HU2U Podcast: I Wanted To Show Young People What Golf Could Look Like feat. Coach Samuel Puryear

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Episode Transcript

Publishing Date: June 30, 2024

[00:00:00] Larry: According to the National Golf Association, 4.1 million African Americans played golf in the United States in 2021, a significant increase from the 2.6 million who played golf in 2011. Despite this growth, Black golfers remain an anomaly in the sport, with figures such as Tiger Woods and, more recently, Cameron Champ serving as those exceptions that only prove the rule.

But the creation and development of collegiate golf programs at more historically Black colleges and universities could prove a unique pipeline for increased representation at the professional level at how universities’ golf programs are at the forefront of this movement. Howard's players are winners of HBCU National Championships, the PGA Tour WORKS Collegiate Championship, and as of this recording, this year's Northeast Conference Golf Championship, plus stars of the ESPN Plus miniseries.

Coach Samuel Puryear has overseen the launch of this already dominant program, and has his eyes set on even more success. Let's dig into it.

Welcome to HU2U, the podcast where we bring today's important topics and stories from Howard University to you. I'm Larry J. Sanders, today's host. And I'm here with Coach Samuel Puryear, Jr., the director of golf at Howard University.

Welcome to our podcast, coach. How are you doing?

[00:01:19] Samuel: Thanks, Larry. Thanks for having me.

[00:01:21] Larry: Yes, sir. Again, congrats on this weekend. You all are the Northeastern Conference golf champions, correct?

[00:01:26] Samuel: Absolutely. It's pretty exciting. Really exciting.

[00:01:29] Larry: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So, I want to start with your personal background with the sport. What was your personal introduction to it? How'd you get into it?

[00:01:35] Samuel: My father was a golfer. He was a really, really good golfer, actually. Growing up, on weekends, you know, Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays, he wouldn't play golf. And as a very small guy, he let me tag along. That was my first entree with the game. And the more you go out there and you just, kind of, find your own way. And I just, kind of, fell in love with it.

[00:02:03] Larry: So, obviously, your dad was a major influence for you. Did you have any other role models who you were watching growing up? Or, was it mostly in the house?

[00:02:11] Samuel: No, it was in the house. At my local club, there were a lot of Black guys that were my dad's age that, in some vein, they all, you know, seem as though they were like extended family. They were the local bankers, the local doctors, the local dentists. And I learned as much about life from those guys that I've learned than any book. These guys told me a lot about what to, what not to do, and how things worked, and did old men talk relationships. And it was just a nice life lesson, growing up at the golf course.

[00:02:45] Larry: Hearing you describe their professions, were you able to correlate what they did with their access to golf? Or, was it just, kind of, like, these were the men you saw in your neighborhood who were playing the game?

[00:02:55] Samuel: No, I never equated it that way. Well, I mean, I realized that these guys were all successful in their own respectful fields, and I realized golf wasn't free and these guys could afford it. And so, they would all congregate at the golf course and, you know, they played for money and they… all these guys were gamblers, so they bet. And although some of them really can play, I mean, you still, you bet according to your handicap. So, for me, I just thought that's how golf was supposed to be. I never saw golf as coming as a freebie. I always saw golf as coming as a very social element within the community.

[00:03:30] Larry: With that being said, thinking about why, historically, it seems like the business of golfers that we see have been White, right? We don't necessarily see… or the, the exceptions that prove the rule are the Tiger Woodses, the Vijay Singhs, the Cameron Champs that we're discussing in the intro. Why do you think that we only really see these exceptions that prove that rule? Why do you think that, historically, Blacks have been underrepresented in golf?

[00:03:52] Samuel: Well, I think number one is probably the way I was raised, that's a little different than some of these other people. I mean, I saw it in my house. My dad played golf in college. My dad played golf as a grown man. A lot of these young people that you're referencing now don't have that same vantage point. Some of the parents, probably, played football or basketball or baseball and stuff like that. So, that's the typical vantage point.

So, just getting off to a solid start as a kid, yeah, the numbers of African Americans has increased the number that you quoted. But at the same time, one of the biggest differences is just the paucity of memberships that these people have at these private clubs. I mean, a lot of African Americans, in my estimation, don't really see the benefit. And I understand why at joining a lot of the private clubs. I mean, they asked my dad, I mean, we went through this as a kid, you know. My dad was… he had a couple of buddies who belonged to one of the really nice posh clubs in Winston-Salem in North Carolina. I asked him, I said, “Why don't you join a club with those guys?” He said, “Why would I join a place where none of my friends are members?” He said, “Yeah, I know those guys and I like those guys. They're good guys. There is only two of them.” He said, “I have a membership at the course near the house. And it's, you know, 60 of them.” And so, that made a lot of sense to me. And I think that within itself is part of the reason of some of the disparity in the numbers.

