TOP women golfers are calling for an awareness campaign and facilities upgrade in a bid to reverse a decline in female players at Northcote’s public golf course.

While Victorian statistics show women make up 25 per cent of the golfing population — a number Golf Victoria aims to increase to 50 per cent — Northcote has gone backwards, with women comprising fewer than 15 per cent of members.

Angela Madden, spokeswoman for Normanby Park Golf Club, the women’s club based at the course, said membership had declined from a peak of 50 or 60 to just 13 in 2015, despite the club winning the Melbourne metropolitan A grade pennant last year.

“Players have slowly drifted off with a lot going to Bundoora because the course is flat and they don’t have to walk up hills,” she said.

“If the council funded four or five golf carts it would be really useful — people would be less likely to go elsewhere.”

Darebin acting culture leisure and works director Sally Jones said the council was working with the Northcote Golf Club operator Leisure Management Services to run programs designed to recruit new members to the Normanby Park Golf Club.

She said the decline in membership reflected a national decline.

According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, golf participation rates across he nation have fallen from 875,000 in 2005 to 732,000 in 2015.

Golf Victoria chief executive Simon Brookhouse said getting more women into the sport was a key goal.

via All hands on the clubs to improve female numbers at Northcote golf club