To achieve this far-reaching effort, WGD enlisted the support of 17 veteran golf industry and business professionals.
In the planning and development stages for the last nine months, the inaugural International Women’s Golf Day (WGD) becomes a reality on June 7 when more than 400 golf facilities in 17 countries participate in this first-of-a-kind event around the globe.
Event founder Elisa Gaudet explained the evolution of the idea. “We felt we could create a bridge and join women and girls together for a simple half-day experience to explore the many options already available. It felt like there was a lot of fragmentation in the messaging to women. The concept is to centralize and globalize the event so everyone is joining under the same premise, namely to engage, empower, and support women and girls playing golf and learning the skills that last a lifetime.”
From 4:00-8:00 p.m. on June 7, women and girls can either take two hours of lessons or play nine holes of golf. This is followed by a two-hour window that allows for socializing, networking, and learning more about the game and options to participate in golf. “There are so many great programs and organizations that can help further the game and we thought it would be great to have one big gathering that disseminates all this information,” added Gaudet.
To achieve this far-reaching effort, WGD enlisted the support of 17 veteran golf industry and business professionals who volunteered their time or service to help make the event a reality, including ClubCorp, Golfsmith, the PGA Superstore, and others.
“We are proud to participate in this important international event,” said Eric Affeldt, ClubCorp President and CEO. “Positively impacting the future of the game of golf for females of all ages continues to be a priority for ClubCorp and at our clubs. Women’s Golf Day is a wonderful opportunity for us to help grow the game.”
According to event organizers, Women’s Golf Day has created positive momentum globally, and that momentum continues to grow. “It’s both amazing and gratifying to know that we’ll have participation in every time zone worldwide,” said Gaudet. “Not only will we introduce new players to the game in an inviting and inclusive manner, participants will be able to share their experiences through social media and see how they’re actually part of a global community, doing the same thing, on the same day, around the world.”
For those living in the Pacific Northwest, you can experience professional women’s golf in person from June 7-12 at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash., just outside Seattle. The 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, one of four major annual tournaments, begins on the same day as International Women’s Golf Day.
Rick Stedman is an avid golfer, RVer, and writer who lives in Olympia, Washington. Rick writes a golf column, “The RV Golfer,” which is published every month in rvlife.com. He can be reached at rstedman@gmail.com.
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