• Martin Slumbers says ‘we have to change fast’ or suffer • Local clubs expected to play integral role in attracting women

Golf requires a major facelift in order to attract more women and families and shift away from the stuffy, male‑dominated image it often conjures, according to the sport’s governing body.

Martin Slumbers, the R&A chief executive, issued a call to arms as he launched the organisation’s first Women in Golf Charter, designed to increase the number of women and girls playing and working in the game.

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The Ladies European Tour, the European Golf Association, and the Professional Golfers’ Association are among the organisations to have already committed to the document, along with the governing bodies of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

The charter’s main aim is to redress the gender imbalance in the sport. It was launched just weeks after a female golfer in Wales threatened legal action against her £860-a-year club because of a “men‑only” rule on Saturday mornings. Lowri Roberts, a civil servant, complained after women were banned from prime weekend slots at Cottrell Park Golf Resort at St Nicholas, near Cardiff.

Slumbers said local clubs had an integral part to play in making the sport more welcoming to a diverse group of people. “I see that the future development of our sport depends upon achieving a change in the number of women working in all levels of golf and particularly the senior positions,” he said. “Clubs have a fundamental role to play in changing this culture. If we can change, there is a huge opportunity for golf, but we have to change and we have to change fast.

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“Creating a product that families together want to experience from clubs will be the catalyst to take golf forward for the next 50 years. If we don’t change, then we will suffer the consequences. We have to encourage everyone involved in golf to play their part in this change.”

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Golf has been plagued by rows about female membership and archaic views among some, even at the highest level. In 2016, Scottish club Muirfield voted against allowing women to join before the decision was reversed the following year in a second ballot after the R&A opted to remove the club as a host venue for the Open.