LPGA and USGA change gender policy, ban transgender golfers "who have gone through male puberty"

The LPGA and the United States Golf Association (USGA) separately announced on Wednesday, December 4, that they have changed their gender eligibility policies. The press release was posted on their official websites and states that the changes will be effective January 1, 2025.

As per these changes, LPGA-sanctioned events will be open to players whose sex at birth was female. Players whose sex at birth was male, but who "did not experience any part of male puberty beyond Tanner Stage 2 or after the age of 12" will also be allowed, according to the LPGA's official website.

Players whose sex at birth was male and who meet the above condition must also maintain their testosterone level below a minimum threshold (2.5 nmol/L). This must be maintained at all times, not just during competitive periods.

The LPGA said it was assisted in developing these changes by experts in medicine, science, sport physiology, golf performance, and gender policy law. According to the press release, the experts agreed that the effects of male puberty provide a competitive advantage in golf performance.

The changes set forth in the LPGA Gender Policy for Competition Eligibility will apply to all major tours worldwide, namely the LPGA Tour, the Ladies European Tour, the feeder circuits of both, the qualifying series, the LPGA Professionals Division Championship, and other events as determined on a case-by-case basis.

The official communication on LPGA's website clearly announced further that "players assigned male at birth and who have gone through male puberty are not eligible to compete in the aforementioned events".

The LPGA policy also includes a section for players whose sex at birth was female and who use "methods associated with any reassignment treatment." These players must demonstrate to a panel of experts that the use of such methods does not result in improvements related to their golf performance.

The previous Gender Policy for Competition Eligibility, which remains in effect through the end of 2024, states that a player whose sex at birth was male may be eligible to play in LPGA-sanctioned events if she has undergone reassignment surgery and has been on hormone therapy for at least one year prior to the surgery.

USGA endorses LPGA and changes its own gender policy

USGA president Fred Perpall during a press conference for the U.S. Open golf tournament - Source: Imagn

The USGA used the same principles as the LPGA to change and implement a "Competitive Fairness Gender Policy", effective from 2025. The governing body of American golf stated that players whose sex at birth was male must have transitioned to female before going through male puberty.

In the case of the USGA, the changes regarding female players are effective for the following tournaments

• U.S. Women’s Open
• U.S. Senior Women’s Open
• U.S. Women’s Amateur
• U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur
• U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur
• U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball
• U.S. Girls’ Junior
• Women’s division of the U.S. Adaptive Open
• Curtis Cup Team
• The women’s and girls’ teams of the U.S. National Development Program
• The World Amateur Championship Women’s Team
• Other women’s USGA Teams as designated by the USGA

The USGA policy also has a section that applies to its men's events. This section outlines the requirements that players who are transgender male, transgender female, or in the process of transitioning, must meet in order to play in men's tournaments.