In establishing Birdie Links, PGA Professional Tammy Wong recognised that women were looking for a social outlet; she simply used golf as that outlet to unite them.

An enthusiastic junior golfer growing up in Sydney, Wong was invited to coach juniors at Bexley Golf Club after taking a job in the pro shop under Paul Davis.

That exposure encouraged Wong to pursue coaching as a career, starting the Membership Pathway Program under Davis before transferring in her final year to The Ridge in Sydney’s south.

Two years ago, as a mother of three, Wong established Birdie Links.

Its’ aim is to not only provide women an entry point into golf, but to build an ecosystem that goes from beginner clinics to golf tours… and everything in between.

“I wanted to make sure that there was one streamlined pathway where they could feel like I was able to hold their hand the whole way through the process,” Wong said in a recent PGA ACE webinar.

“That was really important and I think we do now have that in place.

“The ‘Hits and Sips’ class runs every three months and gives people an opportunity to come and try the game in a fun way.

“From there, they might want to join the eight-week beginner program, which I will be running three of next term. A couple of evening sessions and one during the day just to cater to two different target markets.

“Once they graduate from the beginner program, they’re then able to do the on-course bootcamp, which is more of an intermediate program to get themselves past that beginner stage.”

What is unique about Birdie Links is the monthly subscription model that combines connection and instruction.

Graduating from a WhatsApp chat group with all of our clients where Wong tried to encourage women to coordinate games together, the social club element offers as many as four opportunities to play each in a nine-hole league with monthly prizes on offer.

The next phase are golf tours, the first of which took a group of women to the Hunter Valley in April, the next a trip to Queenstown in November.

At its core, this holistic approach to building a collective of women through golf has meant that Wong’s coaching calendar has never been busier.

“Without the social club and ladies playing, I wouldn’t be anywhere near as busy as I am coaching. It’s one big system,” Wong explained.

“Since the social club has become a thing, I have found so much more retention rather than somebody coming into a program for eight weeks and then saying, ‘OK, I’ll see you again next term.’

“They’ve got beginner programs, on-course programs and from there you’ll split it up between playing in the social club with other ladies and coming back into the learning environment if you’re not happy with where your golf is at.

“They’ve always got that fallback to come back into a safe learning environment where they feel comfortable, often with other ladies that they’ve already been playing with and learning with.”

Wherever you are in your golf journey, a PGA Professional is available to help. To find your nearest PGA Professional, click here.

For more information on Birdie Links, visit birdielinks.com.au

The complete webinar with Tammy Wong can be viewed below.