Atlantic Beach shows how ‘Women in Golf Charter’ signing changes the game in SA

March 2026 – Signing the ‘Women in Golf Charter’ has convinced one of the earliest signatories in South Africa that there are golf clubs who would benefit from signing it without even thinking twice.

Atlantic Beach Estate & Golf Links Chief Executive Officer Francois Swart signed the charter pledge on behalf of Atlantic Beach Links Club in October 2025, and he’s seen enough to believe that meeting the commitments to the charter can be a game-changer for clubs in South Africa.

“I would recommend all clubs should sign it without even thinking twice, especially those who haven’t quite got an equal membership yet,” said Swart.

“The fact that there’s still disparity between men and women in the industry at some clubs is unfortunate. It’s massively important to change that. And with clubs having become family-orientated environments, when you have those levels of disparity, it just doesn’t send the right message. Or positively impact society.”

Atlantic Beach Links Club provides an offering that includes multiple sporting, recreational and lifestyle offerings. In the golf space, Atlantic Beach has seen the benefits of signing the Women in Golf Charter illustrated in very concrete terms: “The club is very strong and very good in that respect,” said Swart.

“Some years ago, we launched our Junior Participation & Inclusion Plan which laid the groundwork for growing girls’ participation across not only golf, but all our sporting codes. Alongside this we established our Atlantic Beach Grow Golf Academy in 2023 which has created a pathway from the youngest players to the elites.

“We’ve got some incredibly talented young lady golfers, and they dominated at the Western Province Golf Awards last year.”

Zayaan Hendricks, who is also a member of the GolfRSA National Squad, is a glowing example. She won our Women’s Club Championship last year and went on to receive four awards at the WP Awards, including winning the WP Premier Amateur Tour (Women’s) Order of Merit.

“We have seen these girls grow here through our Grow Golf Academy programme where we support them through our structures, which include mentorship, membership fees, coaching, practice facilities and golf rounds. The fact that they are achieving what they’re achieving both provincially and nationally is phenomenal.”

Those achievements are set out in the objectives of the charter, and the golf-specific ones are: ‘To encourage more women and girls to participate in golf; to support retention and progression of women in golf: and to host or support women’s and girls’ golf events.’

The objectives are, in fact, supported by other objectives concerning the whole club environment. They include: ‘Create an inclusive environment that values diversity; increase the representation of women in leadership roles; promote positive role models for women and girls in golf; develop and implement female-friendly policies and practices; review and improve gender balance across all operations, and encourage inclusive membership structures and pricing.’

“I think the whole inclusivity scenario in a club environment is vital,” said Swart. “At Atlantic Beach in particular, if you look at our set-up, we’re not a general golf club per se. We’re an estate, so we have a lot more active women here than I think most golf clubs have, and across different sporting codes. With a membership structure from inception that is equal.

“I also have a very good balance in terms of men and women in my management team, and we have some young women in our team that have massive potential. I think the Women in Golf Charter just gave them that little edge also to take it on.”

“The R&A Women in Golf Leadership Foundation Programme last year was an amazing opportunity. Our participants had people like Desiree Stone and Liesel Clause as mentors (coaches). You couldn’t have paired people up with better industry mentors.”

Out of that, one of our ‘Charter Champions’, Mariska Nortje is surging ahead on a fast track to a higher management level. “Mariska is currently pursuing a Business Management Institute programme through the Club Management Association of Southern Africa (CMASA) to get her Certified Club Management designation,” said Swart.

As stated in the list of Women in Golf Charter commitments Atlantic Beach signed, “This is not a once-off campaign, it is a sustained and measurable commitment to gender balance, visibility, and long-term leadership growth at every level of Atlantic Beach.”

Having their first female Certified Club Manager, of course, could lead to the unintended consequence of someone taking advantage of the high-level qualification and moving on to another club. “If it’s for all the right reasons and it’s triggered that career opportunity, then I’m absolutely fine about it. I think that’s what it’s all about, at the end of the day, to empower the staff and to give them career opportunities,” said Swart.

In line with other commitments in the Women in Golf Charter “We already have equal representation structurally, with the Links Committee made up of three men and three women, and the appointment of a highly capable female Board member in 2024 has added strong strategic perspective at governance level.” said Swart.

“Female participation currently stands at approximately 33 percent, and as we continue to evolve into a broader multi-sport lifestyle club, including golf, padel, tennis, pickleball, running, fitness, and wellness, we have set a clear target to move toward 40 percent female membership within the next few years, with a long-term goal of reaching 50 percent balanced representation across all participation areas.”

While there may be more than a hint of the charter being ‘easy’ for Atlantic Beach to sign because it’s a ‘progressive’ organisation in that respect, signing it has changed the attitude of so many. “I’ve seen a significant difference on the ground since we signed,” said Swart.

“By this I mean, the staff have taken it on board, and it has been an incredible motivation. There is a deep sense of ownership, and they have run with it, which is great.”

Signing the Charter frees up those in management who have the vision to champion the Charter. “I think the biggest thing about signing the charter is that it’s an official mandate,” said Swart. “And it also means that our Board, Committee and members are behind us in it.

“We’ve actively been sharing all the good news stories and all the information about the Charter. We’ve had overwhelmingly positive support from everybody, residents and members alike. So, I think it’s about recognising the Charter for what it’s really about, its objectives and that taking the steps that have a tremendous amount of value going forward.”