Women’s Golf Day founder Elisa Gaudet continues her mission to provide opportunity and community through golf

Women’s Golf Day – the global initiative designed to engage, empower and support women and girls through golf – is celebrating its eighth anniversary this year, and Tuesday marks the culmination of the week-long celebration with more than 450 events around the world.

Founded in 2016 by Elisa Gaudet, president of strategic consulting and marketing firm Executive Golf International, WGD is a one-day, four-hour event with iterations held nationwide and globally that serves as the perfect introduction to women and girls looking to learn the game as well as build community.

“You don’t have to be a great golfer or a golfer at all — you can just show up,” Gaudet recently told On Her Turf. “You can look on social media and see people all around the world wearing red and white, joining together …on the same day, or the same week, doing the same thing and it literally gives you goosebumps.”

Gaudet noted the event is inclusive of all ages and abilities, and also is intended to transcend race, religion, language, geography or economic status. What’s more, she said she hopes her efforts will enlighten more potential sponsors and members of the golf industry to recognize the potential to not only bring more women to the game, but also keep them engaged in the sport.

“At the end of the day, it’s economics, and I’m hoping that businesses see that women have a lot of economic power,” she noted. “And, you know, we don’t need handouts. We just need opportunity. And that’s one of our main things with Women’s Golf Day: opportunity. Unity and opportunity.”

To that end, Gaudet joined with industry representatives from Acushnet, Titleist and FootJoy, plus LPGA player Danielle Kang and Olympian Leslie Maxie to ring the opening bell at the New