The R&A and the Future of Women’s Golf

The 2017 Merger with the Ladies’ Golf Union (LGU)

In 2017, the Ladies’ Golf Union — the long-standing governing body for women’s amateur golf in Great Britain and Ireland — formally merged with The R&A, the historic custodian of the Rules of Golf and organiser of The Open Championship.

The merger marked a structural shift in women’s golf governance:

• The LGU’s functions, including the administration of championships such as the Women’s Amateur Championship and the Home International Matches, were absorbed into The R&A.
  • The stated purpose was to “streamline governance,” “increase efficiency,” and “unify resources to support the growth of women’s and girls’ golf.”
  • However, this also centralised authority under The R&A’s male-led administration, bringing women’s amateur golf into a broader, but less gender-specific, framework.

While the merger expanded financial and promotional capacity, it also meant the distinct women-led governance tradition — developed over more than a century through the LGU and its member associations — was effectively dissolved.

 The R&A’s Role in Developing Women’s Golf

Since 2017, The R&A has positioned itself as the global leader in advancing gender equality in golf, aligning women’s golf development with its strategic initiatives in participation, leadership, and visibility.

Its key initiatives include:

• Women in Golf Charter (2018)

  A landmark global initiative launched to inspire a more inclusive culture across golf clubs, federations, and organisations.
  – Over 1,000 signatories worldwide have pledged to increase female participation and leadership.
  – The Charter promotes measurable action plans on recruitment, retention, and representation.
  – However, its focus remains largely club and governance-based, with little acknowledgment of existing independent women’s associations, particularly those led by senior and veteran women.

• Women’s Leadership Development Programme

  Developed in partnership with the University of St Andrews, this programme aims to strengthen female leadership across golf administration globally.
  – It provides mentoring, skills development, and networking for women in governing or administrative roles.
  – The programme celebrates women who are already within the system — yet those who operate outside institutional golf, such as senior women organisers, referees, and volunteers, remain invisible within this framework.

The Gap: Senior Women and Independent Associations

Despite the inclusive language of The R&A’s initiatives, senior women’s golf associations — both national and regional — remain unacknowledged within its strategic remit.

These groups, often formed decades before the merger, continue to:

• Run independent competitions and championships for women aged 50 and over
• Promote lifelong participation and community leadership among experienced female players.
• Operate entirely outside R&A or national governing body structures, despite their members’ substantial contributions to the game.

This omission reflects a persistent cultural blind spot: while The R&A champions “women and girls,” it tends to frame development in terms of youth entry and corporate advancement, rather than lifelong continuity and grassroots stewardship.

Commentary: From Governance to Guardianship

The R&A’s modern initiatives are ambitious and well-intentioned, but they represent a top-down vision of progress, often disconnected from the bottom-up realities that sustained women’s golf for more than a century.

Where the LGU and veteran associations cultivated women’s golf through community networks, voluntary leadership, and shared experience, today’s frameworks rely on corporate policy and institutional endorsement.

Until The R&A recognises senior women’s golf as part of the living continuum of the women’s game — not a separate, nostalgic domain — the history, expertise, and leadership embodied by these associations will remain underrepresented in the official story of golf’s future.