Summer is finally here and I am excited! I’m excited because the summer months provide several opportunities for me to get directly engaged with golf and diversity, two of my favorite passions. First up was a late May field trip to the World Golf Hall of Fame with students from the Franklin Middle School golf academy. Franklin Middle School is in Hillsborough County, the eight largest public school district in the US. It’s in an urban community, centrally located in the middle of Tampa, FL.
A few years ago Hillsborough County school officials decided to pilot a gender-specific program in two inner-city middle schools to see if there were any differences in academic achievement if males and females were placed in same-gender learning environments. Franklin Middle School has over 400 students, all males. Ferrell Middle School is located in the same urban community. It has about the same amount of students. They are all female. Both schools are magnet schools, and they offer golf to their students as a full-time academy where golf and its cultural values are skillfully integrated into curricula and regular in-school and after-school activities. I’ve been involved at Franklin Middle School since the inception, which was over five years ago.
Several of the students will also participate in summer golf camps at Rogers Park Golf Course. Rogers Park has a rich history for golf in black communities, and the location was recently officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places. My good friend Kennie Sims is the VP of Golf Operations for all three City of Tampa golf courses. Together we will offer four summer camps for teen golfers. These camps will focus on golf and player development, of course, but go deeper into leadership, career planning, life skills and overall personal growth. We’ll discuss plans for college golf, too, and I hope some will consider the PGM program offered at the University of Maryland Eastern Shores.
Next up is the National Black Golf Hall of Fame ceremony, where I’ll serve as the master of ceremonies. Founded in 1986 by the late Harold Dunovant, the organization honors those individuals and locations that have made significant contributions to Black golf. I’ll travel back to the World Golf Hall of Fame for the weekend of activities. This is the first time we’ve held the event at this venue. It was chosen for two reasons. One, because our organization was influential in getting the attention of the leaders within the golf industry, ultimately leading to the creation of the exhibit/story. We are very proud of that achievement! Two, because we want our constituents and all golf/history aficionados to view and experience the exhibit.
I’ll hit the road for four Advocate Pro Tour (APT) tournaments. I’ve been involved with the APT since its inception six years ago. I’ve personally seen the level of competition rise, and several APT players have already advanced to the highest level of tournament play, or have a legitimate chance to do so in the near future. Two examples are Tony Funai, now on the PGA Tour, and Harold Varner, a budding superstar who now plays the Web.com Tour. A couple of other APT regulars have recently played on the Latin America Tour. The next APT event will be late June in New Orleans, and then Pensacola. We’ll be in Atlanta in mid-July, and conclude in August with our championship event in Los Angeles.
I’m involved with another important initiative, the Women of Color golf movement. The short version of the mission is to encourage and promote women of color to learn the benefits of golf and participate in recreational golf activities. The year old organization partners with the local community college to offer introductory golf classes. To date, just over 100 females have completed classes, and many continue to meet regularly to play and socialize. We have an upcoming strategic planning session scheduled to discuss next steps and possible expansion. The innovative idea has caught the attention of media, as well as leaders within the golf industry. Stay tuned for more info and developments.
Finally, supplier diversity continues to be a topic of discussion. I am part of a 25 year old company that offers a product that every golf organization uses at one time or another. We’re a minority vendor with a longstanding reputation in the sports arena, but very little presence in golf. So far this year we have been fortunate enough to do two small jobs with professional golf events. It’s a foot in the door, and we hope to do more major golf events going forward.
It’s been five years since I researched and wrote a plan for the World Golf Foundation to help diversify the game of golf and its industry. The intent of the plan was to help increase ethnic and gender diversity in four distinct areas: recreational play, competitive play, employment, and supplier diversity. All of the abovementioned activities this summer will help the diversity cause in one or more of those four areas. It will be a busy summer, but I wish I could do more. Please let me know what you are doing to help bring more diversity to the game and industry. Perhaps we can work together to make golf look more like America.
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ABOUT MICHAEL COOPER, PH.D.
Dr. Michael W. Cooper is the former Director of Diversity for the World Golf Foundation/The First Tee
and past Assistant Dean/Campus Director for Springfield College-Tampa Bay campus.
Contact him at mcooper2@springfieldcollege.edu.
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