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As anyone who’s ever gone on a birdie binge knows, golf is often a game of momentum – and when it comes to participation, no demographic has more momentum than females under 18. It’s the fastest-growing segment of the golf population, which extends to girls of color, with non-Caucasians now comprising 28 percent of junior female players. Last year, females represented one-quarter of all golfers, matching the highest percentage on record, with junior girls outpacing that figure, now making up 38 percent of the junior ranks.
The USGA is proud to have played an integral role in setting the stage for such progress. The organization’s founding commitment to creating avenues for people of all backgrounds to enjoy golf was underlined in 1996 when Judy Bell, the USGA’s first female president, used grant dollars to support a small grassroots program with a few chapters called LPGA Girls Golf Club. Seeing the value of teaching girls the game in a fun, safe environment, the USGA went all in with the program, which in 1997 was renamed LPGA*USGA Girls Golf.
In the ensuing years, the USGA’s financial support and guidance have helped the program scale up almost unimaginably — in 2023, LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, now with 600 sites in more than two dozen countries, celebrated 1 million girls impacted by the program and began a major fundraising effort to reach a million more girls by 2030.
Here are a few more notable numbers on golf’s growing girl power:
High School Girls Golf Programs/Participants
2009-10 2023-24
9,651/70,872 11,089/82,836
During this period, golf moved up to seventh among most popular girls’ sports, behind basketball, track and field, volleyball, softball, cross country and soccer, leapfrogging tennis.
140,000+
Girls ages 6-17 participating in LPGA*USGA Girls Golf annually
90+
Former Girls Golf participants competing on the LPGA and Epson tours and in USGA championships, including 9 entrants in the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally.
2004 U.S. Girls’ Junior entries: 811
2024 U.S. Girls’ Junior entries: 1,576
Up 94% in 20 years