Middle aged men are the future of golf

No, I am not an advocate for misogyny nor am I looking to some nostalgic Tiger Woods comeback, despite his gallant efforts at #TheMasters this weekend. However, through a combination of weak leadership, poor execution, resistance to change and misplaced elitism, female golf participation in the UK has sadly remained stubbornly static at around 15% or below. At club level, recent surveys puts female membership slightly higher, between 17% and 25%. We don’t have records for non-binary participation, so for the purposes of this article I am assuming that the remaining 75% to 85% of golfers are male. Added to this, the 2021 Hillier Hopkins survey estimated that 68% of UK golf members were over 50 and only 13% were under 30. So yes, the majority of golf in the UK is played by men, who are at least middle aged, which has been consistently the case for some time.

How, I hear you say, can these middle aged men be the future of the sport? Over 50% of the population is female? Golf is missing out on a huge opportunity!

In the first instance, let me state for the record I agree with you, golf is missing out on a huge opportunity, however, the imbalance in participation would indicate that the propensity to take up the game is currently greater in middle aged men. For golf to remain vibrant and relevant, it is fundamental to its survival that it serves this market well. If we look to other industries, with gender imbalance, for example cosmetics, they continue to invest significantly more money in attracting and activating new female customers than they do in their now burgeoning male cosmetic market. So, it is curious that golf consistently fails to promote to this core segment, who are still somehow expected to find our sport by accident in an increasingly competitive leisure landscape.

It may be due to inequality in the game, creating campaigns and pathways into golf for middle aged men has somehow become mutually exclusive to the equality outcome so essential to the sports’ success. It is not. Looking at the declining participation levels over the past ten years (notwithstanding covid), with some notable exceptions, golf has done a poor job in attracting and retaining both men and women in the sport. This is despite several high profile sustained campaigns by governing bodies to recruit women over the same period.

Seeking to make golf participation more attractive to everyone is vital. Governing bodies have largely failed, partly because they are ultimately not in control of the pathways and partly because they fail to support effective operators who are. Regardless, your business needs to ensure it is taking the opportunity today to develop pathways for new and lapsed players from its largest constituency into participation and membership. If you would like to know more about the programmes and structures that have worked successfully in the UK, contact us today.

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