Opening Doors on the Course: Victoria Evans and R&H Golf Group
To mark International Women’s Day and this year’s theme, Give to Gain, The LPF is spotlighting women across our membership who are not only leading in their own disciplines, but are also building wider communities that actively support and champion other women in the industry.
First in the series is Victoria Evans, Founder of The R&H Golf Group. With more than 20 years in the property industry, Victoria has created a private members golf society designed to help women in luxury property access the sport, build confidence on the course, and unlock the relationship building opportunities that come with it. LPF Founder, Priya Rawal sat down with Victoria to hear the story behind The R&H Golf Group, what inspired her to start it, and how she is using community, coaching and connection to help women thrive.
Hi Victoria, for anyone who does not know you yet, I would love you to set the scene. What has your career looked like and what do you spend your time on day to day?
Hello everyone, I’m Victoria Evans- I’ve worked in the Property Industry for over 20 years as a Quantity Surveyor, Client Side PM and until recently, Prime Residential Contractor.
Now, as Founder of the R&H Golf Group, I see my role as providing women within the luxury property sector with access to a sport that is the ultimate leveller, frustrating as hell, but can provide a welcome relief from the office and is the ultimate tool for networking & business and brings with it vast improvements to professional & personal lives.
What inspired you to start R&H Golf Group?
The lack of women taking part in corporate golf days, the positive feedback from the women in my network that came to my original coaching events and my overwhelming need to stay connected to my network as I left my previous role to focus on my family for a time.
As someone who plays regularly myself, for work and with my family, I have experienced firsthand how a day spent on the course with clients, colleagues, friends and family can help build deeper relationships, overcome issues in a non-confrontational environment, test every emotion but also get some much-needed time outside and away from a screen!
Further, for a game that’s literally designed for equality, with different tees, handicaps and flexible formats – I couldn’t help but wonder why was I only the one of two- or three-women attending industry golf days?
I found that it was not a lack of interest that was the problem, rather the lack of time and confidence. In a world where careers, partners, children, families all take priority golf does not. I recognise this is the case for both men and women, however the men seemed to have been more successful in carving time out of the working week to play!
Since starting R&H, I’ve listened and learnt the needs of the women that form part of our group and evolved the offering into what I hope gives them great experiences and builds their confidence to play.
What is it about golf that makes it so powerful for confidence, connection and business, especially in our world?
Well, firstly, Golf is the only sport I can play and luckily Golf is widely recognized as the sport of business – few sports rival the golf course for networking where you can spend 4/5 hours with clients and colleagues.
I would also argue that the game of golf helps support a healthy mind- there are a lot of skills that are transferable and no better DOSE effect than time spent outside, as a part of a community mastering a lifetime skill.
Specifically, the work we do at the R&H Golf Group, providing women’s only coaching has created a different dynamic too- it’s a safe and secure environment for us to learn, make mistakes and grow. I was not surprised to learn that, generally, women prefer to learn golf with other women.
Our community now contains circa 12 women who play 9 or 18 holes, and they have now found the confidence to participate in industry days, turning up as a group, not being the only person at the red tees helping take the edge off that first tee shot! I’m excited to help develop more women to the point where they are confident to participate too.
Golf has so many transferable skills and can help benefit all aspects of our lives that we strive to achieve success, striking the balance between family, friends, career and self.
I would love to hear the moments that have made you stop and think, this is exactly why I started.
That is a seriously hard question to answer, because I take great joy from all time spent opening the world of golf as I know it to others, hearing how each person has a different story about how time spent with R&H community has helped them.
If pushed, I would say stand- out moments have been, celebrating our 1st anniversary last year and receiving a wonderful gift of personalised head covers from the ladies. I love them and smile every time I play.
Playing 18 holes with Poppy Peace earlier this year at Leatherhead, where House of Red Interiors are sponsoring a hole and hearing how she is looking forward to entertaining clients on the course this year and credits R&H with giving her the confidence to get back into golf after 15 years.
Receiving a message from Nicole Witney of SHH Architecture with a graphic showing how much her shot accuracy has improved post the R&H Academy & that her time with R&H has been transformative!
How, when Sarah Fox of Fox Interiors drives through the gates of St Georges Hill, she breathes and immediately feels as though she is in another World. Only to return to her business later, rejuvenated.
Attending two separate property corporate golf days last year, with 8 other women from our community. A joyous moment when you see all the energy you put into something you are passionate about delivering tangible results.
The IWD theme this year is Give To Gain. What does that mean to you personally?
I think this describes great leadership. For me personally, I get huge joy from showing all those in my life, Love and attention. At R&H, our events are designed with love, and I endeavour to make sure everyone feels welcome, included and appreciated.
