “aimed at introducing girls to the game of golf and empowering them with confidence, friendships, and life skills”. Founded 30 years ago, the organization, an impressive 500,000 girls have participated in their programs. Their newest campaign, called #driveon, is to motivate girls to think big and to follow their dreams and passions.
5. State Golf Associations
In my state, we have the Massachusetts Golf Association or Mass Golf, that offers an array of playing opportunities from a beginner level all the way to a very high competitive level. If you go to your states’ website, you may find a wide range of tournaments, matches, and social rounds. This can include anything from mixed golf scotch play to best ball pairs events and individual competitive tournaments for golfers of all levels. A really nice benefit I noticed is access to play private courses that are usually not open to the public unless you have a membership or a personal or business connection.
6. TopGolf and Other Indoor Simulators
TopGolf and other indoor simulators have exploded over the last several years. Not only is it a great way to delve into golf as a first-timer, but it is also a great place to practice. It takes away the intimidation factor of golf. Playing on a golf course, having to learn the rules and etiquette of the game can be a big challenge in learning the game. TopGolf can be a wonderful way to get your feet wet or dabble in golf before you even have to play on an actual course. It is really popular because anyone can participate, and it is social and fun – bringing all golfers at any level together. There are currently over 55 locations (mostly in the US, but also in the U.K. and Australia) and they are still expanding.
7. Twilight Golf Association
The Twilight Golf Association was created to provide a way for anyone to play, no matter what gender or age. It is a weekly golf league with individual play within a team competition. Kids can join with their mom, dad or grandparent. Husbands and wives can play together. Or if you are a single player, you will be able to easily find a group or a team that you can be assigned to. Currently, there are over 100 golf courses that participate in the Twilight Golf Association and are located in 14 different states.
8. Women on Course
Women on Course is based in the US and has been around for almost 14 years. They provide opportunities for women to play golf for all levels. Whether you are a beginner and want to learn the rules, etiquette, and golf swing or want to play around socially with other women. The organization hosts events in 15 different regions around the US and is actively growing. From experience, the group is more social than competitive as their tag line on their website reads “Golf, Wine, Travel” and much of their focus is on networking and building relationships in a golf setting. If you have ever thought about going on a ladies’ golf trip, Women on Course provides several fun social trips a year to beautiful golf destinations. I have a more extensive post here on the organization.
9. The First Tee
Golf enthusiasts, coaches, and instructors volunteer their time to help with the First Tee organization. It was established as a way to bring golf to our youth. It is not just a national organization in all 50 states of the US, it is now located in 6 international locations as well. Started over 22 years ago, they not only teach golf to the younger generation of kids but they use golf as a way to provide other life skills like character education and youth development.
10. United States Golf Association (USGA)
The first interaction that many individuals have with the USGA is through the rules of golf and earning their first golf index or handicap. The USGA is the governing body of golf in the US and they run a large number of amateur golf tournaments in addition to all the U.S. Open tournaments. When heading to their website, it can be a bit overwhelming because of all they are responsible for. But, if you are interested in playing in any of the US Amateur Golf tournaments, this is the organization that you will need to be a member of.
11. Youth on Course
Girls and boys ages 6 – 19 can play golf for less than $5 a round (9 holes) and on some days as low as $1. There are 1200 participating golf courses in 34 regions around the US and Canada. And a robust membership of 70,000+ members. This amazing organization provides high school internships, a caddie program, and funds college scholarships to collegiate golfers and is funded through sponsorships and donations.
12. Women on Par Program
Women on Par is offered to golf clubs and courses and is part of England Golf. The program helps golf clubs all across the UK in providing women’s golf clinics and events that are fun and exciting.
13. Girls Golf Rocks
Girls Golf Rocks is another program offered by England Golf but is focused on girls golf and the youth. Over 200 golf clubs around England have applied to participate in this wonderful program providing girls golf instruction and introducing them to the game.
Find out on England Golf’s website to see which clubs may be offering these golf programs.
14. Love.Golf
Based in Sweden, but expanding to the UK and more recently, Canada. Love.Golf is an amazing concept and a wonderful resource for women wanting to learn the game and improve. It is an entirely new and different perspective on teaching the game. Many times golf can be a very intimidating game to learn. Veering away from the standard practice of teaching the golf swing on the golf range, it takes a more broad perspective of the game and has more of a hands-on approach to learning and teaching on the actual golf course.
In my experience of almost 30 years of playing golf, finding the right group and having the oportunity to play has been the key factor in continuing my golf journey. So, I hope this list of Women’s Golf Organizations can help you as well. I know there are many more groups out there and this list can be expanded so if you know of any that should be added, please comment below and I can add them as an ongoing list and resource for those looking.
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