Golf Fairfax rolled out the purple carpet for 175 women who joined us to grow and celebrate the game of golf at the inaugural Women & Golf Reception, held June 13, 2018 at Laurel Hill Golf Club.

Women of all playing levels, from seasoned pros to those who had never held a golf club, enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere filled with music, laughs, lessons, and new and old friends.

The day was designed to encourage and build confidence to “swing like a girl,” take a lesson, join a league, attend a social, sign up for a tournament and create a golf network, because while the number of golfers nationwide may be shrinking, the number of women golfers is growing. And women have the power and influence to continue to grow the game. Women are 38 percent more likely than men to introduce children and teens to a sport.

The event showcased the Fairfax County Park Authority’s seven unique golf facilities (Burke Lake Golf Center, Greendale Golf Course, Jefferson District Golf Course, Laurel Hill Golf Club, Oak Marr Golf Complex, Pinecrest Golf Course and Twin Lakes Golf Course) and their offerings to women and junior golfers, including women’s and junior leagues, socials, tournaments, camps, clinics and classes.

Guests connected and networked with representatives from seven courses, LPGA Women Who Play, Women on Course, Women’s Congressional Golf Association and The First Tee, who joined in to support the mission to create an inclusive, fun, social community for women, kids and teen golfers of all levels.

Complimentary clinics hosted by our LPGA, PGA and USGTF professionals at Pinecrest Golf Academy, Everybody Golf School, Greendale Golf, Eisman Golf Academy and Callaway, excited and invigorated the crowd with tips and tricks on putting, chipping, driving and Yoga for Golfers.

Guests enjoyed light fare and were inspired by keynote speaker Donna Hoffman, Founder of Women on Course, and recently named one of “Golf’s 22 Female Disruptors” by the LPGA Women’s Network for breaking the “grass” ceiling and changing the game of golf. She took us through her journey and how she came to create the “fastest growing golf community helping women feel comfortable and confident to participate in the golf lifestyle.”

Ladies walked away with a goody bag filled with golf supplies to get the ball rolling, awesome giveaways donated by our sponsors, newfound confidence, and as part of a growing network of women golfers.

The Ladies Professional Golf Association recently wrote: “You don’t have to search long to see that the landscape in golf is shifting.”

Shifting to female focused groups, initiatives, organizations and efforts dedicated to welcoming, developing, celebrating and encouraging women golfers.

We at Golf Fairfax want to embrace that shift to create a comfortable, inclusive environment, women-specific events, out of the tee box programs and socials to celebrate current, potential and new golfers and to grow and connect our own women’s golf network through fun interactive events.

We are pleased introduce our new webpage www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/golf/women, a one-stop-shop for all things Women & Golf Fairfax.

We want to extend a huge thank you to all who helped to make the day a success including our golf courses, exhibitors and main sponsors, Dominion Wedding Entertainment, Callaway Golf, Teeoff.com and The National Golf Foundation. Look out for more Women & Golf Fairfax events coming to a course near you!

Author Roberta Korzen is the Fairfax County Park Authority Golf Marketing Specialist.