[00:05:13] Larry: Just hearing from your vantage, it doesn't necessarily sound like there haven't been Black golfers. They've just been, sort of, underrepresented in the mainstream consciousness.

[00:05:21] Samuel: 100%. I mean, if you look at communities, whether it's Winston-Salem or you look in New Orleans or Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, LA, Chicago, some of these places, you've had Blacks in the community playing at these local Black courses, D.C., Nashville, you'll go back to the Lee Elders and the Teddy Rhodes, Jim Dents, and all of these guys.

They're there, but they're not out in the mainstream, the James Blacks and the Jim Thorpe, they're just not typically out in the mainstream. So, what you'll have is, you'll have a few of those guys, you know, say, okay, now they want to mainstream themselves, like Lee, like Chuck, like Jim, those guys, and they'll get out and play in regular PGA Tour events and stuff like that.

But I'll be honest with you, at a lot of clubs around the country, in the community, there are a lot of great neighborhood golfers. But the plan hadn't really been in place, nor has the verbiage been articulated to help a lot of those folks take the next step down that path to becoming a mainstream professional tour player.

[00:06:24] Larry: That brings me to race. I don't… I feel like that's a, sort of, like, easy off ramp to be, like, do you think that they weren't necessarily provided that blueprint or those tools to become professional players because of the, sort of, like, racism in the sport? But do you think that, in a sport where the talent can't be the, sort of, the amplifying force of the thing that brings everything together, do you think that race still meant to separate Blacks from becoming professionals in the sport?

[00:06:48] Samuel: I think, back in the day, with the names that I mentioned, they were not given a blueprint nor did people want them to become great in golf. I do believe that. I do think it had a huge racial component. And I think race was a major issue where a lot of them didn't get the sponsorships, they didn't get the opportunity to compete at the highest level, they didn't get an opportunity to play in mainstream events. They couldn't stay at the local hotels. They couldn't eat at the normal restaurants.

And race was a huge problem. I mean, who are we kidding? You can't sweep that under the rug. That being the case, too, I think, is one of the segues as to why, even now, there are some good African Americans playing golf, but the numbers are so far and so few, and it started so far behind, that they just don't have the same level of role modeling.

One example that I use a lot is, I heard this a long time ago, you know, you think about Rory McIlroy, who's an incredible player, but when Rory was playing and coming up, you know, 12, 13, 14, 15 years old, guys like Darren Clarke pulled him under their wing. Darren Clarke was a great player. And some of those guys of that ilk taught him how to be a professional. They taught him how to be a pro.

Well, there are a lot of young African Americans that we don't have the same role modeling effect of having those same persons that are out on tour, role modeling for those younger guys to teach them how to become a pro. That's a huge gap that's hard to overcome, in my opinion.

[00:08:24] Larry: It sounds like your experiences, though, have been, sort of, I don't necessarily say equitable, but you necessarily… it doesn't sound like you, you found race to be anything that's held you back, particularly, in your experience playing the sport.

[00:08:35] Samuel: I mean, race was there, but I just refused to let it stop my dreams. You know, you have the guy throw you the keys and say, “Hey, boy, go get my car. I'm in space 45.” I would laugh and say, “Oh, that's great.” “But when he gets your car, tell him to get mine, I'm in space 46.” You learn to laugh about it, you know, because if you don't laugh, you cry.

So, I learned how to deal with the race early on as a kid. And just, it really helped me into my adult life. I mean, sure, when you create your dreams, you try to figure out a way. And I just, I made my mind up. I was not going to let anybody try to hold me back, period.

[00:09:09] Larry: Okay. So, I want to bring that to your career coming to Howard University. You came here a few years back with the formation of the golf program. In short order, you're competing at a national level. Like I said, you just won the Northeastern Conference Championship. Again, congratulations! So, discuss the impact of the program on the university from your perspective and on the golf landscape as a whole.

[00:09:28] Samuel: Well, that's actually the reason that I chose to take the position here at Howard, because number one, I wanted to be able to be a conduit with young Brown people and give them a chance because of my experience in the mainstream golf world, coaching it, PWIs, and seeing the best that golf has to offer. I wanted to show these young people what golf could look like if they did their part.

I accept this position with the expectation that I was going to build a program that would expose them to competing in some of the best programs, best players, travel the country, use some of the best equipment, and give them opportunities where they would be able to compete once they graduated college. So, for me, this is just a continuation or an extension of what I've been dreaming and working on my whole life. And that, to me, that's what made, you know, Howard such a great fit.

