“Hot is an attitude. Golf is the lifestyle” at Hot Girl Golf, a women’s club started in Austin.
The mission, as stated on their website, is to “empower women to learn the game of golf and foster community through the love of the sport.”
Eleanor Lee, Hot Girl Golf’s founder, embarked on a new chapter two and a half years ago, leaving Los Angeles for Austin after falling in love with the city’s active and friendly nature. Her club’s journey began with a gift from her grandmother.
“My grandmother gifted me her (golf) clubs when she passed away,” Lee said. “I grew up around golf but never pursued or played it. I’m actually not good at it, so that’s the funny thing about Hot Girl Golf. It’s a golf club started by an amateur and that’s why I think it works.”
The club opens its doors to every level of experience, welcoming amateurs and professionals alike.
Lee may be a novice to the sport, but she’s a veteran in marketing. Since the club’s start, their social media posts have gained traction, drawing more people into the community and increasing the demand for events like clinics, tournaments and driving range socials, which continue to sell out within hours of their announcement.
The events invite women of all ages to meet on the course and play alongside a supportive community.
“I feel the most confident when I’m with a group of women,” Lee said. “I could be crap, but if I’m with 20 women in the same boat as me, I am not embarrassed at all. It’s the empowerment of the club, it’s supposed to shake up what people think about golf.”
Hot Girl Golf markets to women looking for new friendships or an athletic outlet. Texas Alumna Breanna Almodovar picked up her first golf club during a recent family vacation and found a new passion for the sport. A friend later recommended the club.
“I went to their next event, a driving range hangout at Morris Williams (golf course), … and had the best time of my life,” Almodovar said.
Another member, graduate student Lily Sweet King, attended its St. Patrick’s Day event with her roommate.
“The environment was very welcoming,” King said. “You don’t have to know anything about the sport to participate, but you could also have played golf your whole life like my roommate and I, and still get along fine. It’s just another great way to meet people outside of circles you may already have.”
Through the Hot Girl Golf community group chat, Lee watches as women who met through events get together outside of the club to play. She loves seeing the sport become more approachable for women.
“I think golf is changing,” Lee said. “Sports were made for everyone, so we are really passionate about not only being accessible for women who are not as good, but also for women who cannot afford an expensive sport like this.”
According to the National Golf Foundation, Women make up only 26% of all on-course golfers and 41% of off-course participants in places like TopGolf, which offers a more comfortable, beginner-friendly setting. The National Golf Foundation observed in 2023, since the pandemic, the female golfer pool increased by 15% compared to the 2% increase in male golfers. As more and more women get involved with the sport, their presence grows on the courses with clubs like Hot Girl Golf.
“It’s really fun to listen to the men show up and be wildly confused as to what’s going on, and why there’s just women here,” Almodovar said. “I heard them say, I don’t know what’s happening, but I think I like it.”
