Golf is a male-dominated of sports, especially at UCSB, where a menâs golf team exists but no womenâs counterpart. Gabby Hayes, a third-year Communication student, saw an opportunity to challenge precedent bias and is determined to start and cultivate a strong women’s golfing culture.
Over the summer, Gabby worked in retail with the golf brand Travis Mathew, where she noticed how the women’s section was largely forgotten. This only added to the awareness of how female golfers, including herself, are often seen as unknowing or uneducated about the sport. Her experience highlighted the lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion in golfâsomething that the sport has long struggled with. âEven Tiger Woods wasnât welcomed when he started,â Gabby notes, pointing to the slow progress toward a more inclusive golf environment.
Gabbyâs own journey with golf began “as a joke” during her senior year of high school. At a family reunion, she picked up a driver and couldnât hit the ball past 80 yards. Despite this rocky start, she found herself picking up and sticking with the sport, eventually growing both in skill and passion. She began playing regularly and realized her love for the game. âA good saying is that no one is really good at golf, and even pros make mistakes,â she says, recognizing that golf is a sport of constant growth.
Starting “Girls Just Wanna Golf” felt like the natural next step. Gabby had always envisioned starting a women’s golf club at UCSB, especially since her own path into the sport was quite recentâsheâs been playing for just three years with a Tour Edge golf club set from Dick’s Sporting Goods. The club’s focus is on inclusivity and accessibility, welcoming golfers of all experience levels. “We will all drive there together, meet at the parking lot, walk together to the range… weâre doing this united as a group, then growing individually under this safe condition,” Gabby explains. Accessibility is key to the clubâs mission, and local courses like Twin Lakes have loaner clubs available to help new players get involved.
More Than Just Golf: A Place for Growth and Connection
For Gabby, golf has become much more than just a hobby. She has always been an avid networker and believes that golf offers great opportunities to connect with others. âGolf has a strong connection to wealth, making it a valuable sport for professional networking opportunities,â she says, emphasizing how the sport allows people to meet individuals from different walks of life. She recalls an experience playing at Annieâs Glen with two guys, one of whom asked her about her favorite spot to eat in Isla Vista. Later, he mentioned something about Blenders, which confused her â until she learned he was the CEO of the company. To top it off, his son ended up being in the same fraternity at SDSU as her best friend. âThe world is so small,â she remarks, reflecting on how golf opens up unexpected connections.
The sport also encourages personal growth. Gabby believes that beyond simple small talks, the conversations you have on the golf course push you to reflect on your own life and goals. Getting paired with random twosomes has helped her develop social skills and expand her perspective on what she wants out of life. “It makes you reflect on what you wanna do in life and how you want to grow as a person,” she adds.
Building a Legacy: The Vision for âGirls Just Wanna Golfâ
Gabby has a long-term vision for the club. She hopes to grow it into something sustainable, passing the leadership on by 2026 with the goal of establishing city-wide tournaments and ensuring a lasting legacy. “Legacy means a lot in many different ways,” she says, hoping the club will thrive well into the future.
The club has already organized events such as the first club event – a driving range session – and group coaching lessons, with plans for more to come. Gabby also sees great value in interacting with older female golfers, like the Ladies Club at Twin Lakes, who golf on Tuesdays. âYou learn so much from the lives people live,â she says, emphasizing how golf can be a window into hearing valuable life stories and gaining wisdom from others.
Ultimately, Gabby hopes that each member of the club will feel comfortable enough to step onto a course by themselves one day. She hopes for a community where women support each other, build confidence, and have a great group of friends to golf with. “We may not be comfortable with the sport, but together, weâre building that confidence.”
Golf, Growth, and the Future
Gabbyâs journey as a golfer has shown her that golf is a sport that grows with you throughout your life. Her passion for inclusivity, connection, and personal development shines through her leadership of âGirls Just Wanna Golf.â Itâs more than just a golf club â itâs a movement to challenge biases, foster common interest and connections, as well as to create a space where women golfers can thrive on and off the course.