Lewis Myers, commissioner of the Congressional Golf Association (Courtesy Lewis Myers)
(May 9, 2019)
By AAGD STAFF
Business and golf go hand-in-hand and many top industry executives already know that. So, what does it take to convince administrative staffers on Capitol Hill that this game is both a fun and healthy way to grow their network while helping them to gain leverage along their career paths? “Not much convincing is needed,” says, Lewis Myers, founder of the Congressional Golf Association, a Washington, DC-based premier hub where golfers of all backgrounds can come together to fellowship, network, indulge in the game, and cultivate an impact on the sport they love.
Myers launched the association in March 2018 after realizing that “The golf ball doesn’t really recognize Republican or Democrat, so we should be able to come together and play the game we love,” Lewis told the rollcall.com. The six-year Capitol Hill veteran is an avid golfer and serves as the scheduler for California Democratic Rep. Norma J. Torres.
Serving as the Congressional Golf Association’s “commissioner” (a term borrowed from golfspeak) Myers, 33, does not limit his ability to reach across political affiliations to grow the game and its networking power. “In this era of partisanship, I think this is a great way to kind of break that stalemate … and bring offices together,” believes the “Tiger Baby” who started playing golf in 1998 after being influenced by all-time great Tiger Woods.
Myers said he was inspired to take up the game two decades ago after watching Tiger Woods win the 1997 Masters. (Courtesy Lewis Myers)
The former president of the Congressional Black Associates, Myers says “I was inspired when he won the ’97 Masters. I was like ‘Wow, that’s a person of color who I’ve never seen before. What is this game of golf?’”
He hopes the association gives staffers the opportunity to bring golf to more people of color in the D.C. community, noting that the Langston Golf Course and Driving Range is a mile and a half from Capitol Hill in Northeast Washington.
“It’s in an impoverished area of D.C., and the fact is, kids in and around the area don’t ever go to the golf course because there’s so many barriers to entry when it comes to the game of golf,” Myers said. “Golf is a very expensive sport, and that’s one of the reasons why people of color and people of certain geographical locations don’t have access to the game.”
He wants the association to give D.C. children equipment and work with organizations like The First Tee, a youth development organization that teaches golf.
“If CGA can somehow minimize that barrier to entry, I think we’ve done a good job,” he said.
Myers is recruiting fellow staffers to join. At the start, he just hopes to have enough people to casually go out on the course together.
And newbies are welcome too. The association can help them learn the game, and they’d be able to network too.
“There’s an introductory mechanism associated with the organization, because what I found over time is golf can be intimidating for some people who haven’t played before,” Myers said. “We can have different divisions for people to feel comfortable coming in.”
Email Lewis.Myers@mail.house.gov if you’re interested in joining.
