Becoming a signatory to the R&A Women in Golf Charter was a natural next step for the team at the Geelong Golf Academy and their core focus to get more women playing the sport.

The Academy is the first coaching organisation in the country to sign the Charter, which was first taken up in Australia in 2022 and aims to enable women and girls to maximise their potential at all levels of the sport.

Australia now has more than 160 signatories who have all made a formal commitment to improving the sport for women and girls.

The Academy’s managing Director, Tybin Lawson, says he is proud to be the first coaching organisation to commit to the Charter.

“It has been a great opportunity to confirm that we’re doing the right thing, and to continue doing what we’ve always done with the women’s game,” he said.

Lawson, alongside fellow PGA Professionals Jay McKenzie and Jarryd Watene, service five golf clubs in the wider-Geelong region, as well as indoor facility, X-Golf Geelong.

The women’s Get Into Golf programs have long been one of the Academy’s most popular programs, alongside junior programs that incorporate the Australian Golf Foundation Junior Girls Scholarship Program.

“At the core of the Geelong Golf Academy are our women’s Get Into Golf and junior MyGolf programs,” said Lawson.

“Across all the venues, we average around 150 or so women, and about 120 juniors each term.”

One of the huge success stories to come out of the introductory programs has been 19 women at Barwon Valley Golf Club transitioning from complete beginners to club members in the 18 months that GGA has been offering these classes at the club.

Across town, East Geelong Golf Club also has around 80 women members that have come through the Academy’s programs, and RACV Torquay’s women’s membership has become so popular that it’s been necessary to introduce a waitlist.

“Our biggest focus with our women’s programs has always been teaching them how to play, but more importantly, on just giving them the confidence to actually try a new sport and feel comfortable when doing so,” said Lawson.

“There is quite an art involved in creating the sort of environment where new women to the sport feel comfortable, encouraged and relaxed within the first minute of their first session.

“Our success to date is largely due to Jay and Jarryd’s ability to create this type of environment, and build a rapport with each woman that joins our classes.

“A real community of women who are new to golf has been created and they all know what it’s like to be a complete beginner and to not know the rules and to not know all of the etiquette because they were all in that same position only a year or two ago.”

Lawson and his team have run multiple women’s golf trips that have been hugely popular and also hold weekly ‘Putts and Prams’ classes at X-Golf Geelong that have united new mums interested in the sport.

“We run lots of social nights and several women’s golf trips each year, which has helped to create this network of a few hundred women who have transitioned from beginners to now being regular golfers,” said Lawson.

“We now have golfers that have come through our classes that we can call upon any time to assist in getting our newer women to be introduced to their golf course, or to be introduced to the existing members, which is brilliant.

“They all understand the challenges and the perception from the outside of it being unwelcoming. They help us quite a lot in breaking down that barrier and making it much easier for women to feel comfortable.”

The Geelong Golf Academy has played a huge part in the golf boom amongst women in the region, and Lawson and his team are excited to have made a formal pledge to continuing this work.

To find out more about the R&A Women in Golf Charter, CLICK HERE.

To find out more about the Geelong Golf Academy, CLICK HERE.