Mount Osmond Golf Club in Adelaide is making thoughtful changes both on and off the golf course to encourage more women to sign up as members.

The initiatives are already producing positive results, not only attracting new female members but also ensuring a higher percentage of the club’s current members are renewing their memberships.

"We all know that golf was very late to catch up to inclusion of women in the sport, and I think we all have a duty to make sure that we attract and grow the women's section," General Manager Damian Wrigley said.

"At the moment, we have a total of 1300 members, which includes 240 women and we are focussed on building on that number.”

A signatory of The R&A Women in Golf Charter, and a Golf Australia strategy aligned club, Mt Osmond’s approach to increasing its number of female members is two-fold.

A constitutional change has been implemented to ensure the club committee has gender equality, while the club's introduction to golf programs have been transformed to help engage a younger demographic.

The 40-40-20 principle has been adopted for the club committee which now constitutionally has to comprise 40 percent men, 40 percent women, and an additional 20 percent of either gender.

While the club currently already has 40 percent women representation on its committee, the constitutional change will ensure this continues in the future, allowing the committee to operate with a broader cross-section of views, ideas and skill sets.

To help encourage growth and retention, there is currently no membership cap on women, junior girls and members under the age of 35.

“We understand the importance of growing those sectors for the health of the club into the future," Wrigley said.

Mount Osmond has also been focussed on improving retention rates among women who enrol in introductory programs and then move into club membership.

The introduction of a 'buddy program' has allowed the participsnts to feel part of the club from the instant they come through the gate, and has made the transition to membership a friendlier process.

Special pathway memberships have been created to encourage more women to join.

The introductory programs are now at more accessible times for working women, with early morning and weekend sessions.

"We've formalised a nine-hole competition, created a flexi membership, and essentially mapped out the journey for the women who come to Mt Osmond to eventually become handicap players and fully entrenched into the women's section,” Wrigley said.

“That has now resulted in a 54 percent conversion rate of those who come to Mt Ormond to try out the game.”