A clothing brand takes a swing at diversifying the game of golf

ATLANTA — Olajuwon Ajanaku thought golf was a majority-Black sport.

ATLANTA — Olajuwon Ajanaku thought golf was a majority-Black sport.

He grew up on the Eastside of Atlanta, a majority African American community in a predominantly Black city, and learned to golf at 6. He was surrounded by Black kids, Black parents and Black coaches at his neighborhood’s public courses. It wasn’t until Ajanaku’s first tournament in grade school that he realized his own experience was unique.

“I thought that golf looked like where I was from,” said Ajanaku. “But then you get out there and you go to these tournaments, you see it’s a whole different world.”

Due to the high startup costs of the game, limited access to golf facilities and a lack of exposure, Black participation in the game has traditionally lagged. A 2019 National Golf Foundation report found that only 3% of recreational golfers were Black. And at golf’s highest level, just four Black golfers have PGA Tour status out of more than 200 players, and zero LPGA Tour players are Black

That’s why, in 2019, Ajanaku and his best friend and former Morehouse College golf teammate, Earl Cooper, founded Eastside Golf, a lifestyle golf apparel brand with an unapologetic nod to Black culture. The brand’s logo, named “Swingman,” features a Black man wearing blue jeans, white sneakers, a baseball cap and a gold Cuban link chain necklace while swinging a golf club.