Driving Women’s Golf Forward

St Andrews-founded society opens its season at Gleneagles

On 18 October, 28 women from eight Scottish universities teed off at Gleneagles’ PGA Centenary Course. With perfect sunshine and minimal wind, the players enjoyed un-Scottish conditions on the course that hosted the 2014 Ryder Cup and 2019 Solheim Cup.

The occasion was the season opener for the Scottish Women’s University Golf Society (SWUGS), a student-led group founded in 2024 by former St Andrews student Joelle Millar. “It was honestly an amazing day,” said Clara Goldstein, SWUGS Vice President and Events Officer, who had begun planning the event months in advance.

Players from Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian, Robert Gordon, St Andrews, and Stirling were split into groups of four, each with a mix of universities.The scoring format was Stableford, which allocates points per hole based on players’ scores relative to par, taking handicaps into account. Handicaps at the event ranged from +1 to 30. Points from each event count towards the season standings.

What sets SWUGS apart from other university golf competitions is its primary focus on welcoming female players of all levels. University golf through British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is competitive and mixed, though Goldstein estimates about 90% of BUCS players are men. SWUGS is for women only and intended to be both competitive and friendly. Goldstein summed up the society as providing “networking, connection, and empowerment.” The society gives golfers who may not yet be BUCS-ready the chance to meet players from other universities in a competition setting.

The society’s growth over the last year owes a great deal to Millar, now a Bobby Jones Scholar in the United States. As both founder of the society and women’s Vice-Captain of the University of St Andrews Golf Club, she organised events,  approached university teams, and built a player network. She still leads the society from the US, while Goldstein organises events and serves as Vice-President alongside Mili Greener of the University of Edinburgh. Following two successful events last year, at Gleneagles and St Andrews, the society’s online presence has grown. The society now has its own website, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Goldstein said the event “couldn’t have happened” without support from the University of St Andrews, which paid for half of the tee times, while Gleneagles also offered a generous rate.

The society also attracted its first technology partner, PinVision, which provided live tracking for the competition. A friend of Goldstein’s who works for the company was keen to get involved, and Goldstein hopes the partnership could eventually lead to a prize for the top three players at the society’s finals day next year.

More events are planned for this season, with hopes for more matches at other courses across Scotland. The society also has off-course events, including talks and webinars. At last year’s finals day in St Andrews, it hosted a discussion panel titled “Women in Golf in St Andrews,” which featured a variety of key voices from the women’s game in our town. This season’s finals day will be hosted in St Andrews in April 2027.

For St Andrews, this is something to be proud of. Students here founded and run a society that connects and empowers women from across Scottish universities, allowing them to represent their university and experience competitive golf. When talking with Vice-President Clara Goldstein, I could sense the pride in the society’s fantastic work. “I love doing it,” she concluded.

Photo Credit: Clara Goldstein