[00:10:27] Larry: It feels like the success has been coming at a rapid pace, though. I'm sure, in your wildest dreams, of course, you wanted all of this stuff to come at you at this pace, but what was, sort of, like, the initial, sort of, thought process when you were forming the program?

[00:10:38] Samuel: I'll be honest with you, we just had this conversation yesterday. I had this conversation with my AD and senior AD. When I took the job, I said, “If I could build it my way and run it my way, put the things in place that I'm used to,” I said, “in four years, I want a conference championship with the men.” And I said, “The year after, I'll win one with the women.” And I said, “If I'm able to do it my way, I'll be able to win that PGA National Championship as well.”

And so, now that I look at it, I've been here four years. In the last three years, we've won two conference championships. We won a MEAC and an NEC championship. We've won two HBCU national championships. We've had multiple individual winners. We've had multiple team tournament wins.

So, this is what I saw in the beginning because I've already seen this blueprint. So, I was able to come here and put the same blueprint in place. And just work like a crazy person to try to make it happen and work endlessly, trying to find the right proper young people to help the dreams come true.

[00:11:37] Larry: Makes sense. Makes sense. How do you think the university has embraced the program, so far?

[00:11:41] Samuel: They love it. I mean, the past president, Dr. Frederick, loved it. Talking to Dr. Vinson, the new president, he truly embraces what we're doing. The athletic director, Kery Davis, and senior AD, you know, Paul Bowden, they support me. I mean, I call and talk to these guys all the time. I mean, I probably talk to Paul four times a day. And I'm running ideas off of him. And it's to the point now where he's calling and texting me, he's throwing ideas at me.

And so, you know when you get that, that people are on the same page, we're all trying to win. But more importantly than winning, we're trying to give these young Brown people an opportunity to live their dreams. And that means that, if you come through and play a collegiate solid program and go on and turn professional, that's great. But if you also matriculate through and become a dentist, a doctor, whatever it is, an attorney, we've also done our job there as well.

[00:12:30] Larry: That's actually a beautiful segue to the next question. And that was, thinking about the skills that translate, I want to get back to the ones that you can see turning professional, but for those that play the sport collegially don't turn professional, what are those skills that you think translate from playing the sport that they can take into their professions of everyday life?

[00:12:45] Samuel: Less than 1% of these kids are going to go broke. That's first. That being said, being able to network with a multitude and a huge diversity of people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, being able to speak the language and play on nice top tier golf courses, being comfortable playing with anyone in any part of the world, having a high IQ understanding of the game and the equipment that you're using, that's going to translate to any profession you can think of — doctor, lawyer, attorney, chemist, politician.

Because in all of those professions, people are playing golf. And you have to be able to go out and network and be up on some of the issues to be able to shake hands. Because honestly, you can actually change a person's opinion and perception once you spend that four and a half, five hours with them on the golf course. Sometimes, people are making policy rules and laws, and yet they've never had any contact, per se, or real time spent with the other side.

Golf is the one game where, if we continue to push more of us in it, we'll have more opportunity to expand upon and teach and allow people to get to understand the other side, which is some of the stuff we've been trying to do.

[00:14:02] Larry: And also, you have some talented players on the team. We're thinking about the Olympics approaching and the notion of golf being a sport that Black people are traditionally represented in. Could you one day see a Howard Bison golfer representing the USA on a golf stage?

[00:14:17] Samuel: I think so. I mean, I'll be honest with you. When I go in the office, I run across another coach at Howard, David Oliver, that coaches the track team. He's an Olympian. So, it's possible. We won a medal in the Olympics. So, like the old show, like the shirt I'm wearing now, says, why not us? Why can't it happen in golf?

[00:14:35] Larry: Yes, sir. So, what are your ultimate hopes for the golf program? That's a loaded question, considering all the success you've been experiencing. But what's next for the golf program? What do you think are the next steps in this progression?

[00:14:45] Samuel: I think, right now, just continue to build a solid foundation and give a lot of these young people a chance. And keep finding, really searching, finding, really qualified, capable, good young folks to bring in here. 23 of my freshmen last night, we didn't get back at 3:00 this morning. And three of my freshmen, they said, “Hey, coach, our goal is we want to try to see, can we win three more NEC championships?”

That caught me off guard. And I said, “It's great to hear you guys thinking like that,” because in the past, I'm the only one that's thinking big like that. And now that I know I have the youngest guys that are thinking like I'm thinking, I know now I can push them and put resources around them and try to help acclimate them to things that are going to help them be great.

[00:15:31] Larry: That's incredible.

Thank you, coach. Thank you for coming on the podcast. This is HU2U, the podcast where we dig into today's important topics and stories from Howard University to you. I'm Larry J. Sanders, today's host. And thank you for listening. HU!

[00:15:47] Samuel: You know!