Kamaiu Johnson on diversifying golf: we need to show young players ‘that they’re welcome to the game’

Both racial and gender diversity in sports remains a big challenge, particularly within the realm of golf. Kamaiu Johnson, a professional golfer, joins Yahoo Finance’s Sibile Marcellus and Kristin Myers to discuss what is preventing the sport from becoming more inclusive and what steps should be taken to diversify a historically white sport.

Video transcript

SIBILE MARCELLUS: Welcome back to "A Time For Change". Many athletes and sports fans view sports as a powerful means of achieving social change. Now while athletes in, for example, basketball or football have been very vocal, golf is now in the spotlight. Civil rights groups are calling on the PGA TOUR to actually pull the upcoming Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia in April because of a new law that was passed in Georgia that restricts voting rights.

KRISTIN MYERS: Now of course, diversity remains one of golf's biggest challenges. According to the National Golf Foundation, only 3% of recreational golfers are African-American. And that figure drops to 1 and 1/2% when it comes to competitive players.

SIBILE MARCELLUS: And one professional golfer actually wants to change all that. Joining us now is Kamaiu Johnson. Kamaiu, how do people with an interest in golf who might not necessarily be wealthy get over that cost barrier?

KAMAIU JOHNSON: I mean, I think it's kind of how I got introduced to the game of golf. Jan Auger, she charged me $1.00 a day to play golf. And I think that we need to create programs but keep our hands on programs that are like that. The First Tee program is similar to that. But at the same time, I mean, I don't know any African-American or whatnot that-- the average golfer where I grew up costed like $45 a day. And that's really, really low balling it. And when you get into the higher country clubs, it's more of $150. It's $50,000 initiation fees, it's 100,000 initiation fees.

So it's really hard for us to get involved in the game of golf. It's so easy to go pick up a basketball and play basketball, a ball, and go throw a ball. But I think it's creating programs. I think it's the PGA TOUR, the PGA of America, it's creating programs for the inner city kids that-- I know so many kids that want to be involved in the game of golf and just can't afford it. But I think if we could create programs and start these kids at a younger age, I think that they would get involved in the game and fall in love with the game just the way I did.

KRISTIN MYERS: Now Kamaiu, it doesn't seem as if the issue is just resources, just money. This is a sport that, money aside, hasn't really done a good job of being inclusive to people that aren't white men, and specifically actually, white Christian men historically. How do we change that and make golf a sport that minorities want to play, feel safe and comfortable playing?

KAMAIU JOHNSON: Yeah. I mean, I think, like I said, I think it's-- golf is a very expensive sport. And I think it kind of has to be because it takes so much to maintain a golf course. But I think it's just really-- I just became an ambassador for ClubCorp. They started a program called The Gateway First Tee. And it's giving youth that are showing promise in the game of golf a membership at a higher end golf club and just to show these people that these people deserve a chance as well no matter where they come from.

And I literally think it's just it's creating programs. You have to put them in schools. You have to start kids at a early age and show them that they're welcome to the game of golf. Because as you know, if you go-- every time that you go to a high end country club, there's always a gate surrounding the golf course. And there's so many question marks going through kid's minds. It went through my mind as well as a kid. It's what's over that gate? How do I get to that other side of that gate?

And I think it's creating programs like the Gateway First Tee Tour that ClubCorp is doing. And I think not only creating programs but keeping our hands on the programs and really involving these members, these CEOs and everyone into these kids' lives and just showing that they are welcomed as well. I think it's just making the sport more welcome to the African-American community.

And I think golf saved my life. And golf is a sport that it's bigger than the PGA TOUR. It's bigger than the Korn Ferry TOUR. It's bigger than all that. It's a $60 billion industry. And there's no way that we can't get involved in the industry as well. And I would love to see more of us involved in the game of golf. It's like for instance, when I played in my first PGA TOUR event, I was out at Torrey Pines. And the first course and I was asked when I pulled up on property was, who are you caddying for this week?

And that really hit home for me. It was like, well, why can't I be out here playing? It's just they're not used to that. And so that shouldn't go through your mind as soon as you see me step on property is like, who are you working for this week? It should be, are you playing this week? That should be the question. But it's just we haven't been on the PGA TOUR for so long.

