This week, the Super Bowl of golf is taking place in Augusta, Georgia. The Masters stands as golf’s most important annual event. However, the Augusta National Golf Club hasn’t always been inclusive, accepting its first Black member in 1990, nearly 60 years after it first opened.
Racism at golf clubs has marred the sport, but the rise of Tiger Woods and diverse golf groups has helped to add more inclusion.
Golf enthusiast Roger Steele is using culture and his love for golf to introduce the sport to a new generation. With videos that have gone viral on social media and wearing “Golf is Dope” T-shirts, Steele has proven that golf can be cool and fun for diverse demographics.
“Before I built the platform on social media, I recognized that golf lacked real diversity,” Steele said in an exclusive interview with ADW. “There were so few Black people that were in the game. But a lot of times, those who were on the golf course would do a lot of code switching to fit in. I wondered, ‘Why are you letting golf change the essence of who you are?’ When I started creating content in the golf space, I just wasn’t afraid to speak to the audience the way that I would speak to one of my homies. And I think that’s something that served me very well. As long as you understand the rules and the etiquette of the game, that’s the beautiful part about it is because, you know Golf has the ability to connect you to people that are completely different.”
Steele’s ability to stand out in golf has led to him making content with NBA All-Star Steph Curry and NBA Champion, J.R. Smith. He’s been able to reach more people by being himself while on the course.
“I don’t care how good I would have gotten in basketball or football, there’s no way that I would have had opportunities to interface with some of these guys,” Steele says. “The way to bring myself closer to my heroes was this thing that I was trying to run away from…
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