Women's Golf Association of India

Marching towards gender equality in Indian Golf

Reminiscing what we had to go through as talented juniors golfers and particularly being a female golf player in the late 70’s and early 80’s, it has been a test of patience well tested.

At the Delhi Golf Club, where I played as a junior there were common areas for both men and women to be served tea post a game of golf. After I married, the Royal Calcutta Golf Club became my home club in the city of Calcutta. My first time to a golf club dominated by men- I was taken aback looking at a large signage hung outside the main refreshment canopy which read- “MEN ONLY” was enough to turn off ladies and junior girls.

In February 1982, after one of my weekend rounds of golf with a senior golfer of RCGC Mr Daddy Mazda and two other gentlemen, we had to be seated at a table on the grassed lawn in front of the 1st tee box on the weekends after 18 holes for a cup of tea. The third weekend during exchange of pleasantries and tea was being served on the lawn it started to rain, we had to run into the covered canopy for shelter. It was the last time that the MEN’s ONLY- signage was seen, as the gracious Mr Mazda wrote to the then President of RCGC to have the signage removed. The removal of the signage was Epic as the National All India Ladies Golf Championship was scheduled to be played there just couple of weeks later.



In the past two decades golf course facilities, washrooms for female golf players across where Hero Women Professional Golf tour events have been enhanced. Attention by club managements is to ensure that services provided women and men are equal.

Four decades later, WGAI has marched forward in keeping with global trends. A major push for women’s golf happened once a career option was created for our talented national female golf players and because of inclusion of Golf in 2016 Olympics this became yet another major enhancer. There was greater acceptance by Indian society about girls playing outdoor sports.

In India the general awareness in the sport of golf has increased as India’s iconic female golfers displayed their talent at the Olympics, Asian games and on various other International golf tours in the past 15 years. More Pro-ams and mixed tournaments have attracted corporates who are including female professional golfers in their club events in the past two years.



In the coming months, the stage is set for more mixed tournaments and common prize fund for both women and men. The recent announcement of Indian Golf Premier League, Celebrity Golf and Kapil Dev Grant Thornton are yet mixed events which are likely to create an enormous return on investment for sponsorship. In the recent months a big spike of USD 800,000 in prize money has been announced by Blue Canyon Golf Club in Phuket (Thailand) for female golfers in the Asian region scheduled in the month of March. The new concept of virtual golf is catching on and in 2024 China hosted a virtual tournament for a handsome amount of USD 750,000 for women. Korea and Japan’s multi- level professional golf tours are a force to reckon with in the region. Professional female golfers from Thailand too have been very successful for the past few years.

The year 2025, augurs well for prize money enhancement for WGAI’s flagship international women’s golf tournament Hero Women’s Indian Open scheduled for October 2025 and the 15 leg Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour. We look forward to seeing many more mixed events and prize money in 2025.

Champika Sayal
March 2025