Panel discussion celebrated the growth of Hispanics in golf and their bright future in all areas of the industry.

At this year’s PGA Show in Orlando, conversations in Spanish were frequently heard across the floor and among exhibitors and attendees from the Americas, Spain, and U.S. Hispanic communities. It was a testimony of the growth of Hispanics — around 20% of the U.S. population — in the game and the golf industry.

The panel on Aspirations and Contributions of Latinas and Latinos to the Golf Industry was a celebration of that growth and the promising future of Hispanics, who constitute around 50% of the manual and service workforce in golf, but just 2% to 3% of PGA and LPGA club pros. They only occupy around 1% of management and executive positions in the golf industry.

“It was amazing to be able to discuss what Latinas and Latinos are doing in the industry to grow the game of golf. We need to focus on the positives and help each other,” said Estela Morales Segarra, an LPGA Class A Professional at Keney Park and Goodwin Park in Connecticut and CoFounder of CT Latinas Golf Team. “There are barriers and struggles, but there are also a lot of good things that can happen if we continue knocking on doors.”

Morales Segarra, originally from Durango, Mexico, was one of four speakers for this first ever panel on Hispanics in golf at the PGA Show. “I particularly enjoyed what happened after the panel, when I received a bunch of emails from people I did not know asking for advice and thanking us for the panel,” said Francisco Rivera, Assistant Director of Rules at the USGA.

“We feel motivated to increase USGA’s seminars, education, and opportunities for Latinos. Hispanics in golf keep growing and the gap keeps getting narrower,” added Rivera, who grew up in Puerto Rico.

“It was the beginning of something very important and a collaboration with an impact not just on the game of golf, but also in the golf industry. I was impressed by the passion and the disposition to improve our industry,” said Spaniard Silvia Serrano, Certified Club Manager and Director of Service at Country Club of Virginia.

The fourth panelist, Jorge Corral, ex-PGA TOUR player and President of the PGA of Mexico, expressed his wish to have many more panels on Latinas and Latinos in golf. “It is an innovative way to reunite Latino industry leaders, get together as a group and grow the game of golf. The next step is to use the momentum to increase the outreach to industry leaders,” Corral explained.

The panel was fully attended and generated a lively discussion among the panelists and the audience, which included Azucena Maldonado, founder of the Latina Golf Association, and Tony Chavez, Director of Golf at Los Serranos Golf and Country Club in Chino Hills, California.

Chavez manifested his emotion for seeing a panel on Latinas and Latinos for the first time in his 25 years attending the PGA Show. After all those years, he shared the same feeling with panelists and attendees: “Sí se puede.”

Latinas and Latinos in golf reunited at the PGA Show

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