Beyond The Game: How golf is helping women find confidence, community, and wellbeing

Golf may be an individual sport, but for many women, its appeal increasingly lies in everything that surrounds the game.

Whether it's the therapeutic effects of spending several hours outdoors, meeting new people, or simply carving out time away from the pressures of everyday life, golf can offer much more than the pursuit of a lower score.

Across Viya’s network of golf clubs and academies, those benefits are something its female professionals see daily through their coaching. Amy Condon, PGA Professional at Tommy Fleetwood Academy at Yas Links Abu Dhabi; Siddhi Kapoor, PGA Golf Professional at the Peter Cowen Academy at Emirates Golf Club; Priyanka Parmar, PGA Professional at the Peter Cowen Academy at Emirates Golf Club; Lea Pouillard, Senior Golf Professional at the Tommy Fleetwood Academy at Jumeirah Golf Estates; and Maria Rohlén, Golf Professional at Yas Acres Golf & Country Club in Abu Dhabi, see daily through their coaching.

Here, they provide five different perspectives on a game they believe has an increasingly important role to play in women’s lives.

Coming for the golf, staying for the people

What draws women to golf can be as varied as what keeps them coming back. Whether it begins through friends and family, a desire to spend more time outside, or the appeal of taking on a different challenge, that first step onto the course can open the door to much more.

It is a pattern seen across the Viya portfolio: the initial reason for picking up a club can vary enormously, but the relationships formed around the game often become just as important. And in Maria's experience, the reason someone starts playing is not necessarily the reason they continue. 

“It can be a boyfriend, husband or friend who gets you a little bit interested,” she says. “But what I find is that when you meet other female golfers, the interest really starts to blossom. Maybe that’s not how you get into golf in the first place, but you make friends, and I think that’s often the reason you stay.” 

It's a pattern Lea recognises in her own coaching. “I think every woman has her own reason for starting golf. Some come because their partner or friends play, some want to try something completely new, and others are simply looking for a new challenge or a way to spend more time outdoors.

“What I see a lot with the ladies I coach is that they come for the golf, but they often stay because of the people they meet and the friendships they build.”

There is another factor too: the satisfaction of seeing improvement. “Seeing a shot that you couldn’t hit a few months ago suddenly become possible is such a great feeling,” Lea adds. “Golf gives you so many little moments like that, and I think that’s what keeps people coming back.”

Creating space to switch off

Golf is also a physical activity that can be sustained at different levels and stages of life. For those who walk the course, a round of golf can mean several hours spent moving outdoors - and several thousand steps -  but the professionals believe its mental benefits can be just as significant.

For Amy, the game has always provided an opportunity to concentrate on what is immediately in front of her. “For me personally, it’s always taught me to be present and not worry about anything else,” she says. “I always say that going to the range or going out to play is like therapy, because you have to focus on that ball and that moment in time. You’re not thinking about anything else.” 

Lea sees something similar among the women she coaches. “One of the best things about golf is that it gives you time for yourself. You’re outside, you’re walking, you’re moving, but you’re also able to switch off from everyday life for a few hours.

“Golf can be quite challenging mentally because you have to learn to deal with mistakes and not let one bad shot affect the next one. I think that’s a really valuable lesson outside of golf too.”

Confidence that goes beyond the course

Learning to accept those inevitable mistakes can also build resilience.

Having started playing at around four years old before competing professionally in India and later moving into coaching, Siddhi believes golf’s longevity is one of the qualities that sets it apart.

“You can start at four or at 70, and you can play for as long as you like,” she says. “Even if you leave the sport somewhere in the middle, you can always come back to it. I think that’s one of the things people look at – that they can play it for the rest of their lives.” 

Priyanka has also seen how learning the game can change the way younger girls see themselves. She recalls a recent junior session in which one particularly shy girl gradually began to come out of her shell as her confidence with the club grew.

“As the session went on, she became so much more confident,” Priyanka says. “Suddenly she could hit the chip shot and she was looking at the other girls as if to say, ‘Did you see that?’

“It’s nice to see them grow and to see that confidence. Once they start understanding something and practising it, it changes their whole mindset. They want to come back to the next class and tell their parents and friends about it.” 

