Media Release – 29 May 2013 Golf is played by more than one million Australians with 800,000 being men and 200,000 being women*. An affirmative action plan to attract women has been launched by Sandhurst Golf Club, south east of Melbourne, which has only 8% of its members as women. Sandhurst Club Director of Golf Christian Hamilton said, The national average shows around just 20% of all golf club members across Australia in 1800 golf clubs are women. To attract more women golfers Sandhurst Golf Club has introduced a series of new initiatives timetabling its golf programs for women to suit their work or family schedules. Mr. Hamilton said, Unlike many other fitness activities, golf has a strong social and community aspect as it not only provides people with exercise and a chance to enjoy a healthy outdoor activity but by its very nature encourages conversation and opens up the door to develop new friendships. Sandhurst Club, as a family orientated Club, also encourages mothers and daughters to play and the Club’s program offers a path towards playing in regular Club competitions. Mr. Hamilton said, Initiatives to increase the number of women playing golf is an important strategy for all golf clubs to broaden their appeal to the general community and provides women with an alternative to specific fitness training such as a weekly gym session. Golf is a gentle fitness program that helps develop a range of skills such as of eye, hand and body co-ordination, and balance skills. The Sandhurst Ladies Champagne Club for newbie s includes a golf lesson, on-course experience of playing three holes of golf, followed by lunch. The program commences at 10.00am and concludes at 12.30pm and has taken into account that many women drop children at school and also may have afternoon activities. Some parents who started by attending the Junior classes with their children on Saturday morning have now joined the Ladies Champagne Club as a pathway to participating in a sport with their children. Golf is played by more than one million Australians with 800,000 being men and 200,000 being women , with 500,000 being over 55 years of age.*