Golf is a sport that builds patience, perseverance, community, and connections. It’s also one of the most expensive, exclusive games to play; only three of the top 100 male and top 300 female pro golfers in the world are Black.
Stephen Curry, renowned for his success on the basketball court with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, saw an opportunity to level the playing field for junior golfers, first in the U.S. and soon all over the world, with a purpose-driven business endeavor he created in 2022: UNDERRATED Golf.
“There’s a lack of equity, access, and opportunity in the game of golf, and especially at the grassroots level, where a lot of Black and brown kids are getting left behind,” Curry says. “So UNDERRATED supports golf as a vehicle to introduce kids to higher levels but also give them the resources that will equip them to be successful in whatever they choose.”
UNDERR ATED Golf focuses on supporting young golfers who may not resemble the typical player and who lack financial resources—and, therefore, access to courses, coaches, equipment, and training. By providing all of these things, in addition to leaning into golf’s image as a game that fosters friendships and business opportunities, Curry and the team behind UNDERRATED want to remake the game. Curry’s ultimate dream, he says, is “seeing a professional golfer on the PGA or LPGA Tour holding up a trophy, and when the interviewer asks, ‘Where did you get your start?’ They say it was the UNDERRATED Tour.”
In pursuit of that vision, UNDERRATED Golf has grown quickly in just two years, from organizing community events across the U.S. to hosting its first overseas tournament in May, at Walton Heath Golf Club in the U.K. Corporate partners, including United, which joined forces with the UNDERRATED Golf Tour in 2022, have been crucial to that growth, as they provide funding and facilitate travel for UNDERRATED Golf participants and their families.
“When you’re creating a junior golf tour from scratch, it’s pretty hard to get people to come on board,” says UNDERRATED Athletic Operations Director Jason Richards. “That’s only a testament to our partners like United, who have believed in us from day one.”
This incredible pace of change couldn’t be more palpable to UNDERRATED’s young golfers, such as Lucky Cruz, who earned a spot in the U.K. tournament with his outstanding performance in junior events like the Curry Cup, the top prize for the U.S. tour’s best golfers last year. Before joining the tour, he and his father, Freddy, had also gotten a glimpse into what often separates the promising young talents from the pros: Usually, it came down to money.
“The struggle of playing junior golf at an elite level is not that anyone is trying to keep people out,” Freddy says. “If you’re not financially there, it doesn’t matter what color you are. If you can’t play, you can’t play because you can’t afford it.”
UNDERR ATED Golf supporting the costs and logistics for its young competitors opened doors for Lucky and Freddy that previously seemed unattainable. More importantly, it gave Lucky the freedom to focus on his development—not to mention actually enjoying the game he hopes to make into a career as an adult.
“Traveling week to week, from state to state, seeing some of the best courses in the country for the last two years, it’s been an amazing experience,” Lucky says. “And to do it among friends is even better.”
As the UNDERRATED brand continues to grow internationally, Curry just wants to keep the momentum going, fostering as many experiences as possible for young people who might otherwise never get to realize their true potential.
“This is all about the kids, about giving them the first-class experience,” Curry says. “For them and their families to be able to do that free of charge is a huge deal, and it cuts through some of the barriers they have to face in their pursuit of higher goals on and off the course.”
