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26 September 2026 · 7 min read

Golf for women in Switzerland: the numbers, the clubs and where starting is easy

35,762 women hold a Swiss Golf Card. What the statistics show, what the tour numbers mean for club choice, and why the label on the shaft rarely fits.

Golf for women in Switzerland: the numbers, the clubs and where starting is easy — post image

A third of Swiss golfers are women, and when it comes to equipment they are advised by a label rather than by a number. Here are both: the federation's statistics, the tour figures from which club choice can be derived, and the routes on which starting actually works in Switzerland.

The federation's numbers

End of 2025WomenTotalShare
Adults35,762101,66035 per cent
of them in clubs20,92556,13637 per cent
of them without a club14,83745,52433 per cent
Junior girls2,1776,88332 per cent

The figures come from Swiss Golf's 2025 annual report. What is striking is how even they are: the share of women sits between 32 and 37 per cent in all four rows. That makes golf one of the most balanced participation sports in Switzerland, from junior age through to club membership.

The number that decides the equipment

Not gender but club speed. TrackMan names a driver figure of 79 mph for a female golfer off 15, 94 mph for the average golfer off 14.5, 96 mph for the LPGA Tour and 115 mph for the PGA Tour (TrackMan).

The common classification of shafts runs: below 72 mph ladies, 72 to 83 senior, 84 to 96 regular (golf.com). A player at 79 mph therefore sits in the senior range and not the ladies range, and an LPGA player at 96 mph plays the same flex as a good male amateur. The label on a shaft describes a speed, not a target group.

What else the tour numbers reveal

Two values are useful for any player. The driver's launch angle on the LPGA Tour is 12.6 degrees against 10.4 on the PGA Tour (TrackMan): less speed needs more loft to produce carry. And the attack angle on the LPGA Tour is plus 2.8 degrees against minus 0.9 on the PGA Tour (TrackMan).

In plain terms: the best players in the world hit up on the driver and launch it higher, although they swing slower than the men. That is not a workaround but the most efficient way to hit it far at 96 mph, and it works exactly the same at 79.

The clubs, practically

  • Shaft by measured speed, not by the label. Ten drives in a bay are enough to know your own number.
  • More loft on the driver, 12 degrees and up if you swing below 90 mph.
  • Hybrids instead of long irons. A 4-iron needs speed that hardly anybody at 80 mph produces; a hybrid of the same loft flies higher and further.
  • Length and grip size by your own build. A standard men's set is too long for most women, and a ladies set is often too short for tall ones.

That is exactly what a fitting is for, and it pays off sooner than many think: with the driver, the combination of launch angle and spin decides the carry. What gets measured is in Golf fitting in Switzerland.

The course permit

Swiss Golf's regulation differs in exactly one place: on the tee shots, three of six balls have to carry over 80 metres for men and over 70 metres for women (Swiss Golf). Everything else is identical: 40 theory questions with 28 right, long game over 60 metres, pitching into a 6-metre circle, chipping into a 4-metre circle, bunker, and nine putts in 21 strokes at most.

Seventy metres of carry is within reach after a few lessons, and four of the six disciplines can be measured beforehand in a bay. How to do that is in The Swiss course permit.

Where starting is easy

Three routes work well in Switzerland. The taster course at a club, often in a group and frequently with other beginners. An hour at an indoor venue with a pro, where nobody watches except the people you bring. And the driving range, where you hit balls at your own pace.

What makes the simulator comfortable for many people is exactly that: no audience, no queue behind a tee, no weather, and a number after every ball instead of an opinion. 81 of the 110 indoor venues offer coaching; which ones are near you is on the training page.

What it costs

The same as for everybody. The licence through the Migros GolfCard is CHF 300 a year and free under 18, and a bay is a median CHF 50 for up to four people. A difference exists only where clubs run their own tariffs, and that depends on the club's model, not on gender.

What golf otherwise costs a month is in What does golf cost a month, and which licence pays off is in ASGI, Migros GolfCard or a club.

What ladies clubs mean in grams

Behind the sticker there are weights. In the stock selection of a current driver the softest and lightest shafts weigh 38 to 49 grams, the stiffest 66 (PING). In irons the range runs from 38 grams of graphite to 124 grams of steel (PING).

A ladies club is therefore a light shaft with a soft flex, more loft and a lighter head, and none of that depends on gender. Anyone swinging at 95 mph does not belong in those shafts, and a man at 78 mph does.

Tees are the biggest lever

Every set of tees has its own Course and Slope Rating, and a Course Handicap of its own comes out of that. Swiss Golf works the example through: off index 15 you get 15 strokes from blue, 18 from yellow and 20 from white, and your target rises from 87 to 92 (Swiss Golf).

Playing from the right tees is therefore not a concession but the precondition for a par 4 staying reachable in two. Playing the back tees at 79 mph means playing a different game from the rest of the flight.

The ball that suits your speed

A firm ball is not compressed enough at lower speed, launches flatter and takes less spin. A softer two or three-piece ball solves that, and it costs less than the premium ball: CHF 29.90 against CHF 64.90 a dozen at a Swiss shop.

It is the cheapest adjustment of all, and it is measurable in twenty shots in a bay. What the test looks like is in Which golf ball suits you.

More on this: Which tees should I play?.

The sentence that helps most

Measure before you buy. Most wrong purchases in women's golf come from advice by category rather than by number: a shaft too soft for a fast swing, a set too short for a tall player, a driver with too little loft for 80 mph.

An hour in a bay with a launch monitor delivers the three numbers needed for that: club speed, launch angle and carry. After that any advice is a conversation about data instead of categories.

Frequently asked questions

How many women play golf in Switzerland?

35,762 women hold a Swiss Golf Card, 35 per cent of the 101,660 adult card holders. In clubs the share is 37 per cent, at the clubless organisations 33, and among junior girls 32.

Which shaft should women play?

The one that matches measured club speed. TrackMan names 79 mph for a female golfer off 15, which in the common classification is the senior range of 72 to 83 mph, not the ladies range below 72. The label describes a speed, not a target group.

What do the LPGA numbers say about the driver?

That more loft and an upward strike carry further at lower speed. The LPGA Tour launches the driver at 12.6 degrees with an attack angle of plus 2.8, the PGA Tour at 10.4 degrees and minus 0.9. That is as true at 79 mph as at 96.

Is the course permit different for women?

In one point only: on the tee shots three of six balls have to carry 70 metres instead of 80. Theory, long game, pitching, chipping, bunker and putting are identical.

Where is the best place for a woman to start?

In a group taster course, at an indoor venue with a pro, or on the driving range. Many find the bay the most comfortable start, because nobody watches, nobody waits, and after every ball there is a number on the screen instead of an opinion.

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