That lesson, Lea believes, applies regardless of age. “For women especially, I think there is something very empowering about stepping onto the course, trying something new, and seeing yourself improve. It builds confidence not only in your golf game, but often in other areas of life too. And that journey has no age limit.”

Finding your community

That sense of progress can be particularly powerful when it is shared. Across Viya's clubs and academies, ladies’ programmes and group coaching create opportunities for women to learn alongside others, while building connections beyond the course. At Emirates Golf Club, Siddhi has seen a thriving female golf community develop among women of different ages and abilities.

“We have a really good community for women’s golf,” she says. “What I’ve seen is women making really good friendships. Women support women, and there is absolutely no age barrier. I’ve seen some of the greatest friendships built through these ladies’ group programmes. The community brings out the best in each of them.” 

For Maria, that sense of belonging can become particularly important for women who may initially feel nervous about playing with people they don't know.

She has coached older women who began by only feeling comfortable playing alongside their husbands, before gaining the confidence to join other women on the course. “They meet people in the same situation and they calm down a little bit,” she says. “Suddenly they love going out and they want to play more.” 

And, she adds, the friendships made during four or five hours on a golf course can develop remarkably quickly. “You meet so many different people, from different age groups and different careers. You can start a round with a complete stranger and then, a couple of hours later, you’re meeting for a coffee the next day. That’s one of the beautiful things about golf.”

From a sport to a lifestyle

Across the wider Viya portfolio, golf increasingly sits within a broader club lifestyle, where fitness, food, and social spaces can be as much a part of the experience as time spent on the course. For Priyanka, that means modern golf clubs can offer women something broader than the game itself.

“You’ve got the gym, cafés, Pilates or yoga – there can be so much in one place,” she says. “Golf opens up all these other corridors for you and it becomes a lifestyle. We see people who have just come for a coffee or a work meeting because the club has become their hub.”

Maria agrees that the wider experience is increasingly important. “For women, I think it’s more of a whole lifestyle,” she says. “It’s the clothes, it’s the social side, it’s everything around it. It isn’t only about the golf.”

Making golf feel more accessible

Despite that progress, first stepping onto a range or golf course can still feel intimidating. Siddhi says women can sometimes be reluctant to practise in an environment where they feel conspicuous, particularly when they are complete beginners. Finding other players at a similar stage can help break down that barrier.

Creating environments where that first experience feels welcoming is something Viya’s professionals are tasked with ensuring across its clubs and academies. As participation grows, Amy believes the culture around the game is also becoming more inclusive. “I think it’s only going to get better,” she says. “Here, it feels a lot more relaxed and welcoming. There are so many expats and people from different walks of life, and I can only see women’s golf getting bigger and better.”

Lea has noticed that shift too. “Women’s golf is becoming more visible, and more women are seeing golf as a sport that is accessible, social, and relevant to them,” she says.

There is still work to do in challenging some of golf's traditional barriers, but the professionals agree that golf can accommodate a far wider range of ages, abilities, and ambitions than many beginners initially expect.

Women supporting women

That is also where initiatives such as Pinktober can extend beyond raising awareness, and create opportunities for connection.

For Viya, having professionals and women’s golf communities across multiple clubs also enables the feeling of inclusion to extend beyond any single venue. As Siddhi explains, the strength lies not only in individual clubs supporting women, but in bringing those communities together. “Women support women at the end of the day,” she says. “These initiatives can help us as golf professionals to collaborate and start conversations about doing things together.

“It would be great to see women travelling between clubs, playing together, socialising and interacting, and building an even bigger community. We need to lift each other up and keep building women’s golf.”

The idea reflects Lea’s view of Pinktober as an opportunity to connect conversations around health with something positive and social. “Initiatives like Pinktober are a wonderful opportunity to bring an important message into a positive environment,” she says. “Sport can be a great way of encouraging women to take time for themselves, look after their health, and connect with others.”

For these five professionals, that combination of health benefits, personal challenge, time outdoors, and human connection is central to golf’s growing appeal among women.

Some may arrive because somebody else encouraged them to try the game. Others may be looking for exercise, a new challenge, or simply a few hours away from everyday life.

But as they build confidence, friendships, and a sense of belonging, golf can become much more than the reason they first picked up a club.