“PRO” FILE – USGTF MEMBER DAVID SMITH

By David Smith

I was born May 13, 1968, in Chicago, Illinois, where I was raised until the age of 18. I attended St. Rita High School and graduated in 1986. When I was a young kid, I would visit my brother in Los Angeles in the summer. Back then, he did not have cable, so we only had a few channels to watch. I found myself captivated by golf, watching Gary Player, Lee Trevino and, of course, Jack Nicklaus. These guys just looked so cool playing this game and that is what inspired me to take up golf.

At the age of 9, I bought my first putter from Big 5 Sporting Goods, which I still have, and a sleeve of balls and began putting in my brother’s apartment. When vacation was over, I went back home to Chicago and asked I could take up golf lessons. Now, back in those days, there were no golf courses on the south side of Chicago and the other courses were not too keen on Black people playing there, as my parents explained.

There went my golf dreams until I turned 28. I had graduated from the University of Southern California and had taken a position with Hughes Communications. An old co-worker of mine was heading to the range at lunch time, and I asked if I could tag along. He tried his best to show me the swing, but he was just not that good, yet I had so much fun. I was re-inspired again to take up golf. For two years I took lessons and started playing. I was getting to be very good, but then my mobile deejay business took off and I put golf down until I was 38. I picked it back up again and went full-out learning and playing. After a very depressing time at my job, I came to realize that I just did not want to go to work and come home; there had to be something else. I was watching a golf tournament where Tom Watson, at 60-something of age, was still hanging with the young golfers and staying in contention. I saw this and said I want to do something in golf and that is when it hit me: I wanted to teach. I did not want the fame and the glory of the tour players, but I wanted to provide an opportunity to golfers to learn the game. I wanted to show other ethnically diverse people that we can not only play but we can help others come into the game. And this set me on my journey to becoming an instructor.

I was certified in 2017, but I have almost 19 years of experience in golf learning, training and playing. I coached a USGLL golf team to a second-place finish; have volunteered for The First Tee program in Orange County, California; was actively involved in the Los Alamitos High School Girls Golf Booster Club from 2012-2016; managed several golf fundraisers for the Los Alamitos High School girls golf team, and before being certified, I taught several individuals, including my wife, to play this great game.

My next biggest challenge is to try and establish a Division II women’s golf program at California State University-Dominguez Hills in Carson by 2025. This is a cause that is close to my heart and must come to fruition to not only give our young ethnically diverse women a place to play, but a chance to play and compete collegiately in this great game.