Overview

“The founding of the Ladies’ Golf Union (LGU) in 1893 was the decisive act that enabled women’s competitive golf to operate at national scale.”

At a moment when women’s golf clubs were flourishing across the British Isles but operating independently, the LGU provided the shared governance required for fair competition, public legitimacy, and long-term continuity.

This was not an abstract exercise in administration. It was a practical response to a structural problem: without common rules, handicaps, and authority, women’s golf could not be contested equitably or recognised beyond individual clubs. The LGU therefore stands at the head of the modern women’s game — as a governing body, as the organiser of a national championship, and as the institutional framework within which standards of judgement and fairness were established.

A short explainer video below outlines how and why the Ladies’ Golf Union was formed.

Why the LGU Was Necessary

By the early 1890s, women’s golf was already widespread and sophisticated. Clubs existed across England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales; inter-club matches were common; and competitive standards were rising. What was missing was coordination.

Without a central authority:

• Rules varied between clubs

• Handicaps were inconsistent and contested

• Disputes had no recognised tribunal

• National competition lacked legitimacy

The LGU resolved these issues by creating a shared system, enabling women’s golf to function as a connected national sport rather than a collection of isolated local activities.

What the LGU Established

From its founding, the LGU exercised authority through four core functions:

• Uniform rules of play, ensuring fairness across clubs

• A national handicapping framework, allowing meaningful competition

• A tribunal for disputes, providing judgement and consistency

• Authority to organise a national championship, giving public legitimacy to elite women’s competition

Together, these elements formed the infrastructure of governance — the conditions that allowed women’s golf to grow, travel, and endure.

The British Ladies’ Amateur Championship

One of the LGU’s first and most consequential acts was the creation of the British Ladies’ Amateur Championship.

The Championship was not merely a tournament. It functioned as:

• A mechanism of standardisation, enforcing common rules and handicaps

• A symbol of legitimacy, publicly recognising women’s competitive excellence

• A governance tool, through which authority was exercised in practice

Through the Championship, the LGU translated governance into lived experience on the course.

Leadership and Governance in Practice

Within this structure, figures such as Issette Pearson played a defining role. As Hon. Secretary, Pearson did not simply administer policy; she embodied the LGU’s approach to judgement, fairness, and authority.

Her leadership illustrates how governance in women’s golf operated not through distance or abstraction, but through sustained involvement, careful adjudication, and the consistent application of standards over time.

Amateurism as a Governing Condition

The LGU operated firmly within the amateur tradition of late-nineteenth-century sport. Amateurism defined who could compete, how skill could be used, and what forms of participation were considered legitimate.

While amateurism enabled respectability and access within the social norms of the period, it also imposed limits:

• Restricting paid instructional or professional roles

• Separating expertise from economic sustainability

• Constraining long-term participation for some women

This dual role — enabling legitimacy while constraining pathways — is not a contradiction, but a structural reality embedded within the governance model of the time.

Legacy and Continuity

The significance of the LGU lies not only in what it created, but in what it made possible.

By establishing governance, competition, and authority at national scale, the LGU:

• Anchored women’s golf as a serious, organised sport

• Created enduring standards of fairness and judgement

• Provided the foundation upon which later pathways, associations, and debates would unfold

Modern women’s golf — in all its forms — still rests on this foundational act.