Julie Walker
Independent researcher, systems thinker, and founder of the Women’s Golf History Project.
Independent researcher, systems thinker, and founder of multiple initiatives exploring participation, authority, and lived experience in sport.
I work at the intersection of history, participation, governance, and community — examining how informal systems sustain institutions, where friction arises, and how change unfolds in practice.
What I do
My work focuses on understanding how sport actually functions — not just through formal structures, but through the people who organise, volunteer, participate, and carry its culture forward over time.
I am particularly interested in moments where:
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participation exists without permission
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contribution is sustained without recognition
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communities organise themselves in parallel to official systems
This work is evidence-led, historically grounded, and shaped by lived experience.
Current Focus
Women’s Golf History Project
Founder of an independent research platform documenting over 135 years of women’s golf history — focusing on pioneers, senior women, governance structures, and the informal labour that sustained the game long before it was formally recognised.
The project is now held in institutional collections including the USGA Library.
Selected Initiatives
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Women on the Tee
A women’s golf knowledge hub exploring participation, equity, history, skills, and lived experience across the women’s game. -
Golfers Experience
A systems-led initiative examining golfer-centric design, equity, playability, longevity, and the evolving golf ecosystem. -
Ladies Pro-Am
Founder of the UK’s first all-female pro-am, created to expand competitive and professional pathways for women golfers.
Golf: Lived Experience
I was introduced to golf in my late teens and early twenties in the South West of Scotland. After moving to London, without a handicap or an existing golf network, I stepped away from the game for many years before re-entering through an open day — an experience that sharpened my understanding of access, permission, and informal barriers.
I am now a long-standing, committed golfer, participating across club, county, national, and independent formats in the UK and internationally.
This includes competitive, social, volunteer-led, and senior women’s golf, alongside first-hand experience of access, informal power, and self-organisation.
My research is grounded in this lived reality.
Background
Alongside my work in sport and history, I bring over three decades of experience leading international transformation, customer experience, and innovation programmes across technology, media, finance, travel, and global services.
This background informs how I recognise patterns, understand systems under pressure, and work across cultures and institutions.
Further detail on my international and corporate experience can be found on the Experience page.