Africa makes headway in women's golf, but still has a long way to go
The Tanzania Golf Union (TGU) has been making all-out efforts to promote women’s golf in the country, and the latest development is that a team comprising the best amateurs from all of Tanzania took part in
the Africa VI Golf Championships.
The African VI Golf Championships pit talented and competent female golfers from all across Africa against each other, giving players plenty of opportunities to make a name for themselves in amateur golf.
Since amateur golf in Africa is growing and making headway, events like Africa VI Golf Championships have been pretty useful in stirring growth of the sport in the region. So far, success is minimal, but experts
have said that women’s golf is going to find a solid foothold across Africa.
A large number of new players joined amateur ranks this year, while golf academies appear to be cropping up everywhere from South Africa to Malawi. The new trend has been pretty useful in luring new faces to
the sport, which has helped golf patrons in the region make more effective arrangements for new tournaments.
Sophie Nyanjera, who is the administrator of the Tanzania Golf Union, seems to agree with the idea that introducing events like Africa Zone VI Golf Championships in the continent will help them make golf one
of the most prominent sports in the continent.
Sophie said that she is pretty happy to know that so many players joined the field to take part in the Africa Zone VI Golf Championships.
Given the current scenario, it is hard to predict how soon golf in Africa will move beyond Asia — a region experiencing rapid growth in the women’s golf. Asian countries are fast adopting golf as a permanent
sport like badminton, hockey and football, as more and more women are joining amateur and professional ranks.
Thanks to the efforts of the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) Tour officials, Asian has now emerged as the biggest spot for women’s golf.
When it comes to media attention and sponsorships, Africa lags behind Asia, and it is premature to say when the region will be able to compete against other continents in terms of prize money and the number
of tournaments.
As for Asia, women’s golf officials in the region have jacked up prize money for players in the last couple of months — something that is proving beneficial in terms of attracting new players to the sport.
Kyi Hla Han, who once represented Burma when he played pro golf, said that he is pretty surprised to see the rapid growth of the sport, but was keen to point out that the success did not come without price.
“The prize money increase has been great and the sponsorship potential but we're still trying to do a lot work, getting it over to 30 to 35 events and growing our prize money. We have tournaments in over 16
different countries here in Asia,” Kyi Hla Han shared his thoughts.
“We've gone to countries and markets like Bangladesh, we've got tournaments in Cambodia, in Vietnam and we're looking at new events in Sri Lanka. Where golf wasn't a very big sport, we're trying to introduce
it, and we're producing some really good players out of those smaller countries".
Another reason why Africa has not been able to make a name for itself in women’s golf just like Asia has, is that Asian female golfers have completely hijacked the mainstream LPGA tournaments. With the Asian
players having grabbed most of the position in the top 100, other regions find it hard to compete on this front.
South Africa is relatively better in promoting women’s golf than most of the other African countries, as there are many players on the LPGA Tour, who represent this country.
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