A private club in eastern Melbourne has made giant strides in women’s engagement – largely by running clinics, dinners and on course sessions to help women feel comfortable on the course earlier in their golfing journey.

Eastwood Golf Club’s female membership was sitting at 80 golfers at the end of 2022 – just nine percent of the broader club membership.

But that number has effectively doubled to 157 members thanks to the strategic work of new Director of Golf Alex Pitty in harness with Head PGA Professional Brian Fitzgerald and Golf Service Leader, Rhonda Dolan.

Rounds of golf by women hit 3471 in the first six months of 2024, which exceeds the figure for the whole of 2022, as an indication of how the club has changed its direction.

Pitty said that when he arrived at the club 18 months ago, he was surprised to learn that Eastwood had not enjoyed the spike in playing numbers that most private clubs experienced after the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It was a head-scratcher,” he said.

The women’s space was one that needed attention. Fortunately, Pitty had a teaching history and felt comfortable working in the area.

He restarted their Get Into Golf clinics on Saturdays for women, and the club introduced a new, six-month introductory membership for women costing $300 with no joining fee.

When longtime pro Fitzgerald came on board after a period without a full-time Head Teaching Professional, the women’s clinics grew hugely across the week, with more and more women joining as members and getting out on the golf course.

“To me it was an obvious opportunity to try to kick things into gear,” said Pitty. “Are we surprised at how well it’s gone? Perhaps, but it was always going to improve quite rapidly, I think.”

Eastwood has also picked up the Australian Golf Foundation’s Junior Girls Scholarships for the past two years, with nine girls taking part this year.

A key factor will be the rate of conversion from the new introductory memberships to full memberships. Initial targets were for at least a 10 percent conversion rate; now the club is aiming to push towards 25 percent.

Pitty says the club’s attitude has been key to the strategy, with an emphasis on breaking down traditional barriers to participation in the sport.

“New golfers, and women in particular, are cautious when they get on the golf course that they’re going to get in the way,” he said. “They feel like they need to have so many lessons and so many sessions before they get on course, whereas for us, we’re trying to get them on course, both men and women, as quickly as possible.

“We’ve tried to break that fear factor. With the way Brian has our clinic’s and on course sessions structured, two months into their golf journey and they’re comfortable going on the course.

“There’s no obligation to play competitively, no obligation to follow the rules when playing socially. The idea is to go and play, have fun and do your thing.”

Eastwood is being transformed. “We’re very proud,” said Pitty. “The overwhelming commentary within the membership has been ‘it’s nice to see so many new women out on the course’.”

Information about joining Eastwood