Drive Change

At Rhoback, we crave all activities, including golf. These last two weeks, we have paused to speak with friends, mentors, athletes, ambassadors, and customers in Black and Latino communities, and have specifically discussed why golf is not nearly as inclusive as it could and should be. We want to help change that.

Rhoback ambassador and rising professional golfer, Trey Valentine, has weighed in on the high cost of travel to tournaments as one of the most significant financial barriers for all players rising up the ranks of professional golf. “Any athlete knows, to be successful, you have to be able to fail over and over again before learning to win. Unfortunately, in golf, failure is often too expensive for many to break through.”

We would like to help break down this barrier, specifically for Black and Latino golfers, to help make golf more inclusive and drive change in the game.

To start we have designed a polo shirt with Trey where 100% of the profits will go directly to a group of eight rising professional golfers of Color, to be used specifically on travel and lodging at golf tournaments. If you would like to support these eight rising professional golfers, you can preorder “The Drive Change” performance polo pictured below, to be shipped by August 31st. Follow this link to order.

In addition to donating all profits from this shirt and providing apparel for these golfers, we will also be donating $5,000 to this travel fund to be split amongst these eight golfers. If you or your business would like to donate further to this initiative, you can donate using this link, or if you would like to contribute other resources or ideas, please reach out directly to Bunker@Rhoback.com.

We know this isn’t nearly the solution, but we hope it’s a small start and we’re committed to continued action. We challenge all organizations in golf to help #DriveChange.

Meet the group of eight Change Drivers below. We’ve included their IG handles in case you would like to follow their journeys.

CHANGE DRIVERS


Trey Valentine
 
Hometown: Melbourne, FL
 
Current Tour: PGA Mackenzie Tour (Canada) & APGA Tour
 
2-Year Goal: Earn PGA Tour status
 
Favorite Golf Accomplishment: Florida State Intercollegiate win. Competed in NCAA National Championship and earned Full PGA Latin status in Professional Golf rookie year
 
Follow Trey's journey at here: @treyv1_

José de Jesús Rodríguez
 
Hometown: Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico
 
Current Tour: Korn Ferry Tour
 
2-Year Goal: Earn PGA Tour status
 
Favorite Golf Accomplishment: Won Korn Ferry Tour 2018 United Leasing & Finance Championship. Owns the course record at his hometown course Club de Golf Santa Margarita at 14 under (shot three times)

Follow JJ's journey at here: @camaron.rodriguez

Ginger Howard
 
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
 
Current Tour: NWGA Tour
 
2-Year Goal: Earn LPGA & Symetra Tour status
 
Favorite Golf Accomplishment: Final round 64 (-8) to shoot lowest competitive round and win professional debut

Follow Ginger's journey at here: @gingerthoward

Kamaiu Johnson
 
Hometown: Tallahassee, FL
 
Current Tour: APGA Tour, Emerald Coast Golf Tour, Florida Pro Golf Tour
 
2-Year Goal: Earn PGA Tour status
 
Favorite Golf Accomplishment: Wins on Florida Pro Golf Tour & Emerald Coast Tour. Carded 62 at Seminole Golf Club (Par 73)
 
Follow Mymy's journey at here: @mymy.johnson

Kayla Jones
 
Hometown: Bronx, NY
 
Current Tour: WAPT & Symetra Tour
 
2-Year Goal: Earn LPGA Tour status
 
Favorite Golf Accomplishment: Won first collegiate tournament as a Freshman at the Texas A&M Mo Morial Invitational
 
Follow Kayla's journey at here: @kaylavjones

Joe Hooks
 
Hometown: Detriot, MI
 
Current Tour: APGA Tour
 
2-Year Goal: Earn PGA Tour status
 
Favorite Golf Accomplishment: T6 at 2015 Michigan PGA Tournament of Champions
 
Follow Joe's journey at here: @joe.hooks

Joey Stills
 
Hometown: Pensacola, FL
 
Current Tour: APGA Tour, Moonlight Tour, Swing Thought
 
2-Year Goal: Earn PGA Tour status
 
Favorite Golf Accomplishment: Top 10 in scoring and points in 2019 APGA Tour
 
Follow Joey's journey at here: @jcstillsgolf

Leon Fricker
 
Hometown: Plymouth, England
 
Current Tour: 2019 PGA Tour China
 
2-Year Goal: Earn Korn Ferry Tour & European Tour status
 
Favorite Golf Accomplishment: Back-to-back wins on The Gecko Tour in Spain. Carded a 59 at Crooked Cat Orange County National
 
Follow Leon's journey at here: @leonfricker

En Rhoback, fomentamos cualquier tipo de actividad, incluyendo el golf. Hicimos una pausa las últimas dos semanas para platicar con amigos, mentores, atletas, embajadores de nuestra marca y clientes de las comunidades latina y afroamericana. Hemos tratado de entender por qué el golf no es tan incluyente como debería ser para los miembros de estas comunidades. Nos hemos dado a la tarea de cambiar esto.

Nuestro embajador, el golfista profesional, Trey Valentine nos ha hecho saber que uno de los mayores obstáculos que deben de superar los jugadores profesionales para poder subir en los rankings son los altos costos de los viajes y hospedajes. “Todo atleta sabe que para ser exitoso, tienes que estar dispuesto a fracasar una y otra vez antes de poder ganar. Desafortunadamente, en golf el fracaso es a menudo lo más costoso de este deporte .”

En Rhoback queremos ayudar a superar estas limitaciones, específicamente a los jugadores afroamericanos y latinos, para poder hacer el golf más incluyente y generar un cambio para bien de este deporte.

Para empezar, hemos diseñado una playera con la ayuda de Trey. El 100% de nuestras utilidades serán destinadas a un grupo de 8 golfistas profesionales afroamericanos y latinos para apoyarlos a que continúen persiguiendo sus sueños. Los fondos serán destinados al pago de sus hospedajes y/o viáticos durante sus competencias.

Si deseas apoyar a estos atletas, puedes ordenar la playera “The Drive Change” que aparece en esta fotografía. Las órdenes se entregarán a partir de el 31 de Agosto. El link para ordenar es el siguiente.

Además de donar las utilidades generadas por esta playera, Rhoback proporcionará ropa para estos golfistas. También estaremos donando $5,000 dólares al fondo para viajes que se repartirá equitativamente entre estos 8 jugadores. Si tu o tu negocio desean hacer donativos para esta iniciativa, puedes hacerlo mediante el siguiente link, O si deseas contribuir de otra manera con más ideas, por favor escribenos directamente a Bunker@Rhoback.com.

En Rhoback sabemos que esta no será la solución a los problemas que se viven hoy en día, pero esperamos que sea un pequeño comienzo y nos comprometemos a seguir impulsando nuevas iniciativas. Invitamos a todas las organizaciones involucradas en este deporte a que se unan a esta causa y nos ayuden a provocar el cambio. #DriveChange.


1 comment


  • Andrew Rausch

    Absolutely love this! Well done! This is the type of positive change that we need more of in our world. People need to start ask themselves what can we do today to make a change and this clearly accomplishes that!


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