The Greenwood Golf Minority Club League of Charlotte, North Carolina is doing a job that nearly everyone agrees needs to be done.

It’s just that while nearly everyone talks about it, precious few do anything about it.

That job is “growing the game.”

And the reason precious few do anything about it? Well, to paraphrase Thomas Edison, the job of growing the game comes dressed in overalls and looks like hard work.

Fortunately, Greenwood Golf CEO Chris Word is the kind of roll-up-your-sleeves guy who sees opportunities where most people see roadblocks.

The Greenwood Golf Minority Club League: What Is It?

On one level, the Greenwood Golf Minority Club League isn’t all that different from league nights at your home course. But on another level, imagine expanding that league to 400 golfers over an entire region with weekly competitions between clubs.

According to Word, the idea for the league started with text message groups among friends and colleagues to set up weekend games or organize golf trips.

“I was a part of a lot of these groups,” says Word. “I realized there’s an opportunity for us to bring these different groups of people together and have them compete in a Ryder Cup-style format.”

The league, which kicked off play this past weekend, features 10 teams from across Charlotte. Each team has a captain and brings eight players to an event. Several teams will have play-in events to see who is playing the best and can make the squad for competition.

“It was let’s create something so the weekend warrior can know what it feels like to play in the Ryder Cup, play against another team,” says Word. “They know they have to perform for their team to win.”

While the format is serious (the league even has a commissioner: former NBA star Muggsy Bogues), the team element brings a degree of fun. Team names for the 2024 season include Birdie Brothers, The Golfing Bruhz, the Krimson Krushers and the Charlotte Pro Duffers.

Additionally, the league will feature a semi-professional stroke play flight with prize money.

“There are locals here in Charlotte that want to compete at that level,” says Word. “We’ll have a designated number of spots for people who want to compete individually from the tips to see if they have the game.”

The Elephant in the Room

The Greenwood Golf Minority Club League, as the name suggests, is predominantly African American. But Word says it’s open to all.

“What I found is people get to know each other on the golf course,” he explains. “That means every person doesn’t need to be African American. It doesn’t matter who’s playing.

“We have Asians, we have Caucasians and we have blacks. Some are blue-collar, and some are white-collar business owners. The players are diverse.”

The cliché, of course, is that golf is a rich white man’s sport. But that’s not the way it is in Charlotte, the birthplace of Charles Sifford, whom Lee Trevino called “the Jackie Robinson of golf.”

“His initiative getting into professional golf said we can play this game, as well,” says Word. “It’s a big piece of why I’m doing this.”

Word, a Notre Dame graduate and a certified public accountant, is also founder and CEO of the Greenwood Golf Company.  Word started Greenwood Golf in 2021 as a direct-to-consumer golf ball and lifestyle brand. Last August he received the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award from African American Golfer’s Digest. Greenwood Golf is also the first Black-owned golf company whose products are available through WalMart.

“When I play golf, I see a lot of African Americans on the golf course,” says Word. “It amazes me because it’s not what you’d expect to see or what we’re told. My experience is we play golf, we play competitively and we’re passionate about the game.”

Community and Mentoring

At this point, you may be asking yourself, “What’s so special about this league? How is this ‘growing the game?’”

Well, two key pillars of the Greenwood Golf Minority Club League are charitable initiatives and mentoring.

“In meeting with the captains, I found each team has charities they’re supporting,” says Word. “One does a college book drive for high school graduates going on to college. Another one supports an organization that does laundry for the homeless. So we’re going to raise money for these efforts.”

The league is also supporting the Julius L Chambers High School golf program with funds for equipment, clothing and training, and it’s helping the local First Tee and Perfect Swing programs.

Because the league’s membership is so diverse in its experiences, backgrounds and capabilities, Word says its members will serve each other as mentors and sounding boards.

“Some are just entering corporate America, some are in their prime and some are retired business owners,” Word says of the league’s membership. “Let’s see who we know in this room and how we can support each other.”

Those mentoring efforts also extend to local schools, where this network of golfers can share their stories with young people.

“We call on local high schools and have mentors come and speak,” he adds. “Through golf, I have the network to have a car dealership owner talk about entrepreneurship or a contractor talk about the trades. We can support the community with our knowledge.”

This brings us full circle to the name of the League and Word’s company: Greenwood.

The Tulsa Connection

In the early 1900s, the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma was a thriving African American community. It had one of the largest concentrations of African American-owned businesses in the country and was known as the “Black Wall Street.”

It developed out of necessity. Oklahoma’s strict Jim Crow-era laws prevented African Americans from purchasing goods or services in predominantly white neighborhoods.

But in 1921, Greenwood was the scene of the deadliest race riot in American history. An estimated 300 people were killed, and more than 35 square blocks of that neighborhood were burned to the ground.

“The name is to honor Greenwood,” says Word. “When that group didn’t have the opportunity to shop in other stores at the time, they created a thriving business district for themselves.

“That’s what I saw on the golf course. I saw contractors, business owners, corporate professionals and professional athletes. Our careers span the spectrum, but our interest in golf is the same. We enjoy competition, the camaraderie and the networking.”

The Greenwood Golf Minority Club League: Growing the Game

“Growing the game” has become so overused and tired that we can’t even call it a cliché anymore. In today’s climate, whenever the PGA TOUR, LIV or the USGA utter the phrase, it’s met more with eye rolls than anything else.

It’s a mistake to look to professional tours, OEMs or the game’s governing bodies to do anything to grow the game. Rather, it’s up to everyday golfers like you, me and Word. Several weeks ago we shared the story of Lesley McGlenen, who is almost single-handedly growing women’s interest in golf in her part of Canada, and there are doubtless many others rolling up their sleeves and putting in the same kind of work to spread the gospel of golf. Word’s efforts in North Carolina can be viewed as a marketing effort for his fledgling golf brand. But then again, the best marketing initiatives are organic in origin and noble in intent.

“The league is a minority league,” says Word. “But at the end of the day, it’s about golf. We don’t care who you are, where you’re from or what your background is. We really just want to create an opportunity for people to connect.

“That’s what drove me to do this,” he says. “It’s to create that environment to make it comfortable and to showcase we can play golf. I’d love to say, ‘Let’s go to Minnesota. You bring your 32 best, and we’ll bring our 32 best and we’ll compete.”

For More Information…

Golf Pride and Visit Jamaica are sponsoring the Greenwood Golf League’s first year, but Word says more are welcome. You can reach out to them on Instagram at greenwoodgolfbrand.

You can find out more about the brand and the league at www.greenwood.golf.

And if you know of anyone in your area who’s taking the initiative to grow the game, we’d love to hear about them.

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