Kat MottramOn Tuesday evening, June 6th, the first ever weeklong Women’s Golf Day (WGD) celebration drew to a close in French Polynesia at Moorea Green Pearl Golf Club.
Women’s Golf Day (WGD) is a global movement that Engages, Empowers, and Supports women and girls playing golf and learning the skills that last a lifetime. Since its inception in 2016, the one-day, four-hour event has occurred at more than 1,200 locations in more than 80 countries, and has introduced thousands of new golfers to the sport.
Eagle Rock Golf Club, Pennsylvania
The new weeklong 2023 format created access for more women and girls than ever before and drastically increased the number of participating countries and venues.
Founder of Women’s Golf Day Elisa Gaudet noted, “Growing demand for additional days from host locations prompted us to expand to a weeklong format, resulting in impactful and significant activation on each day this week.
This year, the number of participating countries totaled 84, and drew in new countries such as Gambia, Greece, Peru, and Zambia. Impressively, after running 3 events in 2022, WGD and The Japanese Golf Federation worked together to grow the number of host locations in Japan from 3 to 139.
Keya Golf Club, Japan
More than 1,300 locations have hosted the event since 2016 including high profile venues like Marco Simone, host of 2023 Ryder Cup; Pinehurst, host of the 2024 US Open; TPC Sawgrass, home of The PLAYERS Championship; Firestone Country Club, home of the World Series of Golf now known as the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational; TPC Scottsdale, home to the WM Phoenix Open; Evian Resort, home of The Amundi Evian Championship; Taiheiyo Club Minori Course in Japan, and Aphrodite Hills Golf & Country Club in Cyprus.
TPC Sawgrass, Florida
Showcasing the power of social media, new and experienced female golfers from around the globe donned red and white and took to the platforms to share their golfing adventures. The weeklong event drew a staggering 194 million impressions, an increase of over 100 million impressions verses 2022, along with a 397,143 engagements and an incredible 92 million+ reach.
“Every year we work to increase the number of facilities that host Women’s Golf Day and it was very exciting to welcome the 139 courses from Japan and watch on social media, in real time, the impact WGD has on golf around the globe. I experienced first-hand how important it is to have new and existing female golfers participate in WGD events to build confidence, new friendships and skills that do last a lifetime. Our goal is to create more opportunities and unity and we are achieving that on a global level,” commented Gaudet. Women’s Golf Day 2023 kicked off with WGD Palooza Digital Day along with the ringing of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) opening bell by Elisa Gaudet, who was joined by a delegation including representatives from Acushnet (Titleist and FootJoy) and LPGA player Danielle Kang.
WGD Palooza Digital Day included a specially curated USGA Museum Tour, instruction from Callaway and Titleist players, an interview with founding members of Project Ukraine and giveaways from WGD partners including The USGA, PGA, R&A, Callaway, Titleist, FootJoy, PGA TOUR Superstore, Imperial, Marco Simone, and Make Golf Your Thing.
The celebration continued throughout the week with the PGA TOUR Superstore (PGATSS), the Official Retailer of Women’s Golf Day, offering in-store activation events at all their stores across the USA, excluding California. The events included simulator driving contests, basic instruction for new golfers, putting contests and the chance to win a Women’s Golf Day branded Callaway Golf Bag.
Canadian retailer, Golf Town, hosted WGD events at all 47 locations across Canada.
Gaudet explained, “It is important to have retail engagement and in store activation from both PGA TOUR Superstore and Golf Town as well as championship courses around the world hosing events. Having lived in NYC for 10 years it is thrilling to see WGD and Acushnet billboards running for a few weeks in Times Square as well as Silicon Valley. This support includes our partners, RBC, who are hosting the RBC Canadian Open this week.”
AFRIYEA Golf Academy, Uganda
Golf locations are invited to register now for 2024, allowing them to make full use of the promotional opportunities the Women’s Golf Day platform offers them throughout the year. They will also receive additional support through the WGD social media channels and direct marketing opportunities.
For location registration visit: www.womensgolfday.com/register
For more information on Women’s Golf Day visit: https://womensgolfday.com/
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