The R&A Women in Golf Charter is the change at club level that golf needed

Nearly two years ago, Rich River Golf Club at Moama on the Murray River signed the R&A Women in Golf Charter, a document that is changing the face of the sport right throughout the world.

Looking back, it is clear that this was a transformative moment for the club. Susan Hull, the club president, believes it has shown Rich River the way forward.

“We’re evolving the R&A Charter, but it’s our driving force,” said Hull, a 25-year building industry executive who joined the board in 2020.

“We’ve set our targets, they’ve given us the information. We’ve got to take it to the next level and grow the participation of women in golf. Without the charter we’d be floating around ideas. The charter gives us targets, it’s given us a clear direction for where we want to go and that we’re not alone in this.”

Hull says that when the board worked through the process of signing the charter with Golf NSW, Golf Australia and club chief executive Shane Gloury early in 2023, there was a perception that the club was overly “blokey”. Installing a woman as president helped with that perception, as did the removal of the old women’s committee and the formation of a single board with two other women – businesswoman Denise Ferrier and lawyer Carly James.

Hull is the first female president in club history and Jody Fleming, the head teaching professional, is also the first woman to hold that post. Fleming is profoundly respected across the gender barrier for her ability to instruct the game.

Rich River also changed the format of its women’s club championships from the old-school midweek format to three rounds that include a Saturday and huge celebration of all the club’s champions – of both genders – on a Sunday. The club also has male and female co-captains.

Change is never easy, but the results are forthcoming.

With Fleming’s relentless and popular women’s and girls’ clinics, a chip n’ sip group for women and the introduction of the Australian Golf Foundation’s girls scholarship program, the numbers are already increasing. The junior program has 167 participants this year, against 82 last year, with credit also going to PGA associate Jayden Dixon and long-standing member and PGA member Alan Eacott.

Golf NSW regional manager Cade Webb continues to work with Rich River and other clubs along the Murray to make positive changes for each and the overall game for women and girls.

Rich River has increased its number of female members to 380, representing 21 percent of the membership. According to Gloury, the club’s target is 550 female members, an increase of 45 percent, five years from now.

Hull acknowledges the club has much work to do.

“We see some scary statistics that women in golf are still on the decline in some areas,” she said. “But we also see it as a huge opportunity in a market that we’re not tapping into enough. We’re taking the other tack and saying, ‘How can we tap into it a bit more?’”

In the broader sense, Rich River – which by nature is a club that relies heavily on stay-and-play golfers –
has plans to rebuild its 40-year-old accommodation and utilising some adjacent land to create a seniors village on-site, initiatives that the board believes can “set the club up for
100 years”.

Hull says the club is also opening its doors to the community.

“We realise that once they walk around the course and see how beautiful it is, they’ll want to get into it,” she said. “Sometimes when you play golf you don’t stop and smell the roses.

“We’ve realised that it’s important to get our local community into this fantastic facility we have got and be part of that community. We’re tossing around the idea of walking groups, get them to come out and see what we’ve got, which, if you’re not a member, you don’t get to see.

“We understand that in a smaller community, football and netball are very strong. We don’t want to take them away because they enjoy it. But we understand that if we can get them to play a game of golf, they might go and play their other sports, but maybe they’ll come back to golf.

“It’s a really long-term strategy that we’ve got. We want to get the women and girls involved at different levels and we hope that they’ll make golf their sport of choice when they finish their netball.” 

What is the R&A Women in Golf Charter?

The governing body of golf worldwide has set its sights on empowering women to play golf. The R&A Women in Golf Charter was born from recognising the need for change and a commitment to a more inclusive culture across the entire golf industry.   

Created in 2018, the charter is not only a pledge for golf organisations around the world to foster an inclusive culture, but also to call on the wider industry to do better. Signing the statement of intent supports measures to increase the number of women, girls and families playing golf.  

The Women in Golf Charter initiates change by activating clubs to overhaul their internal strategies and sets out to delegate senior management to enhance gender balance at every level.  

The movement is building across the world. To date, there are more than 1,300 signatories to the charter across 75 countries. In Australia, there are now more than 100 clubs committed to a safe and inclusive game for all.  

The forecast for golf under a global and united charter is brighter than ever. From grassroots to fostering careers in golf right now the industry is undergoing a revolutionary shift of positive change that is starting at your local club. – Gracie Richter