2024 was a year of evolution and growth for Golf Canada’s She Plays Golf festival and the related Championship Series. Fuelled by a successful pilot across the city of Calgary in June of 2023, She Plays Golf expanded to two further sites – BC and Ontario – in 2024. June and July saw a total of 23 events at 18 golf facilities across the cities of Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto. When all was said and done, She Plays Golf reached over 800 Women and Girls from coast to coast. This included: 585 direct participants in festival programming, of which 152 were junior girls. 61 volunteers and 28 coaches had the opportunity to make their mark as well, introducing women and girls to the sport and supporting all facets of the operation. A further 170 female players partook in the She Plays Golf Championship Series, with six being granted exemption into the CPKC Women’s Open at Earl Grey Golf Club. (Photo: Dave Holland/Golf Canada).
Festival programming was carefully designed to deliver a safe, welcoming and judgment-free environment for female players right from first picking up a club, and the championship series was intended to address gaps in the high-performance area of the participation pathway. I was very impressed with the quality of the event – from how well organized it was, to the quality of instruction, to the extent of the volunteers and how friendly and supportive they were.
While much of the core tenants remained intact from the original 2023 festival, there were a handful of notable additions for 2024.
The She Plays Golf Championship series was a compelling introduction in 2024. Like with the Glencoe Invitational in the 2023 pilot, each festival was anchored by a 54-hole women’s golf championship, with a field of 60 professionals and elite amateurs. They included the GOLFBC Group BC Women’s Open at Pitt Meadows Golf Club and the Ororo Women’s Championship of Canada at TPC Toronto. These two championships, along with the 2024 Glencoe Invitational, formed the inaugural She Plays Golf Championship series and constituted the high-performance portion of the festival. She Plays Golf festival participants at each site were extended invitations to the final round of their local tournament, allowing them to witness the skill level of the women competing. The top two finishers at each of the series stops received an exemption into the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open. All six were Team Canada members– Lauren Kim (A) and Anna Huang (A) at the Calgary event, Ellie Szeryk and Brooke Rivers in Vancouver and Michelle Xing (A) and Katie Cranston (A) in Toronto. Also new for 2024 was the introduction of the RBC Women’s Leadership Networking. Each event was held at an indoor golf facility within the three festival regions, providing participants with an opportunity to gain insight from fellow female leaders via panel discussions and to build connections through golf in an enjoyable, low-pressure environment. The overarching theme was networking through the sport and instilling confidence to participate in future corporate golf events. 250 female leaders participated across the three sites, along with an impressive selection of moderators and panelists throughout the Canadian sport industry.
After a successful scramble event during the 2023 pilot, the Learn to Scramble events were also implemented in 2024 at all three festival sites. The initiative was designed to allow female golfers to transition from the Try Golf stage to the golf course in a low-pressure, 9-hole team scramble. Each Learn to Scramble session took place on a Par-3 Course with volunteers on each hole to support participants with rules and course etiquette, and encourage skill and confidence building alongside peers at a similar golf level. “This event was absolutely First Class. I’m so happy I got the opportunity to attend, and wouldn’t hesitate to attend a future event. Loved it” – Tanya Kensington, Vancouver.
For the second consecutive year, the Calgary festival hosted a Women in Golf Leadership Luncheon, bringing together industry leaders for an afternoon of networking, brainstorming and community-building. Following the lead of the pilot festival in 2023, each 2024 site featured 2-3 Jr. Girls Tee it Up and Women’s Try Golf clinics. Each beginner golf clinic. included programming tailored to junior girls and adult women respectively, introducing the fundamental skills of putting, chipping and full swing in a fun and social setting. Community partners such as Girls in Sport and Fast and Female were brought into Jr. Girls Tee it Up sessions to focus on the importance of participation in sport as a means of building confidence and self esteem. “This was a very fun experience for my daughter and great for her to play golf with other girls!” – Jennifer Klinger, Calgary.
The first multi-festival season brought forth an influx of positive feedback and takeaways. Post event survey results indicated that clinics were successful in terms of creating a welcoming, judgment free environment where participants were able to give the sport a try and connect with other women. 98% of participants polled stated that they felt comfortable and welcome at She Plays Golf events. In addition to providing a positive experience, the festival was also successful in terms of securing future interest in the sport. 76% of respondents indicated that they would be very likely to participate in golf post-event, while 77% would be very likely to attend a future She Plays Golf festival. A further 60% of participants felt they connected with other participants during or after the event they attended, speaking to the effectiveness of the community building element of She Plays Golf.
“This was truly a special event. Golf has been so insular and exclusionary for so long that seeing events like this to change the narrative and expand the game is so important in developing the growth of the game and the world in general. So I thank you so much for putting this together, I can see how much this means to these women,” Jamaal Edwards, Ontario.
Looking ahead to 2025, the program rollout in 2024 opens the door to continued growth, including opportunities to add festival sites, engage provincial golf associations and member clubs, introduce merchandise and continuing to build a community of female golfers and industry leaders in Canada. Be sure to follow Golf Canada socials to remain up to date on exciting announcements for 2025.
