The R&A has joined the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the LPGA in announcing a policy that effectively bans transgender golfers from competing in its professional and elite amateur competitions for women.
The new fair competition policy will go into effect in 2025, requiring a golfer entering the R&A’s female professional and elite amateur championships to have been female at birth or transitioned to female before the onset of male puberty to be eligible to compete.
Players assigned male at birth and who have experienced male puberty are ineligible to compete in women’s events but can enter male and open professional and elite amateur championships conducted by the R&A.
The R&A, also known as the Royal and Ancient, is the governing body for the game of golf outside of the United States and Mexico.
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The R&A said its policy was been developed following “extensive consultation over the last year with medical and scientific experts who have reviewed the best available research on transgender participation in high performance sport. The evidence shows that golf is a gender-affected sport in which male puberty confers a performance advantage.”
“We have carefully reviewed the best available medical and scientific advice relating to participation in elite and scratch level golf competitions by transgender athletes and decided that updating our entry conditions to preserve fairness in our female professional and elite amateur championships is the right thing to do,” said Martin Slumbers, outgoing CEO of the R&A.
“While we believe that golf should be open to all and are committed to developing the sport, we recognise that we have a duty to ensure that in our elite competitions players can compete fairly and equally.”
These policies have been created largely in response to Hailey Davidson, who found some success starting on the NXXT Women’s Pro Tour, a developmental tour that can potentially offer access to the LPGA’s secondary tour, the Epson Tour. After Davidson, who began taking hormone treatments in 2015 and underwent gender reassignment surgery in January 2021, won her third event on the series against a small field in January 2024, the tour banned transgender players in March 2024. Davidson, who had complied with the LPGA’s Gender Policy to this point, then advanced out of pre-qualifying for the LPGA Q-School in August, spurring more backlash after earning Epson Tour status.
A variety of players have approached golf-sanctioning organizations for women, asking for a female-at-birth policy, largely in response to Davidson. Davidson, who initially expressed understanding at the calls for these policies, has since responded — despondent that she will not be able to continue her professional women’s golf career.
The R&A has provided guidance to its affiliated national federations as they may establish policies for their own competitions and their member golf clubs in their own individual countries, where gender recognition and transition may be subject to different approaches and cultural norms.
These new requirements do not apply at a recreational level. The R&A maintains the World Handicap System allows golfers worldwide to compete equitably regardless of age, ability, background or gender.
