Imagine you’re jogging midevening on a wooded trail. A recent switch to daylight savings time makes the transition from day to night come more quickly than you’d expected. Your car is parked a good distance away, and although the area is somewhat familiar, the onset of darkness causes a pulse of panic you can feel beyond the bass of your earbuds.
Suddenly, there’s an uncomfortable feeling of being watched. Of being noticed. Now, imagine this same scenario, but you’re handicapped by a twisted ankle, there’s a sudden downpour of cold rain for which you haven’t worn the proper gear, and the navigation app you’re using is zapped due to the cloud cover. If you can imagine the fear, discomfort and physical danger of this scene, you’ll start to get a sense of why Tiffany Fitzgerald started Black Girls Golf.
“For a Black woman, when you take into account just the [golf] environment itself … you’re already in a space where you notice being noticed, you don’t know what to do. It is very overwhelming and can be very intimidating,” Fitzgerald says. “The industry has come a long way, however there’s still such a long way to go.”
Spark Golf, a community of golfers that connects players across the country, and Black Girls Golf joined forces in July 2024 to continue pushing things forward. The partnership is a testament to how advocates of the game can come together to relieve some of the intimidation Black women often feel, introduce the game to a new set of players, and expand the safe space that BGG has created. “When I say safe space, I mean physical safety, emotional safety. I don’t think people really understand how important that is,” Fitzgerald says. “Part of that is community; because you have other people who can go with you. You feel safer when you’re not there by yourself.”
Curbing the anxieties of Black women who aren’t familiar with the game is a big part of BGG’s aim, but the business element of relationship building is also a factor. In fact, that’s what led Fitzgerald to the game in the first place.
She recalls being blindsided by a swift change in direction on a project at work. Things were headed one way on Friday, but by Monday things had changed dramatically. “I’m like, ‘Was there a meeting that I missed?’ Then it dawned on me. They played golf last weekend. They got to have a whole meeting about [the project] … and I missed it. And I didn’t even have an opportunity to be there.”
In the self-starter, tell-it-like-it-is fashion that is Fitzgerald’s nature, she said to herself, “They won't do that again!” A set of Kmart clubs and a four-week golfing course later, she was ready. Or so she thought. “I didn’t know the rules. I didn’t know the etiquette. Nonetheless, I took my little happy self out there all unprepared. It was one of the most embarrassing things that has ever happened to me,” Fitzgerald says.
This became yet another reason to help other Black women and to help bridge the golf know-how gap. With hundreds of members throughout the country — and the largest outpost in Atlanta, where BGG is based — the partnership with Spark Golf will enable BGG to connect more Black women in more cities. The Spark network spans North America, including cities that BGG has identified as key markets, including Chicago, Houston and Washington, D.C.
Part of Spark’s mission is to change the look and feel of golf courses, making them a more friendly place for everyone. The very nature of how Spark is set up – with relaxed
rules, rotation of teams and tee times, and videos about golf rules and etiquette – aims to make players of all skill levels feel welcome, and that equates to getting more women and people from diverse ethnicities on the course.
Fitzgerald, in turn, is able to give her members a comfortable and safe space to play through golf courses in the Spark network — ones she vets personally to ensure her members will be welcome. Black Girls Golf members use Spark to sign up at those BGG-approved golf courses, helping expand Spark’s awareness and engagement. “It’s probably one of the best partnerships I have because it’s a win-win on both sides,” she says.
The collaborative partnership between Spark and BGG goes beyond the golf course, too. There’s an exchange of creative assets and ideas for inclusive marketing, which ensures a diverse customer base is reflected and feels authentically connected to both brands. That feeling of being at ease and part of a community matters — on a jog and especially on the green. For Black golfers new to the sport, the partnership between Black Girls Golf and Spark makes safety and belonging its focus, charting the course toward a personal best we can all be proud of.