Five Questions with Tiffany Fitzgerald, CEO of Black Girls Golf
After spending a few years in corporate America, Tiffany Fitzgerald recognized that golf was key in leading her colleagues to greater opportunities. Her observations led her to taking up the game and building professional relationships with people in positions of power and influence.
Being intimidated by the rules at first and seeing the large learning curve that is tied to the game, Tiffany invited friends to join her on a golf course in Atlanta. Twenty-six women joined, and Black Girls Golf was created.
How did you pick up golf? Was there any golf in your life before you reached your professional career?
Not at all. I grew up in East Oakland, California with a single mom who was doing the best she could with me and my siblings, and although I was involved with extracurricular activities, golf wasn’t something I ever considered; nor was I introduced to it. I didn’t even know my high school had a golf team. Where I grew up, for me and people around me, survival was a priority. Surviving instead of thriving, and that was very much part of my story early on. Golf and that side of the tracks typically don’t meet each other unless there is a golf course in the hood.
When you were putting Black Girls Golf together, you mentioned how you originally put out a tweet asking other African American women to meet you at the golf course. 26 showed up! At this event, what was the conversation like? What were some of the intimidation factors for them taking up the game prior to seeing your tweet?
What came up that day, in particular, was, ‘Thank you. You know, golf is something I’ve always wanted to do, but just never really knew what to do or how to go about it.’
People were grateful that I put something together where they felt comfortable participating. Fast forward to now, if I look at what I hear consistently from women who are a part of the Black Girls Golf family, it’s that, ‘I knew that I should be playing, I just didn’t feel invited.’ It’s a feeling I know; I was never invited either.
For the most part, people aren’t going to do what I do. They aren’t going to go buy clubs and show up at the golf course. I knew that Black Girls Golf had to be an invitation for black women. I say this so often – No one goes to a party uninvited. Black Girls Golf is not exclusive, it is just that my focus is inviting Black women. My goal is that I will invite them, they will get what they need from Black Girls Golf, and with the relationships I have to the PGA, coaches, and other industry professionals will take it from there. I’ve created the foundation and an audience for the industry to leverage. Now, it’s a matter of connecting the dots with the right industry partners.
Now you have over 4,000 members of Black Girls Golf. What’s next for the organization?
What I recognized was missing from the industry (I’m guilty of doing the same thing) is putting on a golf clinic, women showing up to the clinic, and saying, ‘Alright check! I took a golf class.’ There is no consistent programming that follows someone through their entire golf journey. As a beginner you are taught on the driving range and the range becomes your comfort zone and your crutch. There is nothing that helps you get on the course and play consistently, or play enough where you are developing your skill, building your confidence, and considering yourself a golfer.
What are some of the other organizations that you see, like Black Girls Golf, that are helping increase diversity within the golf industry?
The Latina Golfers Association is doing an awesome job. Women of Color Golf in Tampa, the Midnight Golf League in Detroit – there’s so many other organizations who are doing wonderful things on a local grassroots level. The industry can do a better job in the area of diversity by supporting these organizations that are already doing the work. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with new industry initiatives. The industry can come together to support these organizations that may have gaps in fundraising, or may have gaps in financial planning, or building strategy around what they’re doing. It really comes down to rolling up your sleeves and meeting people where they are.
How has Black Girls Golf looked to make an impact with young black women playing golf, and might be interested in pursuing it as a career?
Our core audience is 35-54, and our target audience is 25-35. With these two audiences we focus on introducing golf fundamentals and getting women in the game. I started the Black Girls Golf Foundation to focus on African American girls who already play golf because. The mission of the Foundation is to introduce these girls to careers in the industry. I think it’s important for people to aspire to something, but if you don’t see, you can’t aspire to be it. We can show them that they can marry their passion for the game with their career interests. That’s why I started the Black Girls Golf Foundation for Diversity and Inclusion, and I am partnering with PGA Works to put some legs under than initiative, and to see what we can do to build a pipeline of diverse leaders in golf.
