Perched above Adelaide, Mount Osmond Golf Club are making thoughtful changes both on and off the golf course which are both retaining, and attracting more women to the club.

The approach is two-fold: the implementation of constitutional change to ensure women are represented on the committee through the adoption of the 40-40-20 principle, and a transformation of the club's introductory programs to engage a younger demographic.

The 40-40-20 principle is such that the committee aims for 40 percent men, 40 percent women, and 20 percent any other gender. Mount Osmond already have 40 percent women representation on its committee, but the constitutional change will ensure this continues into the future.

"It allows for a club to have a much more cross representation in terms of a governance and the view of the club," Mount Osmond General Manager, Damien Wrigley said.

"At board level, you are also getting decisions made by a much better cross representation of the membership. It's not sort of too male-centric or dominant.

"It really gives a broader view of where the club should be going, how it should attract, retain, those types of things. It also provides a much more balanced tone on the board, which is nice to see, because our women bring different and fresh skill sets."

Taking an honest look at the numbers, Mount Osmond know its women's membership numbers aren't where they would like them to be, but the changes the club are making are already causing an upward trend.

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

"At the moment we've got 1,300 members, which we only have 240 women, and that needs to grow. We need to get that number up.

"Where we've had caps and things like on seven-day membership categories and things like that, now we've got no caps in place for women or junior girls, or under-36s for that matter, because we understand the importance of growing that sector."

One particular area Mount Osmond were struggling with was the drop off of women who come to the introductory programs, but then don’t continue on into other participation when it is time to look at club membership.

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

"The buddies grow with them through the programs, and then when it comes to the end, we've also created a lot of pathway memberships," Wrigley said.

"We've formalised a nine-hole competition, we've created a flexi membership, and we've essentially mapped out the journey for them to eventually become handicap players and fully entrenched into the women's section, and that's now resulted in a 54 percent conversion rate."

The club have ensured that the introductory programs are at accessible times for working women, with early morning and weekend sessions, and there is always a complimentary coffee or drink waiting on the balcony or inside the clubhouse.

As signatory of The R&A Women in Golf Charter, and a Golf Australia strategy aligned club, Mount Osmond are constantly taking steps in the right direction, and the increase in more, young women showing interest in membership and participation is strong evidence of this.