Eastern Golf Club director of golf Scott Barradell is leading one of Australia’s most successful new introductory golf programs for women
Scott Barradell, PGA professional and director of golf at Melbourne’s Eastern Golf Club, is understandably proud to be driving increased female participation and engagement through his exciting Women’s Get Into Golf membership initiative.
Established in April this year, the program helps to make golf more accessible for women, promoting the invaluable physical, mental and social benefits the game provides.
“The whole concept was around promoting golf as being something fun, social and good for both the mind and body,” Barradell says. “We are so excited to open up that opportunity.”
The program, which provides participants a free, restricted 12-month membership, is designed to align with Eastern’s vision to support growing participation among women and girls. Barradell and his team at Eastern clearly struck a chord with the local female community, as they received more than 300 expressions of interest.
Initially slightly overwhelmed by the uptake, Barradell was thrilled to see so many people – and such a range – keen to be involved.
“The first induction evening was crazy with 180 people in attendance,” he recalls. “We had women of lots of different ages and abilities join, which has been great.”
From that starting point, the program has gone from strength to strength, as Barradell and his team at Eastern continue to offer a premium experience for their newest female golfers.
“We have had another 50 or so join since that initial night in April,” he recalls. “It’s just fantastic.”
Members of the program receive a range of benefits and can enjoy a fully immersive golfing experience at Eastern. Weekly clinics and practice sessions provide a warm and welcoming environment for everyone; where participants include those totally new to the sport, some who are returning after some time away and others simply looking for an edge.
“A lot of the time, there can be an intimidation factor when women are looking to get into golf,” Barradell explains. “We are trying to remove that.”
The clinics cover every aspect of the game, to ensure participants are able to enjoy getting out and playing without having to face the stress of competition golf. For Barradell, that has been a rewarding experience, too.
“We have a structure that we follow; working through chipping, putting and full swing,” he explains. “It has been something new and of course it has its challenges, but it’s just so rewarding.”
The program is also acting as a catalyst to get an increased number of women onto the course. With the benefit of having 27 holes at Eastern Golf Club, including the Shark Waters par-3 course, Barradell is seeing more women on the fairways than ever before.
“Our women’s fields have doubled since the start of the program,” he says.
Even after the final putt is holed, members of the Women’s Get Into Golf program are able to enjoy an all-encompassing experience at Eastern.
“We are running special monthly events as well,” Barradell says. “From equipment fittings to rules seminars and even fashion shows, we are keen to get the girls together as much as possible.”
An outstanding initiative, the Women’s Get Into Golf membership program is setting the standard for increased female engagement. Opening the door for greater participation in the game, Barradell and Eastern Golf Club are helping more and more people embark on their own golf journey.
“It’s all about having more people at the golf club,” he says. “That’s a good thing for everyone.”
A PGA pro since 1995, Barradell considers the Women’s Get Into Golf initiative as a watershed moment.
“The take up has just been great,” he says. “It really has to be one of the biggest success stories I have ever seen.”
