Fraser Marriott, Head of Golf at Lightspeed Commerce, provides an exclusive in-depth interview about Women’s Golf with Aboo Tayub, Founder of Golf Business technology.
On the data and the opportunity
1.Lightspeed’s data shows 46% of women play fewer than 10 rounds per year versus roughly 40% of men. What stood out most to you when this gap first emerged in the numbers?
Honestly, the gap itself was not the surprising part. What stood out was everything sitting around it. Women are playing more than they were two years ago, and the main reason they give for playing is social connection with friends and family.
That is what makes this interesting. The interest is there and participation is growing. But frequency still trails men by a pretty meaningful margin. When those things show up together, it tells me this is less about motivation and more about the experience.
So for operators, the better question is not, “Why aren’t women interested in golf?” It is, “Where is the current golf experience still not lining up with what they’re looking for?”
2. Women scored significantly higher than men on statements linking golf to social connection. How should operators interpret that finding in practical terms?
What our data shows is that for a lot of women, the value of the visit is not just the round. It is the whole experience around it.
Operators need to think about the whole experience, from the time together on the cart, to the lunch or drink afterwards on the patio. The whole course experience should reflect a place you want to spend time, not just move through.
So practically speaking, this is not only a golf operations question. It is an experience question. The operators who think about the full visit, not just the scorecard, are going to do a much better job winning repeat play from this audience.
3. You’ve framed women as possibly the fastest-growing yet most untapped cohort in golf. What’s driving that gap between potential and participation?
A lot of golf has historically been built around a pretty specific player: highly competitive, high-frequency, comfortable with a four- or five-hour time commitment, and motivated mainly by performance or a love of the game.
That model still absolutely works for a big part of the market, and it should. The issue is that it became the default for almost everything, from programming to merchandising to marketing.
So if you are coming to golf for something a little more social, a little more flexible, or a little less intimidating, a lot of the experience can still feel like it was designed with someone else in mind. That is where the gap comes from.
On formats and course design
4. You suggest traditional competitive formats and rigid 18-hole structures unintentionally limit repeat participation for socially motivated players. What does a more flexible alternative actually look like on the ground?
Usually, it looks pretty simple. A nine-hole twilight option that is easy to book. A beginner clinic built as much around confidence and fun as it is around technique. A social league where the goal is to show up, enjoy yourself, and come back next week.
The big thing is that none of this requires a major course redesign or a big capital investment. Most courses already have the infrastructure.
What really has to change is the mindset. Operators do not need to reinvent the property. They just need to create more ways for people to say yes to golf.
5. For an operator who can’t redesign their course, what are the lowest-effort changes that would make the biggest difference for socially motivated golfers?
The fastest wins are around time and flexibility. Evening tee times and nine-hole options matter because they immediately make golf feel more doable. A two-hour weekday commitment is just a lot easier to say yes to than a full Saturday morning round.
After that, I would look at the post-round environment. If the patio, lounge, or bar area feels like somewhere people actually want to stay, they will stay. And when that happens, the value of the visit changes.
Then there is the communication piece. If your website, social content, signage, and marketing all feel like they were built for one type of golfer, people notice that right away. Representation and tone are small changes, but they can have a big impact.
6. How do you balance serving high-frequency competitive golfers, who tend to be male, while opening up the experience for players with different motivations?
In my view, those things can coexist pretty naturally. A nine-hole twilight slot on a Tuesday is not taking anything away from the Saturday morning golfer. A post-round social event is often using space and time that would otherwise go underused.
So I think the tension here gets overstated. This is not really about replacing one golfer with another. It is about giving more people more reasons to engage with the property.
And when operators do that well, they usually expand the overall opportunity rather than just reshuffle the same one.
On the post-round experience
7. Women are 39% more likely than men to stay over an hour after their round, most often at the bar. How big is the untapped food and beverage opportunity here?
It is a real opportunity. The key point for me is that the behavior is already there, even without a lot of courses intentionally designing for it.
If women are already more likely to stay, and even more likely to stay when there is a strong patio, an event, or a social format built around the round, then operators are not trying to manufacture demand. They are responding to demand that already exists.
That is what makes it compelling. A better post-round experience can drive more food and beverage revenue, more time on property, and a more valuable overall visit which leads to a higher demand for return customers.
8. What are operators currently getting wrong about the post-round experience for these players?
The biggest mistake is treating it like a side note. A lot of courses put real thought into the round itself and then leave everything after it to chance.
For socially motivated golfers, that does not really work. The post-round time is not separate from the experience. It is part of the experience. If you want stronger repeat behavior from this audience, that part of the visit has to be designed with intention too.
On the business case
9. You mention that moving women from sub-10 rounds to 15–20 per year could create compounding returns. Can you break down where those returns actually accumulate, across tee times, F&B, retail and membership?
Tee time revenue is the most obvious place to start. If someone goes from eight rounds a year to sixteen, that is a direct lift right away.
From there, it starts to build. More visits usually mean more food and beverage occasions, more time on property, and more chances to engage with the clubhouse beyond the round. The same goes for retail. If someone is coming to the course more often, there are simply more opportunities to browse and buy.
Then you get to membership. A golfer moving from occasional play to regular play is exactly the kind of person who starts to look a lot more like a membership candidate.
That is why frequency matters so much. One change in behavior can improve several revenue lines at once.
10. Your view is that operators don’t need to rebuild around women golfers, just add “a layer of intentional design.” What does that layer consist of?
To me, it comes down to three things.
Programming: offering formats that better match how this audience wants to play, whether that is nine holes, twilight rounds, social leagues, or beginner-friendly events.
Communication: using messaging that speaks to connection, flexibility, and enjoyment instead of assuming every golfer is showing up for the same reason.
Environment: creating a post-round space that actually invites people to stay, along with a clubhouse and retail experience that feels relevant to the audience you want to grow.
None of that requires a full rebuild. It just requires being more intentional about who the experience is for and how the full visit feels.
On timing and the industry shift
11. With Women’s Golf Month approaching, what’s one thing you’d want every operator to try this season?
I would host one intentionally programmed post-round social event and really watch what happens. This can be done at any point in the season, and acts as a test case for operators.
It does not need to be complicated. It could be a casual league kickoff, a themed evening, or just a simple post-round gathering with a drink included. The point is to give people a reason to stay and connect.
Then look at the response. Who came? How long did they stay? What did they spend? Did they come back? That is usually where operators start to see the opportunity in a much more tangible way.
12. As the industry moves toward more social, experience-driven models, where do you see this trend in five years, and which operators are best positioned to benefit?
The operators who will benefit most are the ones making practical changes now and not treating this like a one-month initiative.
The direction of travel feels pretty clear. Golf is becoming more flexible, more social, and more experience-driven for a growing share of players. That does not mean the traditional side of the game disappears. It just means the market keeps getting broader.
Five years from now, the courses that will be in the strongest position are the ones that recognized that early and built for it: more flexible formats, better on-property experiences, and a clearer understanding that connection and convenience are not extras. For a growing group of golfers, they are a big part of why they come back.