For Kaylin Crownover, the reason she fell away from competitive golf was simple — burnout. The 30-year-old resident of Tampa, Fla., picked up the game when she was young, going on to play at Campbell University and then professionally on the Symetra Tour (now the Epson Tour) after college.
After playing golf for a living, she simply needed a respite from the game.
That break lasted for a few years until she met her now-husband, Tim. She began playing for fun with him, and it was not long before her competitive spirit came back in full force. Crownover competed in her first Florida State Golf Association championship in 2021 and qualified for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship a year later.
Crownover’s story is like so many other women her age in golf. For one reason or another, women who have spent their life playing golf — some going on to play collegiately and professionally — lose touch with the game in their early 20s, leading to declining levels of participation in women’s mid-amateur golf.
The FSGA is dedicated to making competitive golf accessible to women of all ages, including these mid-amateurs.
One big factor that leads to this decline in participation is money. In 2018, the FSGA announced it would have a reduced entry fee for the FSGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship for competitors between the ages of 25 and 39 years old. The entry fee was reduced 50 percent to $80 for these golfers and includes two rounds of golf, an awards luncheon and a tee gift.
“It really allows younger players to be able to compete in great events without having to worry about how to pay for them,” said Kelli Pry, a Florida women's mid-amateur competitor. “Price is something that’s a big detail I take into consideration before playing in something.”
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