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OUR HEADLINE IMPACTS
Our Impact
1- GolfSixes League saw 127 leagues played across more than 600 clubs
2- 88% of players want to keep playing after GSL
3- 25% of GSL participants are girls
The Context
1- In 2017, there were just 24 clubs taking part across six leagues!
2- Retention rates in youth sport often fall below 50% by age 14; GolfSixes nearly doubles that, showing a sport young people want to keep playing!
3- That’s nearly double the usual share (15%) of girls in junior golf!
WHY WE DO THIS
Junior golf club membership has declined in the last 15 years, with under‑18s making up less than 10% of club members in England. Clubs that fail to attract juniors face long‑term sustainability challenges, both in participation and in nurturing future volunteers and club leaders.
HOW WE DO THIS
GOLFSIXES LEAGUE
Click here to read our full GolfSixes League Impact Report 2024
The GolfSixes League Pathway In Action – Suffolk
When the Suffolk Golf Union (SGU) announced their 2025 under 16 squad, a clear pattern quickly emerged – half of the 14 players had started their golf journey in the Golf Foundation’s GolfSixes League programme.
The SGU has worked with the Golf Foundation to develop a ‘Pathway for Junior Golfers in Suffolk’ which starts with GolfSixes League and progresses through the new GolfNines initiative, onto three Junior Development Hubs and then to the age group squads.
Click here to read their story
JUNIOR HUBS
We work with a network of junior friendly clubs to grow their junior offering. Last year, our network contributed to creating 14,000 new regular golfers who are committing to coaching and playing on a course (including GolfSixes League), which is a 17% increase on 2023 and a 34% increase on 2022 figures. .
Despite the well documented adult boom in golf post-Covid, we have become increasingly concerned about young people having less access to PGA Professional Coaching and access to tee times and the golf course.
This is reflected in our latest monitoring figures which show a decrease in the number of young people being introduced to golf in their school or youth club (242,000 in 2024 to 226,000 in 2025).
Our monitoring figures also show a drop in the number of young people being introduced to a golf club:
We believe that this is not healthy for the long term health of the sport.
We work with clubs to grow their junior section, improve inclusivity and diversity, and offer a pathway for juniors.
372 golf clubs across England, Scotland and Wales received Golf Foundation support in five key pillars of support – Admin, Coaching, Playing opportunities, Recruitment and Building A Support Team.
A Case Study – Royal Dornoch GC, Junior Club of the Year
Royal Dornoch are a special club, who have worked hard to give every child in the town the opportunity to try golf and the chance to join their extensive junior programme. Each year, the club runs 75 golf sessions in all of the local primary and secondary schools, delivered by trainee PGA Professional coaches from the nearby University of Highlands and Islands.
Every child is then invited to take part in competitions and coaching sessions back at the club. 100 juniors take part weekly and it is estimated that over 50% of the primary age children in the area are actively involved at the golf club.
UNLEASH YOUR DRIVE IN CLUBS
Through the funding support of the British Golf Industry Association and The R&A, we are piloting 42 projects in England, Wales and Scotland that are testing a new club introductory programme with the primary objective of introducing at least 50% of pupils from an Unleash Your Drive programme in school to their local golf club and PGA Professional.
In total, each pupil should receive 12 weeks of golf instruction followed by the chance to play in a GolfSixes League event on the golf course.
