By Ross Thomson

Copyright dailyrecord

Winchburgh Niddry Castle Golf Club has more than doubled its female membership in the past three years thanks to two initiatives aimed at encouraging women and girls to try the sport. Their club’s female membership now stands at 24 per cent, which is double the national average for women’s membership in a Scottish golf club. Scottish Golf has said the club offers a blueprint for other golf clubs to follow in building popularity of the sport among women and girls. The club’s increase in female membership is largely due to the club’s entry level coaching courses, called Get Confident in the Basics for Women. There has now been eight editions of the course, with more than half of all participants continuing to play the game and apply for club membership, with the historic club’s female membership having risen from 22 to 49 since 2022. However, it’s not just the adult membership that has grown. There has been a recent influx of girls, courtesy of the club’s adoption of Scottish Golf’s Girls’ Golf Hub. Sixteen new girls came on board in May, when John Pritchard, the club’s Head Coach, initiated a scheme to offer coaching to girls aged 7-16 in and around Scotland’s fastest-growing community. Now, beyond the initial six-week Hub stage, 13 girls are members and continue to benefit from coaching under the Golf Foundation’s Girls’ Golf Scholarship. John runs the sessions with fellow coach Willie White. PGA Professional Heather Macrae has been brought in to assist with sessions. “This is our club’s first venture into an initiative like this, and we have worked closely with Scottish Golf and Active Schools in West Lothian to make it happen,” said John, also the club’s Community Golf Coach. “Initially, we had 36 emails from people showing interest – then eventually settled on 16 girls attending regular coaching sessions. The success of the Hub along with the adult sessions, show women and girls golf is thriving.” “Golf seems to be viewed by many as a male sport but our female members, especially the girls on this programme, have shown that there’s so much to be gained from the sport, regardless of background and age of the player. “I think what Scottish Golf are doing is fantastic, showing that golf can be enjoyed by everyone and reducing the preconceptions around who can play. “We took the girls to Troon to both play in a sixes tournament and to attend the Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald. This gave them the opportunity to watch the professionals on the Range and to chat and collect autographs. “Among those who took time to talk to the girls was Lottie Woad, who went onto win the tournament. It’s an experience that will stay with many of them and, hopefully, encourage them to play golf into adulthood.” Ava, one of four 15-year-olds on the programme from Winchburgh Academy plays golf twice a week. “She said: “It’s really rewarding and nice to get out into the fresh air. It’s a nice environment, and John is really welcoming. I’ve made a few friends and look forward to going out to play with them every week.” Isla, aged nine, said: “I do kickboxing three times a week, but this is way calmer. I wouldn’t have thought about playing golf before this programme but now I really enjoy it.” Ivy, also nine, has added golf to a list of sporting interests that include martial arts, swimming and dry-slope skiing, and said: “My dad plays golf so we’ve been to the driving range a few times so I knew a little bit about golf, but the lessons have been really fun.” The Women’s and Girls’ coaching sessions are just some of the many run by John, Willie and their team of coaches at Winchburgh Niddry Castle Golf Club on a weekly basis. The work of the club has been praised by Scottish Golf. Chris Lumsden, Regional Development Manager (East Region), said: “Winchburgh Niddry Castle Golf Club have seen above-average growth in their women’s and girls membership, mostly through the valiant efforts of their club volunteers John and Willie. “Their commitment to growing female participation has led them to connections with the local community, schools, and parents, and their engagement with new golfers and participants has been exemplary. “We have captured their model as a blueprint to showcase to other clubs around Scotland who may want to emulate their work. Scottish Golf continues to support Winchburgh Niddry Castle in all its efforts to develop club membership in this inclusive way, but the credit for their success lies squarely with the team at the club.” Winchburgh Developments Ltd. [WDL], who lease the course to the club, have supported the Junior Golf programme for many years. Penny Lochhead, WDL’s Community, Sport and Greenspace Manager, said of the new Girls’ Hub initiative: “It’s inspiring to see so many women and girls enjoying golf at the club underlining their ethos and commitment to ‘golf for all’, demonstrating they are at the forefront of driving women’s and girls’ golf across Scotland. “The club also became a charity recently, underlining their ‘community club’ ethos. We are delighted to support all they deliver for the community.” Don’t miss the latest news from the West Lothian Courier. Sign up to our free newsletter here .