A holiday sports event at Nationals Park aims to empower young players through the game of golf.
On Friday, two pro golfers, Rayab Lee and Faith McKinney, will host a Christmas-themed golf clinic.
Aspiring athletes are encouraged to don their ugliest Christmas sweaters and get personalized feedback on their “swing, short game and confidence,” according to the event posting.
The golfers will also be hosting a toy drive to support students at Seabrook Elementary School in Lanham, Maryland.
Angela Waldron, the organizer and promotor for the event, said the clinic is an opportunity for golfers of all experience levels to get a lesson from a pro golfer and also learn something new about the sport.
“We have two very unique athletes who will be offering their skillset to teach the youth in the area about golf,” she said.
McKinney played Division One golf on a college scholarship in Chicago and is now on the developmental tour, called the Sapphire Golf Tour, which helps young Black women improve their game and work toward making it to the LPGA Tour.
McKinney told WTOP that to her, golf is a lot more than just shooting the lowest score possible and trying to win tournaments.
“Golf teaches life lessons. Not just on the course. But off course,” she said.
When she was an 8-year-old, McKinney said she spent hours on golf courses, which taught her more than just her swing.
“From the simplest things on how to handshake a person and look them in the eye when you’re introduced, to how to hold yourself accountable in situations,” McKinney said.
McKinney learned to play golf in her hometown of Las Vegas as part of the game’s First Tee Program. She’s hopes that by participating in community outreach programs like the holiday golf clinic, more young people, and especially minority children, will develop a love of the sport like she has.
“Oh, I’m going to see people here, that look like me and we’re going to get together and play some golf,” she said.
It is estimated that less than 1 percent of all women professional golfers are Black, a statistic that McKinney and other golfers running the clinic like, Rayab Lee, who played at Towson State University in Baltimore, want to change.
The event will take place on Friday at 6 p.m. at X GOLF Nationals Park. Tickets are still available online.