Golf Business News – St Andrews Links celebrates female pioneers in new short film series

In celebration of the AIG Women’s Open returning to the Old Center this week, St Andrews Links Trust has released two short films showing the venue’s importance in paving the way for and continuing to support women’s golf.

As part of it A pioneer in a video series, two films tell the story of the world’s first women’s golf club, St Andrews Ladies Putting Club, and chart the careers of two female PGA professionals who work at the Home of Golf at St Andrews Links Golf Academy.

Films, titled Pioneers: World Ladies Golf Club again Pioneers: Breaking Barriers in the Home of Golfthey are designed to emphasize the strong history St Andrews has with women’s golf and the important role it can play in supporting the women’s game now and into the future.

Pioneers: World Ladies Golf Club tells the story of the founding of the St Andrews Ladies Putting Club, founded in 1867, and the subsequent rise in popularity of their world-famous Himalayan putting green, located next to the Old Course.

Pioneers: Breaking Barriers in the Home of Golf charts the path of PGA Professionals Rachel Knight and Adelle Middleton and their journey to St Andrews Links. It is at the Home of Golf that Rachel now supports the development of the next generation of talent through the St Andrews Links Junior Golf Association and Adelle provides professional instruction to a wide range of clients as well as being the qualified club technician for the Callaway National Performance Center based at the St Andrews Links Golf Academy.

In addition to presenting the films, the Links Trust has also made a number of commitments as a signatory to the R&A’s Women in Golf Charter, supporting the growth of the women’s game and increasing the number of women working in the industry.

To date, these commitments have led to the launch of a women’s network within the Links Trust to give women employees the opportunity to meet, collaborate and share knowledge and expertise. The purpose of the women’s network is to better understand the employee experience of our female colleagues at Links Trust and to generate and implement concrete ideas for positive development.

Additional responsibilities of the Links Trust include providing opportunities to increase the participation of women and girls in golf through the St Andrews Links Golf Academy with achievements including:

• Bespoke girls summer and winter training sessions are delivered with up to 29 girls aged 6-16 years. The sessions also included a group trip to the R&A’s World Golf Museum for Women & Girls in Golf Tour and a visit to this week’s AIG Women’s Open.
• The women’s training sessions were attended by over 100 women of a mix of ages and abilities, including course subjects.
• Record membership numbers at the St Andrews Links Junior Golf Association (SALJGA) with 326 juniors, 32 per cent of whom are girls, receive free golf lessons from expert instructors. SALJGA members Abigail May and Carly MacDonald have been called up to represent Scotland at the European Girls Team Championship, European Young Masters and Home International games.
• A commitment to support staff in applying to the R&A’s Women in Golf Leadership Program to develop more female leaders in the industry.

Neil Coulson, Chief Executive of St Andrews Links Trust, said: “We are delighted to be hosting the AIG Women’s Open on the Old Course for the third time in its history and there is no better place to celebrate and continue to promote the women’s game. there are some of the best players in the world here at the Home of Golf.

“The Home of Golf can serve as a global brand and we are proud to demonstrate our commitment to the women’s game as signatories and supporters of the R&A’s Women in Golf Charter.

“From the St Andrews Ladies Putting Club to the huge success of the girls program as part of the St Andrews Links Junior Golf Association, St Andrews has long been at the forefront of commitment to the women’s game. We are fortunate to have two outstanding young female PGA professionals in Rachel and Adelle who are just two female partners who serve as wonderful ambassadors for the Links and golf as a diverse industry with many great opportunities.”

Rachel Knight, Golf Academy Operations Supervisor at St Andrews Links Trust, said: “It’s a great honor to be the first woman at the Golf Academy but in my time here there have been many strong women at the Links Trust leading the industry.

“Our women’s network is a good way for us to come together from different departments. It allows us to support each other, talk about what is going well, what we need to do better in the organization and as an industry and share our knowledge as a team.

“Hosting the AIG Women’s Open is a great opportunity for us to showcase the good work that goes on here at the Home of Golf to support and promote the women’s game and encourage more women and girls in this game and in this industry.”

The 2024 AIG Women’s Open will be the third time it has been held at the Old Course with Lorena Ochoa and Stacy Lewis winning the previous tournaments in 2007 and 2013 respectively.

In addition to their day jobs at the Golf Academy throughout the AIG Women’s Open, both Rachel and Adelle hope to have the opportunity to witness first-hand the talents of the world’s best players. Rachel has been designated as the playing marker for the Championship in the event of an odd number of golfers hitting, and Adelle will play for Rachel if called upon.

The two films can be viewed on the Home of Golf Youtube channel using the links above while the commitments made by the St Andrews Links Trust as signatories to the Women in Golf Charter can be seen on the website here.