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AJGA supports Black Golf Directory and its Empowerment Academy

Learn about Black Golf Directory's mission and goals and its Empowerment Academy as the AJGA supports its DE&I efforts
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For the second year, the AJGA will support Black Golf Directory (BGD) and BGD Empowerment Academy. BGD was founded and created by Jamie Taylor. Taylor wanted a platform that could elevate and promote African Americans in the golf industry – including providing access to resources on HBCUs, instructors, playing opportunities and more.

"I grew up in golf my whole life, but I didn't know about careers in golf until my sophomore year of college," Taylor said. "It wasn't until I started working for the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) that I had a real understanding of the vast amount of jobs out there in the golf industry. That's when I came up with [BGD] as a platform to promote those [opportunities] to people of color and educate them of what's all out there."

Additionally, the platform is used to showcase job opportunities to those looking for a career in the industry. The AJGA has annually participated in live conversations during the recruiting season to showcase the internship program – exposing 100+ opportunities available each year for those looking to gain experience in the golf or sports world.

Taylor also hopes to continue with the development and growth of the BGD website. She wants to streamline the information via a mobile application, alongside the website, to be more accessible for users to search for information.

"The idea is to make it easier for people to connect and communicate faster," Taylor said. "That way companies like the AJGA can post their internships and services and on the flip side amateur golfers can find pros, job opportunities like the AJGAs and connect with other golfers."

Taylor then created the BGD Empowerment Academy Program in 2022 as an opportunity to continue to grow the game and partner with grassroots junior golf programs. These academies are designed to support and motivate youth of color who want to learn golf as a way to develop their mental, physical and emotional skills.

"Those academies were designed not just for golf playing opportunities but also reaching out to the youth as soon as possible with the future in mind," Taylor said. "It was created so that they can consider the possibilities of working in golf and if they do want to play golf, here is everything you need to know to succeed."

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After hosting two events in 2022, they are expanding to three new locations nationwide for the 2023 campaign bringing their total to five total events. They hosted events in Ohio and California in April of 2023 and will be in the Bahamas in July and Georgia and Texas in August 2023. Through the BGD Empower Academy events, the following groups have been involved: My Vision Golf, Girls Love Golf, Greater Cleveland Junior Golf Scholarship Fund, Fourteen Golf Clubs Academy and Journey Through 18.

The events include group exercises, expert-led discussions and interaction with black LPGA/PGA Professionals throughout the day. The AJGA's Vice President of Human Resources, Lauren Shelly has delivered keynote discussions around careers in golf and AJGA membership along with assisting in helping youth learn the game.

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"Working with the AJGA has been really nice because they have such a focus on the youth and outreach to those in the minority communities," Taylor said. "They plant the seed of if you want to work in golf, well here's your start with them and of course, the playing opportunities as a junior golfer speak for themselves with the AJGA."

Taylor hopes that the program can develop and create a pipeline of golf talent that can later compete in top-level junior golf events or, for those interested in a career in golf, can get their start at an internship level with the AJGA.

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"I wish that I had known that (opportunities) like the Women in Golf Foundation, or the AJGA existed when I was growing up," Taylor said. "It's important to see people of color that are running the pro shops, running tournaments and being in management positions in the golf industry. My goal is that this platform gives those people of color a path to do that."

The AJGA has had the opportunity to be on-site for the Academy events in California and Ohio with plans to also be on-site for the Texas and Georgia events later in 2023.

For more information on BGD and BGD Empowerment Academy, click here .