LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Before the pros tee off for the PGA Championship this week, some Kentucky students are learning the impact they can have on the sport — on and off the green.
Le’Niya Harrison is one of those students who came out try her hand at the sport. The Central High School junior says she doesn’t play golf, and the aspiring entrepreneur wasn’t planning to work in the golf industry.
“For my business. I was thinking more so skincare for Black people, particularly African-Americans, because I know certain things don’t work on our skin,” Harrison says.
That was before she stepped onto the grounds at Valhalla Golf Club on Tuesday. Now she may be taking a new approach.
PGA WORKS Beyond the Green is an initiative to expose historically underrepresented high school and college students like Harrison to the game.
“If this is something they want to pursue, that’s attainable and achievable and that they can do it because sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know and you don’t know what you don’t see,” PGA WORKS leader Cameron Dinkins said.
Professionals working in the golf industry shared stories and advice about their career and the connection business has with the sport. Morgan Hawley, owner of The Hat Bar, has firsthand experience in commerce on the course.
“It’s where a lot of business is performed on the golf course and the opportunities we can expose kids to the language of golf, the experience of golf, and realize that it’s available to the masses,” Hawley says.
“It’s not just an elite sport; it’s something that people can connect through and with one another, regardless of socioeconomic or race or anything like that.”
Harrison says picking up a golf club may help her future business grow.
“You’re going to need a lot of connections if you want to, just with anything in general. And I feel if I like with golf, there’s so many people here that have businesses, like they do their own thing. And I feel like if I’m able to get into the golf, I’ll be able to meet with different people and expand my business and they’ll give me some tips,” she shared.
Whether or not she shoots a hole in one, Harrison and her peers will walk away one step closer opportunities that lie ahead.
Nonprofits, including First Tee Louisville and Youth On Course, work to educate and inspire the next generation of golfers. First Tee Louisville’s summer session begins June 10.