In a world where there are so many pulls on our time, I take pride in creating quality time and that people feel important and know how much I value them entrusting me with their time.
So, I give love and create time so that others may gain space to reflect, learn and grow with other like-minded women.
We have a great mix of Founders, Technical Directors, aspiring leaders and business development disciplines as a part of our group. Some are in control over their time and expenditure; others are reliant upon support from their colleagues. Be it golf or other sport, I believe organisations will only reap positive rewards from investing in their workforce’s wellbeing.
What have you learned about women, confidence and connection through building this community?
Women have a great depth, they are often juggling many different tasks, thoughts- life is one big balancing act. How we feel matters and we invest in relationships for the long term. We tend to speak from the heart, place value in our gut and draw great strength from a trusted community.
In the early stages of R&H I came across a quote “Surrounding yourself with the right circle of women is life’s biggest upgrade” At the time, this is exactly what I needed to hear and now how I feel about the R&H community.
I’ve love hearing how the women in the group have formed friendships, unlocked opportunities and found the confidence to embrace change through the support network we have created.
Has there been a moment through R&H Golf Group that has particularly stayed with you?
Sitting on the terrace of St Georges Hill Golf Club enjoying an amazing lunch, overlooking the course with nothing but a perfectly manicured golf course in sight, when a member of another society appears with a bottle of champagne for our table because they had scored a hole in one!
Not only did the ladies learn that there was such a quirky tradition in golf, but they also went away thinking how wonderful golf is!!
Learning the language of golf, the rules, traditions but also how it feels to be a member is something the R&H ladies really benefit from. Without knowing it, through spending time at St Georges Hill Golf Club and others they are learning something new all the time- hopefully this will mean they can step with confidence into their local clubs and driving ranges to progress their game in their own time and with friends & family.
To this day, I still could not help but feel sorry for the guy who had picked one of the busiest days of the year up there to land a hole-in one!
What do you hope The R&H Golf Group continues to open up for women in the years ahead?
Confidence, growth, community are at the forefront of my mind for this year. I want to continue to build momentum for those that are now playing on the course, and to continue to grow the community organically so that it stays fresh without losing its current feel.
Golf is becoming sexy, the uptake for young women shown as registering scores is fantastic but it’s clear that women don’t “buy golf”, they aspire to a lifestyle.
My goal is for any professional women wanting to explore golf, but don’t know where to start to be directed to the R&H Golf Group. When they reach out, I want them to feel as though they have access to all the tools they need to be successful and for those that are more experienced – have an outlet to fully maximise the potential of their skill in business.
It is such a wonderful initiative.. How can the companies get involved and support?
Firstly, I want to thank companies that have supported women to attend the academy, coaching sessions and events to date. You have been approached by ladies who were seeking to do something different, to learn a new skill and build their network and you said yes, go take the time and we’ll cover the cost. I know this means a great deal and trust me; it does not go unnoticed!
If one of your colleagues approaches you to join, then please consider it seriously and support them if you can. We are seeing tangible results – what we have created at R&H is powerful!
I also want to thank companies who have sponsored our events and given us access to the corporate golf memberships, Castellum, ATI and Sola Kitchens must get a special mention here! I would love for more companies to support our events in 2026, please do reach out.
Lastly, the golfers in our community are always grateful to receive an invitation to play – so please do reach out if you have any unused corporate 4 balls or spots at your golf day.
We would really encourage companies to support. And finally Victoria, what’s the best advice you have ever been given?
It was a conversation during a round of golf a couple of years ago, where we were talking about the challenges of raising a family and career, fitting it all in and how sometimes it feels as though life becomes overwhelming and despite your best efforts – you don’t feel as though you are doing anything well.
The lady I was with made a casual remark – there is not one woman on the planet that has the time to do everything. Something always must give, and you must decide what that looks like.
That was a life changing moment for me, because I realized that I needed to take control of my life and make changes.
I’ve always been goal-orientated, but with raising two young children, I had fallen out of the habit of setting goals. So, I created a visual mood board split into 3 life areas - my family & friends, my career and for myself. This was surprisingly hard to do, but incredibly empowering, because I then knew what good looked like for me. Since then, I have been able to adapt to focus on areas at different times, when I felt it was needed.
The funny thing is, golf was on my “self” board, many of the people I’ve worked with and consider friends, and life friends are now part of the R&H golf group, my husband and my children enjoy helping with R&H and its now my career – so I seemed to have stumbled across the holy grail – something that combines all three!
get in touch
We are working to actively dismantle the barriers that have traditionally kept working women from full embracing the game of golf and realising the potential for professional networking and personal growth.
Email Victoria Evans at victoria@rhgolfgroup.com