Gulf News met up with Tuscany Williams at MyGolf Dubai, the founder of the Facebook community Women Who Golf on a visit through Dubai.
Gulf News: Tuscany, tell our readers about yourself, women’s golf and your new movement, Women Who Golf?
Tuscany: Golf for me is a social pursuit, it’s about fun, friends and memories. When I was a junior golfer in Australia, the only option was to play with much older women. I loved the game my father had introduced me to, but there weren’t any girls my age to play with. I craved the community I saw the boys all enjoy. Instead. I felt like a ‘second-class’ citizen, an afterthought without anything catering to my desires as a woman. Unfortunately, this lack of social opportunity vastly reduced the amount of golf I played and essentially drove me out of the sport.
When I started Women Who Golf, I quickly discovered thousands of other women felt as I did. We all craved community. This is the primary reason the Facebook group took off as it did.
Gulf News: Tell us more about Women Who Golf?
Tuscany: Women Who Golf is a community for women to find friends, and share their experiences in a positive and supportive forum. Our members are super active, and form relationships with likeminded people around the globe.
Since setting it up, we have grown to over 51,000 members on our Facebook group, with roughly 1,000 new members joining week.
More satisfyingly, I’ve been inundated with messages telling me the group ‘is the first thing they check when they wake up and the last thing when they go to bed.’
Gulf News: Tell us why you are in Dubai?
Tuscany: I’m visiting Dubai because, in my opinion, it’s among the most exciting, innovative cities in the world. We are seeking partnerships with those innovators who actively looking to get more women into golf.
Gulf News: What are you hoping to achieve with Women Who Golf?
Tuscany: I am sharing its success story so far, with like-minded people in the industry, to see ways we can collectively develop the project for everyone’s benefit: the women golfer as well as see if we can help the golf industry adapt to what we are looking for.
We are launching the ‘WWG friend finder’, an on-line directory to find playing partners in any city in the world.
Also, we are creating a global directory of Women Who Golf Approved Courses. To be featured, a course must prove they support women’s golf and create a fantastic experience for our members. This project creates its own momentum; the more clubs that create female-specific experiences, the more females they attract, so the cycle grows like a snowball of positivity.
Gulf News: When are you next in Dubai, and what is your next immediate step for Women Who Golf?
Tuscany: We return in October and are excited to bring the first Women Who Golf meet-up and tournament week to the region from around the world. We are in discussions with several club executives and tourism operators who share our passion for developing women’s golf. There’s lots of positive momentum we are keen to seize on.