I mean, everybody knows who Tiger is. Everybody knows Tiger once he steps on property. But it's literally just making people more aware of what's going on in the sport that's-- and I think that starts with the higher level, the PGA of America, the PGA TOUR. I think it starts with that. I think we belong in this game. And giving us exemptions right off the bat is just not going to change anything. It's a long line of history of where we've never been really welcome into this game.

Even the Jim Thorpes, the Calvin Peete's, they didn't have sponsorships. They slept in their cars. They received their checks outside of the Pro Shops of golf tournaments. So I think it's really making people more aware of what's going on in the game of golf and continue to talk about it.

SIBILE MARCELLUS: Absolutely. Definitely a long history there. Well, speaking of what's happening recently, so the National Black Justice Coalition has called on the PGA TOUR to pull the upcoming Masters Tournament in Georgia happening in April. How likely, Kamaiu, do you think that's going to happen, that they're actually going to get involved and do something?

KAMAIU JOHNSON: I don't think that they will pull it. But I think that conversation needs to be had. I think the more conversations we have about making golf more diversity and making it more inclusive for all is the way it gets better. It's just bringing the conversation up to people who don't really want to have the conversation. And I think that's what needs to happen. I think that's what needs to happen in the game. Because like I said, when I got the exemption to the Honda, I had so many players come up to me and say, hey, you're a inspiration to the game. We love that you're out here.

We can change the game. All we have to do is have a conversation. And when we give these clinics to these kids that are in the inner city, is give it to the-- let those kids see somebody that looks like them that are giving that clinic so they're inspired to get into the game of golf.

KRISTIN MYERS: So Kamaiu, how important do you think that golf is, not just as a sport but also as a pastime to really serve as a gateway for Black Americans and other minorities to networking, access, money? Because when I think of golf, I think a lot of privilege. I think about power. I think about business deals being done. Can golf be a way for Black and brown kids essentially to become wealthier Black adults?

KAMAIU JOHNSON: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, I'm from one of the poorest towns in Florida. I'm from Madison, Florida. And I found myself at Pebble Beach for three weeks staying at Gary Wipfler's house who is the treasurer of Apple. I stayed at his house for two weeks. I'm in the same room with Chuck Robbins, who is the CEO of Cisco, and Jeff Daley who is the CEO of Farmers, and Bill Powers who is the CEO of Cambridge Telematic Company. And my life truly changed when I started playing the game of golf.

I grew up in a town where I saw people and I hung around people who I didn't really want to be like. But when I turned 13 years old and I got involved in the game of golf, it really changed my life for the better. I started hanging around people who I wanted to be like. I started hanging around my mentor Ramon Alexander who's a state representative in Tallahassee.

I started hanging around people who I really wanted to be like. And golf really did that for me. Golf changed my life. And I'm a eighth grade dropout. But when I got involved in the game of golf, it really, really changed my life for the better. And I think golf does that. I mean, you meet somebody new on the golf course every day. And I think that if we can just put our hands on these kids and show--

I mean, because to be honest, I wasn't getting tough love at home. And when Jan Auger found me on the fourth hole at Hilaman Golf Course, that day, she found me she showed me tough love. And that's what I needed to to be the person I am today. I mean, golf is really-- it brings a village around you. Because like I said, you meet somebody new on the golf course every day. And it took a village to really get me where I am, no matter if the person was white, or Black, or whoever it was. It was a village.

And that's what I want for the country that I live in, America, is to be a village to each other. Because that's the only way that we can grow, that's the only way the game of golf is going to grow. And who doesn't want the game of golf to grow? I think we all need the game of golf to grow. And I think that if kids can get involved in the game of golf, then it's life changing for these kids.

I mean-- so many girl golf scholarships go unused every year. The lack of girls in the game of golf. And I think this year in 2020, there was more eight year old little black girls got involved in a game of golf than ever in history. And I think that goes a long way to growing the game, to giving kids education, and because at the end of the day, it's bigger than the PGA TOUR, like I said.

Everybody plays golf, the laureates, the lawyers, the CEOs. And I think that if we can just continue the conversation, and like I think I heard earlier on the call, it's making it more inclusive. Because being at the table is how you grow. And I think that if we can just have a seat at the table in the game of golf, then the golf game will grow. And I think that the world will grow. Because I would love to see golf look more like America looks. And I think that's just having a conversation about it and creating programs and keeping our hands on these programs.

SIBILE MARCELLUS: I just want to go onto a golf course right now. But we're out of time. Kamaiu Johnson, it was great to have you on. Thanks so much.