The United States Golf Association (USGA) has introduced a new Competitive Fairness Gender Policy, set to take effect for the 2025 championship season. The policy, which ensures the USGA’s longstanding commitment to welcoming all gender identities and gender expressions while maintaining equity in competition, reflects several changes related to transgender athletes.
The new policy ensures competitive opportunities are provided for athletes playing in USGA women’s competitions without allowing an unfair advantage for athletes who have received the sports performance benefits of male puberty, meaning athletes must be assigned female at birth or have transitioned to female prior to going through male puberty in order to compete. Current scientific and medical research shows that sports performance differences exist between biological sexes and such differences begin to occur during the onset of puberty.
“We remain committed to providing opportunities for everyone to compete for a national title or team but have made changes to our eligibility criteria that reflects current scientific data and strives to maintain competitive integrity,” said USGA CEO Mike Whan. “Our updated policy reflects a thoughtful and thorough process during which the USGA consulted with leading medical professionals from around the world.”
More details regarding the specifics of the policy, which also includes requirements for transgender males, can be found here.
The USGA will continue to monitor data and research as it is made available regarding transgender athletes. The policy is not intended to apply to recreational, non-elite competitions or participatory events, teams or leagues, where different considerations may be taken into account when establishing such criteria.
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