Golf Canada and Women’s Golf
Overview
Golf Canada — formerly known as the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) — is the national governing body for golf in Canada, responsible for the rules, championships, and the overall development of the game across the country. Founded in 1895, it joined the R&A as an early affiliate, marking Canada as one of golf’s first organised national systems outside Britain.
While Golf Canada oversees both men’s and women’s golf today, its engagement with women’s golf evolved gradually. For much of the early 20th century, women organised themselves through the Canadian Ladies’ Golf Association (CLGA), founded in 1913 by Ada Mackenzie and other pioneers. The CLGA operated independently for nearly a century — much like the Ladies’ Golf Union in Britain — running its own championships, handicapping systems, and regional networks before merging with Golf Canada in 2005.
Women’s Golf under Golf Canada
Since the merger, Golf Canada has assumed direct responsibility for women’s championships at national level, including:
- Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship (est. 1901)
- Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship
- Canadian Women’s Senior Championship (est. 1971)
- Women’s Inter-Provincial Team Championships
Through these, Golf Canada maintains a formal pathway for female amateur golfers — from junior to senior — aligned with international standards set by the R&A and USGA.
However, similar to other governing bodies, senior women’s golf in Canada continues to thrive partly outside its institutional structure, through groups such as the Canadian Women’s Senior Golf Association (CWSGA), founded in 1922. This organisation, still active today, preserves the independent traditions of senior and veteran women’s competition, community, and leadership — often with close ties to, but not governed by, Golf Canada.
Initiatives for Women
In the past two decades, Golf Canada has launched several programmes to grow women’s participation and leadership:
- “Golf Fore the Cure” (est. 2004) – a national initiative encouraging women to play golf while fundraising for breast cancer research; more than 100,000 women have participated.
- Women’s National Team and NextGen Program – providing elite training, coaching, and international competition opportunities for Canada’s top female amateurs.
- Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Framework (2020s) – part of Golf Canada’s strategic plan, acknowledging the need to improve gender balance in leadership and access.
These efforts signal recognition of women’s vital role in Canadian golf’s past and future, though senior women’s leadership and historical associations remain largely self-sustained and under-recognised within the formal structure.
Senior Women’s Golf in Canada
Canada’s senior women have one of the oldest traditions of organised veteran play in the world. The Canadian Women’s Senior Golf Association (CWSGA) predates most national senior bodies, marking its centenary in 2022.
The Canadian Women’s Senior Championship, inaugurated in 1971, remains a premier event — with both Senior (50+) and Super Senior (60+) divisions. Champions such as Ada Mackenzie, Margaret Todd, Marlene Stewart Streit, and Mary Ann Hayward exemplify the continuity of excellence from amateur to senior competition.
These women and their associations reflect a self-sustaining culture of administration, sportsmanship, and legacy — a pattern mirrored across other countries where senior women preserve amateur golf’s traditions while formal governance shifts toward mixed administrative systems.
Commentary
The merger of the CLGA into Golf Canada brought women’s golf under a unified national body, aligning Canada with international governance norms. Yet, as elsewhere, the change also meant that the women who had built and sustained the game — particularly senior women — became less visible within national decision-making.
While Golf Canada promotes inclusivity and equity, the lived experience of women’s golf in Canada continues to depend on the parallel networks of women’s associations, clubs, and volunteer leaders who have carried the game forward for over a century. Their independence remains both a legacy and a quiet assertion of identity within the broader institution of golf.