Golf Australia and Women’s Golf

Formation and Merger

Golf Australia (GA) was established in 2006 through the merger of the Australian Golf Union (AGU) — the men’s governing body founded in 1898 — and Women’s Golf Australia (WGA), which had represented women’s amateur golf since 1921.
The merger brought men’s and women’s amateur golf under one national structure for the first time, with the goal of creating a unified voice for the game across the country.

Women’s Golf Australia itself had evolved from a long tradition of women-led administration and competition, including the Australian Ladies’ Golf Union (ALGU), founded in 1921 by state-based women’s golf associations. The ALGU organised the Australian Women’s Amateur Championship and the Australian Women’s Interstate Teams Matches, becoming one of the oldest national women’s golf bodies in the world

Women’s Golf in the Golf Australia Era

Since the 2006 merger, Golf Australia has taken responsibility for all aspects of amateur golf development and governance — including elite player pathways, junior participation, and high-performance programs.

Initiatives under GA have included:

• The Australian Women’s Amateur and Australian Women’s Classic — maintaining a strong international amateur calendar.
• The Vision 2025 Strategy (launched in 2018) — a national plan aimed at increasing female participation, leadership, and visibility in golf.
• Women and Girls Engagement Frameworks — focused on creating more inclusive club cultures, flexible playing formats, and mentoring pathways for female administrators, coaches, and officials.

Leadership and Representation

While Golf Australia’s governance is unified, women’s representation at board and executive level remains a key measure of progress. The Vision 2025 framework set benchmarks for gender balance across leadership, with targeted programs supporting women in professional and volunteer roles.

Notably, Golf Australia has collaborated with The R&A’s Women in Golf Charter, aligning its inclusion strategy with global efforts to address the underrepresentation of women in the sport’s governance and decision-making.

Relationship with Senior Women’s Golf

Senior women’s golf in Australia remains active through state-based veteran and senior women’s associations. These groups organise competitive and social events for women aged 50+, often independently of Golf Australia.

While GA recognises senior events within its handicap and competition systems, formal structural links between GA and senior women’s golf associations remain limited — reflecting a similar pattern seen internationally, where veteran and senior women’s golf is sustained through its own longstanding networks.

Summary

Golf Australia represents a modern, inclusive vision for the game — unifying men’s and women’s amateur golf while promoting growth through equality of access and opportunity.

Yet, as with other merged governing bodies, the independent traditions and expertise of senior and veteran women’s associations remain essential to understanding the full story of women’s golf in Australia.