Harrogate signs up to Women in Golf Charter

Harrogate Golf Club has become the latest English club, and the first club in Yorkshire, to sign up to The R&A’s Women in Golf Charter.

The club already has 85 female members and it has committed to increasing that membership level by at least 5% over the next three years. 

“Harrogate Golf Club has been at the forefront in golf since its inception in 1892,” said club president Alastair Davidson. “More recently, it was the first club in Yorkshire to gain Golf Mark accreditation. Over the last couple of years we have introduced nine-hole stableford competitions which are open to all genders and we have reviewed our competition structure so that seven-day lady members can play in competitions on Saturdays.

“We have a thriving mixed section and as part of our drive to be more inclusive we have also introduced a shorter 18-hole course called the Belmont which will soon be available for qualifying competitions.”

Harrogate has named its immediate past captains, Maggie Gobbie and William Watson, as its Women in Golf champions and both have already been working to formulate the club’s commitment to the charter moving forward.

Maggie, who has been a member at Harrogate for 12 years, is working with the club’s professionals to promote a series of trial packages for beginner ladies and, with the support of the ladies section, is arranging social and practise sessions for the participants. William, a club member for 34 years, is helping the junior coordinator with efforts to build the juniors.

“It’s been fantastic to work with Harrogate on the Women in Golf Charter and to see how they have addressed a variety of aspects within the club from their initial recruitment campaigns through to the female representation on boards. We are looking forward to working with them over the coming year to ensure their commitments are a success,” said England Golf’s women and girls manager Lauren Spray.

The Women in Golf Charter was launched last year to encourage more women and girls to play the game and to increase the number of job opportunities for women within the sport. For more information go to www.englandgolf.org/article/women-in-golf-charter