The Vines Resort and Country Club’s women-only ‘Gotta Get Golfing’ program continues to go from strength to strength, with more than 70 participants over the past 12 months.
Launched in 2017, ‘Gotta Get Golfing’ aims to provide pathways into golf for beginners, as well as encourage social golfers to take up club membership. The six-week program incorporates social activities alongside personalised instruction on the range and on course, delivered by PGA pro Mark Tibbles and GolfWA Community Instructor Anna-Maria England.
Since 2018, the WA Golf Foundation-backed program has also included post-session mentoring classes in which participants are introduced to a range of golf-related topics – including rules, etiquette, scoring and general golf knowledge – in a friendly, informal environment.
Of the 71 women involved in the 2022 program, 47 were complete beginners with 24 retained from the previous program. Eighteen participants took up full membership at The Vines over the course of the year taking the total number of new members gained through the program since 2017 to 93.
Mark Tibbles, who heads the Vines’ MTI Golf Academy, says ‘Gotta Get Golfing’ has been a major boost to female participation at the club. “Before 2017, the weekly ladies’ competition was really struggling. We might have had between 4-8 players involved and on one rainy day, only one lady showed up,” he told GolfWA.
“Now we are getting 50+ participating in our weekly competition and 70-80 in our special events, such as our International Women’s Golf Day competition in June and a breast cancer fundraiser in October. Of those, as many as 50 players might have come through the ‘Gotta get Golfing’ program. It’s been a great success.”
