Girls’ registrations in MyGolf participation programs hit record levels again in April and are tracking for a 20 percent increase by the end of the financial year.

The numbers point to another significant turning point in the participation space.

April was designated as MyGolf Girls Month, a Golf Australia initiative aimed at lifting the numbers.

The current figure for 2022-23 at 9,255 girls has overtaken last year’s full-year total of 8306.

Golf Australia’s General Manager Golf Participation, David Gallichio, said the April figures in conjunction with the latest data from the FY22 GA Participation Report, release recently, were highly encouraging.

“It (April) was the biggest month we’ve ever had for MyGolf and MyGolf Girls,” said Gallichio.

“More holistically, what we’re seeing now is we’ve got higher participation by girls within the MyGolf program than we’ve ever had. When we started out in 2014, it was around 25 percent, and we had an intent to bring that to 30 percent within five years, and right now we’re at 31.5 percent.

“While it’s nice to see that happen, the percentage is one thing, but the raw numbers are up as well.

“We’re already well beyond the 2022 figure, it’s looking like a 20 percent increase for girls, which is excellent.”

April’s campaign was picked up by 123 facilities around the country.

Gallichio pointed to highlights of the recently-released national Participation Report including:

- A 25% increase in girls’ participation within the MyGolf program - 65% growth in the Get Into Golf program, with 84% of participants being women - A 4% increase in women and girls’ club membership - A 10.1% increase in junior girls’ club membership

Beyond the MyGolf data, he added that other programs were also seeing big increases in girls’ participation, in particular the Australian Golf Foundation scholarships which have had almost 1000 participants and is growing at 35 percent.

Within the AGF scholarship program, a retention rate of 89 percent of participants as club members in the following year is exciting for the game.

He also expressed excitement about GA’s new Tee Mates golf community, which allows youth to engage with the game at a low price. “They’re absolutely brilliant numbers, and we’re very pleased that our key junior participation initiatives for girls are on a strong upward growth trajectory,” he said.

“I think the reality is that the raw numbers demonstrate a story that golf is becoming a sport that more girls can see themselves playing, and their parents can see themselves playing.

“We’ve got a long way to go to show that golf is a truly equal sport and a welcoming sport for girls and women, but at the same time it can only be helpful if you’re producing lots of new, young girls to the sport because they will bring their own perspective to the sport. We will need to move with them. We need to double down, keep investing and change the face of the sport.’’