The Glasshouse
The Grove has become a signatory for The R&A Women in Golf Charter, an important commitment to a more inclusive culture within golf. Here we explore why this step is so important to the golf team here at The Grove.
We believe it is vital that everyone involved in golf plays their part in developing a culture that values women’s involvement in every aspect of the sport, whether that is simply playing the game we all love, or making it a career path. At The Grove, gender balance at all levels of our business is crucially important and that’s why we are very happy to support any measures or initiatives to increase the number of women, girls and families playing golf.
The Grove has also taken a UK golf industry lead in employing and developing women within its team. It currently has seven female staff members in its golf team, and continues to be a strong advocate of initiatives like International Women’s Day. So, what does a signatory of The R&A’s Women in Golf Charter actually mean? Let’s begin by explaining what the Charter is…
The R&A engages in and supports activities undertaken for the benefit of the sport of golf. Together with the USGA (United States Golf Association) The R&A governs the sport of golf worldwide.
The Women in Golf Charter seeks to inspire an industry-wide commitment to developing a more inclusive culture within golf and enable more women and girls to maximise their potential at all levels of the sport. The campaign encourages venues to consider how they can evolve to welcome more women and girls to the game, challenging stereotypes and proving that it is an enjoyable pastime and career for people of all ages and genders.
Under a #FOREeveryone hashtag, the Women in Golf Charter encourages facilities like The Grove, and other organisations, to sign-up to the Women in Golf Charter and work towards the achievement of their own ‘Charter Commitments’.
How The Grove plans to activate The Charter:
- Showcase our inclusive facility to a local, regional, and national golfing and non-golfing community
- Deliver coaching initiatives targeting women that are aligned with key England Golf campaigns
- Deliver initiatives targeting junior girls that are aligned with key England Golf campaigns
- Promote our family friendly golf environment across the estate
- Promote our ability-based tees and introducing a new forward academy tee for beginners and game improvers
- Become a Golf Foundation digital HSBC Roots centre
Looking forwards…
- We aim to increase the number of attendees at our ladies golf clinics.
- We intend to coordinate new primary school programmes in 2022
- Continue the success of our Family Golf Camps, launched in 2019
- We will apply to join the Girls Golf Rocks programme to give a further focus on junior girls’ golf
- We will encourage more women and girls to play in The Grove’s Winter Series Open events
- Expand our offering for women in our Pro Shop, and ensure high quality rental sets are always available for women and junior girls.
Brad Gould, Director of Golf at The Grove, commented: “We are proud to join a global community of golf-related businesses and brands and fully commit to The R&A’s Women in Golf Charter. The work we are doing now, and the initiatives we will introduce in the future, demonstrate just how important gender balance is in golf, and any sport. Since opening in 2003, The Grove has always prided itself on being open-to-all, with no restrictions – it’s one of our USPs – and inclusivity remains at the top of our agenda.”
Tom Minshull, Head PGA Golf Professional, will be leading The Grove’s commitment to The R&A’s Women in Golf Charter on a day-to-day basis. He added: “I’m delighted to be our Charter Champion and working towards achieving the goals we have set ourselves as a business. With already delivering the majority of the objectives, the charter has provided us a platform to review our current performance and set clear intentions for the future.”
To learn more about trying golf for the first time, book a lesson with one of our PGA Professionals.
