Match Play?

Our club has just started having organized match play for the Lady members.  I think it's a great way to get members more involved in the game, especially female golfers.  What does your club do to encourage your female membership?

No cover on Thursdays

We don't

The usual TUE morning ladies league....that's about it.

The females have their WGA (which has more enthusiasm than our MGA) - they basically have the course on Thursday (they tee off at 8:30 but I have gone out in the afternoon and been stuck behind them by the 12th hole)

The more serious (and better playing) WGA members also have their tourneys on Saturdays, the same time the men have theirs.

Wow, guess we're lucky to have some great organizers at our club!  We also have a fun mixed scramble about once a month, which have become really popular!  It's just for fun, silly prizes and you can buy a slice of pizza after for $2.  We have a lot of laughs while we play and enjoy a couple of drinks with our pizza!  You should try it!  Women make up a good sized percentage of golfers and the numbers are growing!  Great potential for growth of the game and your club!

Cooking lessons at the course, so they have something to do while their husbands golf.

Im joking. They have the course on Tues am, and they have the same monthly mixed scrambles you guys do. Im too competitive to play in mixed fun tournaments.

Good luck with your "competitions".  You're missing a lot of fun not playing in the mixed scrambles!!!  It's nice to go out sometimes without being competitive.  Your expectations for your game are completely different.

What?  No Sunday Scotch?  Our club has a mixed event on Sunday afternoons, complete with a divorce lawyer in the mixed grill afterwards.

I guess I don't see the need to cater specifically to the women.  My home course (public, not a "club") has several leagues for just women (both a 9 hole and 18 hole league on Thursday mornings and a 9 hole Saturday morning working women's league played on our executive 9), a couple of senior mixed leagues and a few evening mixed leagues. None of the leagues are operated by the course.   And women have the same access to the tee reservation system as the men do.  We had a couple of informal groups of 8 to 12 women who played a couple of days every week.  One of the groups even played bridge in the restaurant all winter when they weren't playing golf.

We also have a couple of evening leagues which are all men.  I was in the Men's Club (not a league, but a tournament club) there, but it was not technically restricted to men.  Women would have been welcomed with the stipulation that they didn't get special considerations.  They would have had to play the same tees as the men, and carry a handicap for the same course ratings.  I knew a few women there who would have been quite competitive under those restrictions had they chosen to compete.

I feel that clubs which need to make a special effort to get women involved haven't done enough to welcome them in an everyday sense.  I can remember visiting my cousin's country club when I was a kid, and women and kids were only welcome on the course on Thursdays.  The rest of the week was men only, and I think that perception still attaches to many private clubs.

I think golf has been a "guy" thing at a lot of public and private courses and a bit of that still sticks around.  Smart "business" management, to make clubs/courses profitable, would encourage all genders, and ages, to take part.  I know a lot of women who still feel intimidated about playing with the "guys".  Be inclusive, make them welcome, increase your membership = building your club and the sport.

When I see a female refer to herself as "a lady" I think of the "guy" from Little Britain .

Anyway, this is my last season at my home course because they have no junior program. "Ladies" are more than welcome and our league is actually mixed (not a fan of that btw but it is what it is). With non juniors though, I'm seen as one of the young guys and I'm 45 - it's a dying sport if my course is any indication. The muni on the other hand is a better facility with a vibrant junior program.

What does this thread have to do with "match play"?

This one's on me.

Some are actually adding NEW tee boxes for the ladies and youngins.. lol Which I support 110%..  My wife LOVES the sport, but asking her to play it as a par 72, 5200 yrds is too much to ask..  I always found it funny that a typical par 4 playing 350 yards, and the ladies get a 20-50 yard discount... Really? I've always wondered how designers calculate what the tee box distances should be..  When I go looking for a course for my wife and I to play on. I'm looking for yardage tees that are under 5,000 with minimal "carries".. How many kids and ladies can hit 150 yr carries?  NOT many..

We have gotten quite a way away from talking about Match Play!  But the original inquiry asked what your club does to encourage female golfers?  There are so many different ideas and opinions out there.

I agree wholeheartedly that a club without a good junior program is missing out on building their customer base!  Our club has a very active junior program, with lots of volunteers helping out.  Temporary tee boxes are placed out when they play on Monday mornings, so they aren't being forced to try to carry impossible yardage for their level of ability.  I often see and interact with many of these young people out on the course and they are all extremely polite and well versed in the etiquette of the game.

Personally, I like playing a Par 72 course as opposed to a Par 3 course.  I like to hit my driver!  I know a lot of ladies who have no problem carrying 150 yards, and more!  I guess I'm fortunate to be one of them!  But that's just me, if you get more enjoyment out of playing a shorter course, then go for it!  Two older gentlemen I know do almost all their golfing now at a local Par 3, that's what works for them now they can't get the distance they use to be able to and allows them to continue enjoying the game.

I'm highly in favor in whatever works for you!

It almost sounds like you're replying to me then you talk about a par 72 course versus a par 3 course. I never said anything about playing a par 3 course, so you must be speaking to the collective "you". My home course is certainly short (~6500 yards versus the muni at > 6800) but I do get to pull out the driver a few times on our back 9.

You're right Sean, I was trying to create a response to the varying comments expressed.  My apologies!  I was wondering, is your club opposed to having a junior program, or is someone needed to just get it started?