Woodlands Golf Club in the Melbourne Sandbelt has hosted its fifth annual Girls Six-hole Challenge.

A group of 31 players aged between eight and 16, including 16 players who are part of the Australian Golf Foundation Junior Girls Scholarship Program, took part. The number was well up on last year’s figure of 20 players.

Two of the competitors in the novice event were playing for the first time on a golf course, having only previously played at a driving range.

Woodlands, winner of the 2023 Golf Australia Visionary of the Year award, has been a strong supporter of programs which foster engagement with women and girls in the sport.

Eighteen Woodlands members volunteered on the day, and the club had no qualms about closing the course until noon so that the event could go ahead with a shotgun start.

Sarsha Norton from Rosanna Golf Club holed-out on the shootout par-3 and ultimately won the Woodlands Girls 6 Hole Challenge for 2024 for the top four players in the earlier rounds.