The Professional Status of the Ethnic Golfer

12:37 am | S.E. Day | Be the first to comment

Wow!  We have come a long way since the inception of golf into the U.S.  We grew from caddies (most of whom were coaches) to novice players to amateur players to professional players.  Who notices?  Well, there is Tiger Woods, undoubtedly the best golfer who has ever played the game; and another person of color is Vijay Singh, the Fijian phenom who has finished 2nd on the PGA Tour twice this year alone.  Again I ask, who notices? The professional status of the ethnic golfer has really gone un-noticed.  Why you ask?  Are there no other ethnic golfers who can play the game as well?  Better yet, are there no other ethnic golfers who can play the game on a PGA tour level?  Of course there are other ethnic golfers who can play the game very well.  But who notices? In the professional ethnic golfers’ struggle to be noticed, there are currently two tours that can launch a professional golfer’s career into the Professional Golfers Association.  The Nationwide Tour® (formally the Ben Hogan Tour which was formalized by the PGA in 1990) and the NGA Hooters® Pro Golf Tour are the two developmental tours.  If you play on these tours, make the cut, and win enough purses (money) you can qualify to play on the PGA Tour circuit.   Many ethnic golfers have been hit with the realization that playing on the PGA Tour circuit has equally to do with their skills as well as the their ability to be marketable.   Most golfers thought their ability to play, experience, exposure to and knowledge of the game would be enough to give them a shot to a PGA tour entry.  Well, not unless a golfer is able to receive a “battlefield” promotion for winning three tournaments in one year on the Nationwide Tour.  Being the best in golf is no longer just a qualification for play on a PGA tour circuit.  A golfer has to get that money. What is the solution for an ethnic golfer?  Golf has turned into nearly a $90 billion dollars industry and this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.  Golf is a craze worldwide and like the internet, it has not been saturated yet by any ethnicity.  So how does an ethnic golfer really go professional as far as PGA standards are concerned?  The answer is simple.  Make yourself more marketable.  Make yourself a money magnet.   An aspiring ethnic golf professional should find a major sponsor or join an organization/association that will sponsor them.     The next level of golf for professional ethnic golfers…The United States Black Golfers Association® (USBGA).  The USBGA is a member-based organization that will create a tour that will mirror the PGA while adhering to USGA guidelines and rules.  Creating a platform where golfers can play compete regionally, statewide, and nationally will allow aspiring golfers to play more frequently while giving more exposure to their game.  USBGA will, in turn, a mass the memberships and seek sponsors that want to appeal to those demographics.  This tour will allow aspiring ethnic golfing professionals an opportunity to join an association that can sponsor them.   In the USBGA, aspiring ethnic professionals can continue to improve their game while (1) the USBGA to seek sponsorship dollars; (2) the USBGA provides the sponsorships to the member-golfer(s) that make the cut; and (3) the USBGA provide regional, state, and national tournaments that will increase the best golfer’s purse (winning) percentages. Let’s face it, waiting for the social norm and financial structures to recognize the Black professional golfer as a formidable player or even for the accomplishments of Tiger and Vijay to trickle down to the other professional Black golfer is going to be a long-time coming.  Simply put, if a professional Black golfer wants to get noticed, they have to make it so.  USBGA can make it happen.