Organizations and companies are partnering to introduce Black students in Detroit to golf

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DETROIT (AP) — As a fan, Shaun Horne is all about Detroit’s professional sports teams. But when it comes to playing, the high school junior has his eyes on one game.

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“I only play golf,” Horne said after taking his turn on a simulator inside a gym on Detroit’s westside.

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Embracing golf makes the 16-year-old a rarity among his Detroit peers — particularly Black high schoolers.

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Coaches and community groups in the city are taking ambitious steps to spread the game’s popularity among students _ noting that only about 50 of more than 14,000 high school students in Detroit’s school district play golf on school teams.

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In Detroit, the biggest challenge is exposing Black youth to the game, said Jesse Hawkins, who is Black and coaches Horne’s team at Renaissance High School. Backing from local corporations and nonprofits, providing access to equipment and even college scholarships is helping.

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“When you go into high schools and you go into elementary schools often times we’ll hear narratives around basketball players, football games, those things,” Hawkins said. “And golf is really not as propagated as much for our community.”

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Who’s playing?

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In Detroit, advocates of increasing play among Black young people have partnered with some of the city’s largest businesses and community organizations. At least two nonprofits offer programs that teach kids how to play golf.

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The Rocket Classic has steered nearly $10 million from the annual PGA event held in Detroit to local charitable organizations. Of that, $800,000 has been given to programs that teach kids how to play the game. One program provides access to college scholarships to high school seniors, while upward of 700 children and teens take part each year in programs put on by First Tee of Greater Detroit.

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“Golf is the why we get them there, but while we have them there we’re teaching them life skills,” said Carl Bentley, chief executive of First Tee of Greater Detroit, which has donated a golf simulator to the school district. “Learning how to say ‘yes sir, yes ma’am’ — shake a hand properly, how to start a conversation. We’re teaching them life skills and then we get to putting and swinging and things like that.”

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Among the 28.1 million Americans who played golf on a course in 2024, about 25% were Black, Asian or Hispanic, according to the National Golf Foundation. Interest is wider when considering those who played or followed professional golf coverage on TV, in writing or via podcasts.

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But Hawkins said his experience as a coach suggests Black high schoolers aren’t among that audience.

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“You don’t hear kids talking about the latest golf shoes or the cool golf apparel,” Hawkins said. “You’re not necessarily going to get a badge of honor walking into your high school and you’ve got the newest golf shirt.”

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Lack of money is a barrier

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Golf and equipment can be pricey, sometimes too pricey for families struggling just to make ends meet.