Women’s Golf – Participation & Belonging
The history of women’s golf, grounded in participation before permission (1867–Present).
Women were already playing golf in organised, repeatable ways before formal institutions existed. Through clubs, competitions, and cooperation, they built a participation system that shaped the game and sustained a community of belonging.
By the late nineteenth century, this system was visible across Britain and Ireland, documented through clubs, competitions, and extensive press coverage.
This project brings together the narrative history of women’s golf and the evidence that supports it.
This website presents both the narrative history and the underlying evidence, bringing together archival material, records, and research that document the development of women’s golf.
It introduces the Participation → Permission framework for interpreting the history of women’s golf.
Research and writing by Julie Walker (2026)