Will Lowery on why making golf more inclusive is the heart of Steph Curry’s Underrated Golf tour

As Will Lowery announced the qualifiers at the first stop of 2023 Underrated Golf tour on Sunday, there was a moment of déjà vu. Lowery, a pro golfer, splits his time between being an athlete and a tireless advocate for the sport. Last year he became instrumental in Steph Curry’s youth sports program, which aims “to provide equity, access and opportunity to deserving student-athletes from underserved communities.”

Whether Lowery’s providing expertise on the game through the GolfPass docuseries Home Course Advantage or talking shop on his podcast Beyond the Fairway with NBC Sports, as a Black man with locs pass his shoulders, his very presence is a much needed breath of fresh air in the sport. “The saying that I always live by is ‘You can’t be what you don’t see,’” Lowery says.

He and the NBA star met over a decade ago, connecting over their Charlotte, North Carolina roots and passion for golf. As they talked, what became paramount was exposing youth from different backgrounds and races to a sport that they wouldn’t normally have access to and creating a competitive space for junior athletes. They’re also doubling down on closing the gender gap by “by providing female players with the same opportunities as their male counterparts,” according to Underrated Golf’s mission statement.

Underrated Golf’s second season is under way right now. Before the first tee at The Park West Inn in West Palm Beach, FL, Lowery chatted with Detour about his start with golf and creating equity and inclusion on the fairway.

Detour: When you were growing up, what was your first introduction to golf?

Will Lowery: My parents were a big advocate of having me in sports that are different. My dad wanted me to play sports that required me to go across the train tracks. So, I was a big tennis player and a big golfer coming up as a kid, playing golf and just kind of realized that was my passion, just kind of fell in love with the game.

Detour: On your website, there’s a quote about growing up in the inner city and you saw the road many of your friends were taking and you chose a different path. You continued to say that “golf and tennis were the social equity that allowed me to do that.” What do you mean by social equity here?

Will Lowery: I’m a firm believer that golf and tennis is culture capital and social capital is the means to social mobility. I think that it puts me in a space where I can have access to being equal. And also educate individuals and provide a bit of culture education.

Detour: What would you say is the biggest misconception about golf? I’ve never played but I have this preconceived notion that it’s a very expensive sport.

Will Lowery: That’s not a bad perception. I think a misconception is that it’s not fun, it’s boring. And over the last couple of years, one of the great things from the 2020 the pandemic is that the game has been growing over the last 24-36 months. And people are starting to realize that this game is fun. There’s a lot of benefits to it. And yeah, I would say probably that misconception is still there. But there’s some positives that are coming out of this.

Detour: How did you find your way to working with Stephen Curry and Underrated Golf?

Will Lowery: Stephen is also from Charlotte as well. We have a bit of history together because we know each other, maybe 10 to 12, 15 years. He knows I’m passionate about growing the game of golf. We had some great conversations in his living room. I said, “Hey, bro, there’s ways that we can grow this game. There’s ways I feel like you can really make a maximum impact from where you stand in sports and who else can leverage your notoriety in another space, which not too many people have the ability to do that. Let’s figure out how we can do something from the competitive space in junior golf.” And, lo behold, we are here at the Underrated Golf tour.

Detour: And what would you say is the joy when you see these juniors come on the fairway? Can you describe for me what that moment is like?

Will Lowery: It’s everything. I told Steph: I don’t want any more Will Lowery’s you know. Individual kids who have the talent to play the game, but don’t have the resources. And to see that, what Underrated is doing—it’s providing a platform, talent pool so these kids can showcase who they are in front of in front of college coaches. Underrated is all about providing equity access and opportunity. That’s pretty much the crux of what we’re about. Anytime you see these kids getting phone calls from some of the big tournaments from around the country, where normally you won’t get that phone call, or it’d be more than an uphill battle to enter that tournament to play. I’m getting phone calls from different coaches: tell me about this kid that played there last year, tell me about this individual. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what gives me joy. Now just seeing that the word is getting out and these kids are getting some exposure. They’re becoming famous in their own right.

Detour: A big part of the Underrated messaging is that these kids get to play on renowned golf courses. What makes just walking on these particular courses so special?

Will Lowery: Yeah, when you think about the access part of golf, it’s like you just said: golf is expensive. I mean, to play these golf courses, like West Palm, it’s $130 for a round. In Akron, Ohio, we’re having it at Firestone which is a private golf course that you can’t have access to it. Chambers Bay, which was the site of the US Open in Seattle, it takes a lot just to have access to get there because it’s in the middle of nowhere. That’s the pure element of access right there. So when we tell these kids that we’re playing at these awesome venues, to see their face light up, to see the emails and text messages I’m getting, like, Are you serious? Are you serious? We’re playing there! I mean, that’s enough in itself.

Detour: Before we wrap up, is there anything else you wanted to share in regards to Underrated Golf since the second season has started?

Will Lowery: This is a season long, four city tour. This season’s events will go across the country. We will have the finals in Steph’s backyard, the Curry Cup, at Lake Merced, which is exclusive course in the Bay Area. But even more importantly, we use this as an educational component as well. We really want kids to explore different opportunities when it comes [to having an] occupation in golf outside of [playing] golf. And Steph is definitely utilizing his friends in his network, his Rolodex, to have these individuals come by and just meet his kids. [DJ Khaled kicked off the 2023 tour playing a round in West Palm Beach.] I don’t want everybody to think this is just a Golf Tour, there’s more to it than that. There’s a lot to be said when [about] access because it’s just exposure—seeing something different from outside of what they’re used to, every day. We’re using Underrated as a tool, because, the saying that I always live by: “You can’t be what you don’t see.” Once the kids see that they can, you can spark something, we hope.

The Underrated tour next stops include the Firestone Country Club in Akron Ohio (July 6-8), Paiute Golf Resort in Las Vegas, NV (July 18-20), and Chambers Bay in Seattle, WA (August 7-9).

Cori Murray is an executive producer at Detour. An award-winning senior editor, she writes regularly about arts and entertainment when she’s not daydreaming about her next travel adventure. Email her at: cori@detourxp.com

This story was originally published June 27, 2023 at 11:27 AM.