WOMEN AND GIRLS
JUNIOR GIRLS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Granting individual scholarships to young girls that enables them to pursue their golfing journeys in a nurturing club environment.
TRANSFORMING TODAY
It was the foresight and generosity of Foundation Director, Bonnie Boezeman AO, that inspired our inaugural fundraising project, the Junior Girls Scholarship Program (JGSP) which she originally established at her local club, Killara, in NSW.
The national program enables girls aged 9–16 around Australia to begin or continue their golfing journeys under the watchful eyes of qualified PGA Professionals or Community Instructors.
Designed to foster a deep love of golf, the program nurtures strong bonds between the participants while developing invaluable life skills such as perseverance, etiquette, concentration and cooperation.
Scholarship graduates may also continue to develop their golf through enrolling in courses at the PGA Learning Hub, including the PGA Academy membership pathway program to pursue a career in golf.
THRIVING INTO THE FUTURE
We have an exciting opportunity through the JGSP to correct the under-representation of girls and women in Australian Golf.
Females currently make up only 19% of club members – representing a steady decline from 30% in 1980. The number of Australian women playing on the professional tour also declined from around 50 in the 1990s to now just 17. Many girls schools don’t offer golf as a sport, depriving girls of the opportunity to engage with the game from an early age.
For Australian Golf to properly reflect our community and to be sustainable and flourish in the future, we need to help more girls and women enjoy this unique sport.
Together we can transform the game of golf by creating greater opportunities for women and girls to engage in golf.
OUR IMPACT
2021
37 CLUBS FUNDED AND 226 SCHOLARSHIPS GRANTED
2022
117 CLUBS FUNDED AND 683 SCHOLARSHIPS GRANTED
2023
142 CLUBS FUNDED AND 974 SCHOLARSHIPS GRANTED
2024
153 CLUBS FUNDED AND 1,189 SCHOLARSHIPS GRANTED
BE PART OF LEVELLING THE PLAYING FIELD
We invite you to join Bonnie Boezeman AO in giving the gift of golf to more Australian girls.
Our goal is for 10,000 girls across the country to have received scholarships by 2030.
To achieve this, we need to raise $3.3 million.
Every $10,000 raised enables 5 clubs to give 30 girls the lifechanging opportunity of a scholarship.
TESTIMONIALS
Karrie Webb AO
Seven-time major winner and member of the World Golf Hall of Fame
“The Junior Girls Scholarship Program is not only creating the next generation of female golfers, but also impacting the lives of young girls beyond golf through building self-confidence, enhancing wellbeing, and developing valuable life skills and career advancement opportunities.”
Summer Dellow
JGSP Program Participant
Beginning her golf journey at the age of five, Summer has loved the sport from the moment she began – with or without girls. However, one of her favourite aspects of the scholarship program has been, “meeting other girls my age who play.” And it seems Summer is not alone. 2021 scholarship recipients rated ‘meeting other girls my own age’ as one of the most important aspects of the program.
“Thank you to the Australian Golf Foundation for my scholarship year. I improved my golf a lot through coaching and have made some really great friends.”
Jonathan Woon
Parent of JGSP Program Participants – Cleo and Cassandra
The Australian Golf Foundation has given his girls an opportunity to fully immerse themselves in golf, make friends, and learn important life lessons along the way.
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“I couldn’t believe such an amazing opportunity could exist,” said Jonathan Woon upon hearing about the scholarship. “My two daughters had only recently taken up golf, so the timing was impeccable.”
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“What the program does goes beyond sport but is a measure of ensuring my girls have life skills through the game and for their journey ahead, he said.”
Bonnie Boezeman AO
Founder of the Junior Girls Scholarship Program, AGF director
“I picked up golf later in life and was frustrated to witness the decline in female/girls club participation by 46% since the mid 90’s.
My own prestigious golf club never had a junior girls program for 119 years. Knowing the power of philanthropy and 'paying it forward', I designed a structured scholarship program for 5 girls a year between the ages of 10 and 16 and offered to pay for the program for my lifetime and another 30 years in my will.
The program was so successful, the AGF launched it across Australia in 2021 and in 3 years, due to the power of generous donations, the lives of 2,000 girls will never be the same.
Golf is a 'game for life' teaching social skills, etiquette, dress codes, adherence to rules, social interaction, how to win and lose, and best of all meet friends and have fun.
Giving whilst one is still alive, to witness the joy of changing lives and transforming small towns and clubs, can make hopes and dreams come true for families and young girls who will carry this experience in their hearts forever."
Emma Peard
JGSP Program Participant
“Even if I have a bad day at school, I just love going to golf,”
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From a timid ten-year-old who knew nothing about golf, the club’s Cadet program plus the AGF Scholarship experience has catapulted Emma into a young and confident star.
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“I never thought golf would be a sport for me, but I am loving it more and more. The best thing is meeting new people.”
CLUB INFORMATION
Click here for 2024 program information
Contact scholarship@golf.org.au if you have any further inquiries regarding the Junior Girls Scholarship Program.
DONATE TO THE JUNIOR GIRLS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Every donation helps ensure that Australian golf will thrive into the future.
Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible and can be made via the Australian Sports Foundation who is our official fundraising partner and is the only deductible gift recipient for sport in Australia.