ladies golf
Harry Ward
I thought it was about time I touched on the subject of ladies’ golf, a game which has now evolved into a multi-million-pound global phenomenon.
The late 20th century ushered in a new era of international growth. The establishment of the Women’s British Open as a major championship, the creation of the Ladies European Tour (LET), and the rise of Asian golf powerhouses, transformed the opportunities for women’s golf throughout the world.
Players from around the world began dominating leaderboards, including Sweden’s Annika Sörenstam, who became a global icon in the 1990s and early 2000s. Known for her precision, fitness and relentless drive, her decision to compete with the men in a PGA Tour event in 2003 was a watershed moment, challenging assumptions about gender and performance in golf.
Today, women’s golf is thriving. The LPGA Tour features players from more than 30 countries, major championships attract global audiences, and investment in women’s sports is steadily increasing. Events like the Solheim Cup, the premier team competition between the United States and Europe, showcase the sport’s passion and competitive spirit.
At grassroots level, more girls are taking up golf than ever before, supported by youth programmes, scholarships, and increased visibility of female role models. The sport continues to evolve, with conversations around pay equality, media coverage, and sponsorship driving further progress.
I have been asked by the Belleisle Ladies Golf Club to research, write, and include their history in a book to be published as part of the forthcoming centenary celebrations of Belleisle Golf Course which was formed in 1927. The book will, hopefully, be a record of all early golf in the burgh leading up to the birth of Belleisle Golf Club.
While travelling, I’m frequently asked why women’s golf took longer to become established in the early years compared to the men’s game. As a historian, I find this is an intriguing but straightforward question to answer and many may be surprised to discover just how deep the roots of women’s golf really go in Scotland.
In purely historical terms, the earliest reference to ladies actually playing the game was in 1738 at Bruntsfield in Edinburgh, and the first reference to ladies on Links golf was at Musselburgh in 1811. There was a recent discovery of a very rare and early lady club maker, Isobel Denholm, who assisted her husband, David Denholm, in their club making business at Bruntsfield in 1820.
In 1867, a women’s golf club was established in St Andrews which focused more on putting than actually playing golf and the club was supported by well known players such as Old Tom Morris. The ladies had regular putting competitions on the Himalayas adjacent to the 17th hole of the Old Course, and the club became very successful with over 500 members. It survives today under the title of The Ladies Putting Club of St Andrews.
Nearer to home, Ayrshire has never, for some reason, managed to produce an abundance of great lady players, but the one that stands out above all the rest is Miss Jean McCulloch from West Kilbride, who, at the tender age of 18, won the Scottish Ladies Championship at Machrihanish in 1913. In her international debut playing for Scotland at Turnberry in 1921, she defeated the famous Joyce Wethered by 3 and 2. She followed this up in the afternoon by beating Dr M C Alexander, and completed the good work by defeating Mrs Rupert Philips the next day. She also had the distinction of beating Miss Cecil Leitch twice in the same day in a match at Sandwich the following year. Jean McCulloch won the Ayrshire Ladies Championship in 1923, 1924, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1933, and also several club competitions at her home club of West Kilbride.
A more recent Ayrshire ladies success story were the McKay sisters, Fiona and Mhairi, who lived at Girvan and played most of their golf at Turnberry. Fiona had a fantastic amateur CV, winning a host of titles before finally settling down to family life and a career in the legal profession.
Mhairi, her sister, also had a remarkable amateur record and once retained a handicap of +5.
After winning dozens of amateur events, too numerous to mention, Mhairi went on to the professional ranks in 1997 and competed on the LPGA Tour in the States. She also represented Great Britain and Ireland at the Solheim Cup at Interlachen, Minnesotta in 2002, and Barsebach, Sweden in 2003. I believe Mhairi now lives in America but returns to Scotland on a regular basis to Girvan.
