Let me begin by telling you this: This event showed me that golf is not just “your dad’s” sport. The Saturday, September 3rd event began with Debert Cook, CMP, the first Black female to wholly own a golf magazine in the USA, African American Golfers Digest. She thanked the host, Hi-Tee and Fathers and Sons Together, for hosting the event and shared how important exposure is for young people in learning and finding a passion for the sport of golf.
Dr. Andre Stout, the Administration Divers School Leadership Consultant, followed her and spoke to the crowd gathered at Jefferson Golf Course about golf and how it relates to school: accountability, showing up to learn, actively listening, etiquette and respect, and how those things, in school, golf, and life, will help you to succeed professionally and personally.
How many crimes do you know of that have happened on a golf course?
That was one of the first questions Lenard (Bo) Reeves, founder, and CEO of Hi-Tee Junior Little League Golf Program, posed to the group of parents and kids at the Empowerment Golf Camp, and I have to tell you, as a true crime junkie, I couldn’t think of one. His point and mission are to take guns out of the hands of inner-city kids and replace them with a 9-iron golf club instead.
That question resonated with me the most of all the things he spoke about.
We then had the pleasure of hearing from Bryan, a 14-year-old youth and member of the Hi-Tee Little League program, who shared with us his love for the game of golf, and his gratefulness for being offered a way to participate. Hi-Tee gives all their participants golf clubs, making the issue of affordability a non-issue for many of these kids who maybe wouldn’t have resources to play, which is stereotypical, a rich kids’ sport.
Angelique Johnson, a professional golf instructor and Mayoral Candidate of Inglewood, California, was a powerful speaker with a dynamic voice and a message of opportunity. As a female, she emphasized how being a female playing golf competitively puts you in the way of a scholarship, according to The National College Athletic Assn. (NCAA) estimates that every year 200 college golf scholarships for young women go unclaimed.
As an African American woman, she talked about the benefits of being a minority in pursuing opportunities that golf can offer and how colleges and universities are LOOKING to be more diverse. And while 200 golf scholarships are unclaimed by women, men have approximately 8,300 student-athletes competing for about 4,545 scholarships from a junior college to NCAA Division 1.**
But what was striking to me? I didn’t know one professional female golfer, and Angelique is probably the first one I’ve seen. ever. And I’m a female, and while I don’t play golf, I grew up with family who golf, but the only names I can think of was Tiger Woods (who doesn’t know that name?!) and, oddly enough, Michael Jordan. So she challenged the room to look up Dorothy Campbell, the first international female golf star, and Althea Gibson, the first African American to join the LPGA in 1963. Two girls were in the room, and I hoped they heard Angelique.
After we took a break for fantastic food and conversations, we headed out to the practice putting green right in front of Jefferson Golf Course. The kids’ practiced their skills, enjoyed laughter while receiving professional coaching, and created connections. Because we learned that day that golf is about depending on yourself, taking accountability for yourself and your choices, and picking the wrong club or angle, you may have ended up in a pond. Your game and score result from practice, dedication, personal choices, respect for your fellow golfers, and the ability to be an active learner.
All in all, I walked away with a bit more appreciation for the game of golf, which has always been “a sport for dads” to me, and I even spent the drive home trying to convince my daughter, who was there for the event, to be open to trying the sport. I don’t know if I will be successful, but you never know; you could see her out there on the green.
**www.golfpsych.com/girl-golf-scholarships/
ABOUT
The High-Tee Jr Little League Golf Program is an inner-city golf program providing free golf to youth ages 7-20, teaching them the fundamentals of golf, golf course etiquette, putting, chipping and scorecard. The organization encourages and empowers youth through fun and challenging experiences by supplying a platform based on Education, Integrity and Leadership skills. To learn more and lend your support visit https://hi-tee-littleleaguegolf.org
