More young girls are picking up golf thanks to a special program

It’s a hole in one for the future of golf, with more girls taking a swing at the sport thanks to a free program.

It’s a hole in one for the future of golf, with more girls taking a swing at the sport thanks to a free program.

The Australian Golf Foundation’s Junior Girls Scholarship offers girls free golf lessons and free golf club membership as part of a 12-month training plan to learn the ropes of the sport.

More than 1100 girls from 147 Australian golf clubs have signed up to take a putt on the green this year, according to AGF Director Bonnie Boezeman AO, who helped devise the program to encourage more girls to enter the sport.

“We’ve seen growth of women and girls (playing golf) go up by 12 per cent in the last year. And majority of that is coming from the junior girls and their mothers joining them,” ms Boezeman said.

“What this is going to mean is a rebirth of golf for women, beginning with the number of junior girls.”

The number of NSW girls who have signed up to give golf a go has more than doubled since the scholarship started in 2021, with 225 signed up to take part in for 2024 program.

Girls aged nine to 16 years old are eligible to be selected for the program, and can take up to 24 free lessons over the course of the scholarship.

Fourteen year-old Elizabeth Savell is midway through this year’s scholarship and keen to keep

“I started [golf] just this year but I’ve always liked it,” Miss Savell said.

“I really like [the program] as it’s really fun and I’ve learnt a lot. It’s also good to socialise and we need more females in the sport.”

Young golfers Elizabeth Savell, 14, (left) and Eliza Rolfe, 9, during a lesson at East Lakes Golf Club in Pagewood. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Eliza Rolfe, 9, got into the sport at age six all thanks to her dad, and was thrilled to be selected for program.

“[My dad] always loved golf when he was a child,” she said.

“It’s really fun and I think it’s really good because more girls should be able to do it.”

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