Participation in golf among American women and girls has reached a new high, the National Golf Foundation disclosed in a report that coincides with June as Women’s Golf Month.
Females account for more than one quarter of on-course participation, the NGF found, citing industry-reported statistics. The 26-percent rate is a six-point spike from 2011. In the past five years, the net gain among on-course female golfers is 1.4 million, outpacing a 900,000 rise among male golfers.
Among the 45 million Americans who play any kind of golf – the traditional on-course game or other off-course and virtual variations – 33 percent are female, the NGF found. READ MORE
TAP-INS
Jackson Koivun, the 19-year-old Auburn freshman who led the Tigers to the recent NCAA title, added the Jack Nicklaus Award to his stack of postseason honors. Koivun, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, became the only golfer to win the Fred Haskins, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus player-of-the-year awards and the Phil Mickelson outstanding-freshman honor in the same season. As the NCAA Division I recipient of the Nicklaus Award, Koivun made his PGA Tour debut in last week’s Memorial Tournament, which was hosted by Nicklaus at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. After making the 36-hole cut, Koivun called the experience “awesome.” READ MORE
Auburn’s Nick Clinard, who led the Tigers to a 10-victory season capped by the NCAA Division I title, was named the national coach of the year. READ MORE
Louisiana State’s Ingrid Lindblad, the recent winner of the Annika Award as the top player in women’s college golf, has added another honor. Lindblad, a 24-year-old fifth-year senior from Sweden, won the Juli Inkster Award, which honors the top female collegiate golfer in her final year of eligibility. Lindblad earned $50,000, an exemption into the LPGA’s Portland Classic in August and a spot in second stage of the LPGA’s Q-Series in October. Lindblad made her professional debut last week at the Epson Tour’s FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship in Battle Creek, Michigan. READ MORE
Golf Genius has acquired Swing by Swing Golf, a golf technology and media company. Swing by Swing Golf, headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, owns the Swing U golf GPS and scorecard app plus other data platforms. Golf Genius is a software company based in Saint Davids, Pennsylvania. READ MORE
The R&A completed its 2025 amateur calendar with the announcement that the 130th Amateur Championship will be held at Royal St. George’s in England and the 122nd Women’s Amateur will be played at Nairn in Scotland. READ MORE
The St. Andrews Links Trust, which manages the Old Course and six other layouts at the “home of golf” in Scotland, announced a record year in 2023 marked by 283,082 rounds played that helped generate more than £44 million ($56 million-plus) in operating revenue. READ MORE / 2023 ANNUAL REPORT
Compiled by Steve Harmon