Impact In Action

• 9,179 young players engaged across 738 clubs
  
  
• 88% of players want to keep playing golf after the programme

• 25% female participation – nearly double the national average for golf club members

• 43% increase in affiliated junior memberships at participating clubs

In the UK, fewer than half of children are getting the recommended 60 minutes of daily activity. Even more worrying: over a quarter of children do less than 30 minutes a day. Long-term, this increases risks of poor physical and mental health, loneliness, and social disengagement.

• Only 47.8% of children meet the recommended 60 minutes of daily activity (Sport England, 2024)
  
• Only 11% of girls and 16% of boys aged 15 meet WHO’s daily activity recommendations (The Times)

GolfSixes League tackles this head-on. The format is simple: fast, team-based golf with no waiting around. Kids walk the course, swing, putt, laugh, and compete—all while building fundamental movement skills and confidence.

This isn’t just golf. It’s a powerful public health tool disguised as a game.

“My son used to dread PE but now asks when the next GolfSixes League match is. He’s active, happy, and even made new friends”

One of the central focuses at the Golf Foundation is making our programmes as inclusive as possible as we seek to grow the game. Across the UK:

• Only 14% of golf club members are female
  
• Golf remains less diverse than most mainstream sports
  
• Girls and children from ethnically diverse backgrounds are underrepresented in organised sport

GolfSixes League is challenging the norm.

 in 2024, GolfSixes League delivered a statement of intent: 25% of participants were girls—nearly double the UK golf average.

Girls, children from lower-income areas, and those from ethnically diverse backgrounds are traditionally underrepresented in golf. But GolfSixes has flipped the script. With its colourful flags, short format, and welcoming team feel, it lowers the barriers that often keep young people away from the sport.

“We’re seeing kids come in who never thought golf was for them. The format gives them freedom to learn, play, and belong”

Retention is the true measure of any youth sport programme – and we know that GolfSixes League delivers. An incredible 88% of participants said they wanted to keep playing after the league ended. That means thousands of potential future members, competitors, and community golfers.

At a time when many clubs worry about falling junior numbers, GolfSixes is turning the tide:

• 35% increase in affiliated junior memberships at GolfSixes clubs across the last two years
  
• A generation being coached not just in technique, but in love for the game
  
• Coaches, parents, and volunteers re-energised by the energy of young players

“When they put on the team bib and walk to the first tee with their partner, you see the spark. That’s the future of golf right there”

This is not a taster session. This is the start of something bigger.

When the Suffolk Golf Union (SGU) announced their 2025 under 16 squad, a clear pattern quickly emerged – half of the 14 players had started their golf journey in the Golf Foundation’s GolfSixes League programme.

The SGU has worked with the Golf Foundation to develop a ‘Pathway for Junior Golfers in Suffolk’ which starts with GolfSixes League and progresses through the new GolfNines initiative, onto three Junior Development Hubs and then to the age group squads.

Click here to read their story.

“To know they started their journey with GolfSixes League and are now playing county golf shows we are doing something right.”