President’s Message:
Going to WARM with women’s golf leaders by Mary Pomroy
INSIDE 2 Celebrating with Oklahoma and Kansas 4 The 411 on the Women’s Golf Alliance’s 20 member associations 6 Who is the Women’s Golf Alliance and what is it up to?
The treasured Oaklahoma Women's State Amateur trophy stands almost 4 feet tall.
Each year we hear statistics from notable national golf organizations reporting that women are taking up the game at a faster rate than any other segment of our population. Yet, no one has figured out how to keep these new players in the game, let alone encourage them to play more rounds, spend more on golf equipment and accessories and become avid golfers. We with the Women’s Golf Alliance think the answer lies not in more studies to confirm this information, or in more programs created at the national level, but in connecting with the leaders of grass roots associations who can actually influence the growth of women’s golf; the women who are already champions for the game; who spend their days promoting and managing golf for women. We started in 2003, when the leaders of four western state women’s golf associations gathered to discuss ways to better guide their associations, improve their programs and increase their membership. The founding members were from Arizona, Colorado, California and Nevada. And so WARM—Women’s Associations Roundtable Meeting—was born. This year on March 9-11, in Phoenix, the initiators of the WARM will mark its 12th birthday. But now, women’s golf associations from all around the nation are participating. The interest is growing and more states are continually being represented. More participants equals a more accurate picture of the woman golfer, and a larger presence in the business of golf.
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