In 10 years, female golf practice has lost ground with -1% of female players. It is in light of this observation that Aude Bredel, golf practitioner and enthusiast, launched GolfHER to promote women in the world of golf at all levels. She launched into entrepreneurship, supported by the program the sprinters of Willa. Today, GolfHER is its main mission.
Sports : Are you athletic yourself?
Aude Bredel: I have been an athlete since I was very young. I started in the sport during an initiation to horse riding when I was 5 years old. All the sports that I have been able to do, horse riding, athletics, English boxing and golf, I have practiced in championships. The best memories of childhood and camaraderie that I have are in the disciplines where female representation was more present. When I started playing golf at the age of 7, I was the only girl in my group. I learned to play as a child. It is something that you integrate very easily, you have to adapt or leave. Since I loved this sport, I adapted. I constantly went overboard, to harass the boys. However, I found a balance much later in my practice, that is, playing with my means, aligned with myself. Today, performance in my game is no longer a holy grail, quite the opposite. I assume that I want to play golf to talk to my friends, to laugh, not to try to hit hard, not to seek pure performance anymore. This system is omnipresent in the golf industry, where female representation in positions of responsibility is scarce. I worked hard and evolved in the golf trades for 13 years. I wanted to be a golf manager so I specialized in operational jobs essential to running a club. I have been a golf teacher, tournament administrator, club fitter, golf shop manager, executive assistant, I have also trained alongside the best managers of golf structures in Scotland and England (CMAE). I was director of golf, but I lacked something to contribute to the development of our sport.
Can you tell us about your entrepreneurial project?
GolfHER is a company with the mission of promoting women in the world of golf. With GolfHERI want to create an ecosystem that works for women, both at a sports and professional level.
“We will also reinforce the sense of belonging for women in golf, allowing them to gain confidence, have options and dare. »
In November 2021, we will launch an online community for all women who wish to enter the world of women’s golf, accessible for free on golfher.fr. There are discussion groups, a network of players of all levels from all over France, exclusive articles on women’s golf and other services. This year I will launch a network of partners (golf courses, teachers, providers) that will offer GolfHER services adapted to women. I accompany these actors towards a turnkey feminization plan.
Players who want to access these packaged services at the best price and designed for them can sign up for an annual subscription of €89. GolfHER will also support a professional player as part of our Kickstart’HER program. A group of partners and donors come together to offer you help in order to break into the golf scene. This program helps one player, but success is collective, everyone has a role to play in this direction. The last milestone we will mark will be the creation of a networking network with training so that women in the golf industry can more easily access positions of responsibility.
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Through your project, what message do you want to transmit?
Rethinking the golf ecosystem in favor of women will highlight new values and new practices. In 10 years, women’s practice has lost ground with -1% of female players. Since the 2008 crisis, golf has been suffering all over the world and losing more and more players. In addition, we found an average of 12% of women in the government of professional golf organizations.
Today, GolfHER wants to convey a message that resonates in the sports field in general. What is observed is that sports dominated by men suffer from the same evils that prevent a concrete development of female practice, which prevents the development of sport. Bringing a new vision of women’s golf, we will respond to the needs of women who have felt prevented from accessing it and/or who have given it up for reasons that we know today. We will also reinforce the sense of belonging for women in golf, allowing them to gain confidence, have options and dare.
Interview with Aurélie Bresson
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