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Mark Wagner
Special to ICT
Jason Montoya remembers a moment in 2002 when, as a teenager, he was practicing his golf swing in the practice sand bunker at Twin Warriors Golf Club in New Mexico.
He was hitting shot after shot — “some better than others,” he recalls — when acclaimed professional Navajo golfer Notah Begay III came over to watch him.
Begay, a four-time winner in the Professional Golf Association tours, took time to engage with the 16-year-old Montoya, getting into the bunker with him to demonstrate technique.
“Notah came over and told me to listen to the club hitting the sand,” Montaya recalled. “He said there was a sound I should hear. I’d never thought of it that way, in terms of sound, but he told me I should hear the club on the sand in a certain way.”
Montoya sees it as a moment of transformation in his life. A four-time PGA tour winner had come over and taken an interest in the young player.
Now 34, Montoya, Santa Ana Pueblo, is the first Pueblo Native to become a certified PGA teacher and member, but he is not the last. Native golfers who have followed Montoya into the mix include Aiden Thomas, Laguna Pueblo, and Justin Montoya, Sandia Pueblo.
The growth reflects a newfound interest in golf among Native people, particularly among young people, that has mirrored development of tribally owned golf courses across the U.S.
On Dec. 1, two acclaimed young golfers, Zachary BlueEyes, Navajo, and Maddison Long, Navajo/Coeur d’Alene — protegés of Montoya and Begay — will represent their families, tribes, and golf clubs at a national tournament, the American Junior Golf Association’s Amundi Evian Showcase in Las Vegas.
The two will be among 24 junior athletes playing in the tournament, which will conclude the inaugural year of the PGA’s new Pathways to Progression program. BlueEyes and Long are the first Natives to participate in the program, which works to develop junior and collegiate golfers from traditionally under-represented communities.
BlueEyes’ parents, Donny BlueEyes and Lisa Hale-BlueEyes, said the program helps even out the playing field.
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“As a Native American in the game of golf, the challenges that are faced are financial shortfalls,” they told ICT. “Many of the students and fellow golfers that Zach has played with in tournaments have private coaches, have expensive golf gear and equipment, live on a golf course/country club and can travel the country to many golf tournaments.”
Long’s mother, Kristi Long, agrees.
“I really feel that sometimes Native youth golfers are looked over and not sought out,” she said. “My family is just fortunate to have such people in our corner.”
‘To look more like America’
The golf facilities and development programs that support young athletes are the secret sauce in winning over young players.
Kenyatta Ramsey, the PGA’s vice president of player development who oversees the Pathways to Progression program, said the 24 athletes chosen for the program were recruited from a number of junior programs, all targeting junior golfers from under-represented groups.
BlueEyes and Long both developed their abilities at the Santa Ana Golf Club, one of the facilities owned and operated by the Santa Ana Pueblo in New Mexico. They were identified for the Pathways to Progression program through Begay’s NB3Fit Golf Team, a team of 15 elite Native golfers ages 13-17 from across New Mexico who train and play at the Santa Ana club.
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The other 22 participants were scouted through the PGA’s programming with the Historically Black Colleges and Universities as well as golfers from underrepresented communities in junior programs that include the Jim Thorpe Invitational, the Mack Champ Invitational, Steph Curry’s The Underrated Tour, and the PGA’s First Tee program.
In the Pathways to Progression program’s first year, Ramsey said his role involves securing investments and recruiting organizations that will help to eliminate or reduce the barriers young players face when it comes to advancement in the game of golf.
For Ramsey, these barriers relate to resources at an earlier age.
“Tiger Woods didn’t lead to more Black and Brown golfers,” Ramsey said. “It takes a lot more than talent. We aim to have the right people developing that talent. Why? We want golf to look more like America.”
For the 24 young golfers participating, the program began six months ago in Florida, where they spent four days in college prep and healthy lifestyles programs. They also got to play the Tournament Players Club Sawgrass golf course, receiving developmental grants from the PGA to cover costs for instruction by certified PGA coaches and to secure top-shelf gear.
The players also signed on for college prep once a month and regular programs on playing fitness.
Ramsey endearingly calls the 24 athletes “The Squad.”
“Our goal is to put them in a better position to succeed at every level,” he said. “And it’s not just about talent and gear … Coaches and parents are the two most important pieces to this puzzle.”
A history lesson
Tiger Woods and Notah Begay lll roomed together at Stanford University and together won two NCAA championships before moving on to the PGA Tour. They are often cited as inspirations for Black and Native golfers, but there are historical differences between Native and Black athletes in the game.
From 1916 to 1961, the PGA had a Caucasian-only rule, excluding Black, Native and other players of color who had participated in tournaments in earlier decades, including the first Native professional golfer, Oscar Smith Bunn, Shinnecock/Montauk, who played in the 1896 U.S. Open tournament.
African-American players formed the United Golf Association in the mid-1920s, which was led, in later years, by inspirational leaders such as tennis great Althea Gibson and champion boxer Joe Louis.
The UGA held national tournaments, with its own leagues and courses. Many excellent golfers emerged from these efforts, including Dewey Brown, Charlie Sifford, and Lee Elder. Some of the players, including Bill Spiller, along with Joe Louis and Althea Gibson, were also strong voices that agitated against the PGA’s Caucasian-only rule until it was repealed in 1961.
Native Americans did not organize in a similar way. This began to change in the 1990s, however, after gaming licenses allowed tribes to expand their economic bases to include museums, schools, and, yes, golf courses.
Santa Ana Pueblo was an early adoptee, building Santa Ana Golf Club in 1993, and adding the exquisite Twin Warriors, NB3’s home course, in 2001.
Today, more than 55 tribes operate golf facilities, many built by the finest architects. And from these high-end facilities have come teaching professionals, competitive tournaments, and – as witnessed by BlueEyes and Long – a youth movement that indicates Native golf is on the rise.
None of this happens without programs designed for access. BlueEyes, one of the more decorated of Native junior golfers, began with the The First Tee of Four Corners and participated in the Junior PGA League, U.S. Kids Golf and Sun Country Golf, all before the NB3 foundation began its program.
“I know that people don’t know what Native people go through on the reservation,” he told ICT, “but I know that being the only Native person at a tournament, I can show other Natives that they can be in sports and they can show off their Native side of things.”
BlueEyes and Long will be bringing that Native side of things to Las Vegas on Dec, 1-4.
Making their own way
Despite the growing interest and support, young Native players may still face barriers to golf that can limit full participation.
Take, for example, the PGA’s efforts starting in 1997 to build a culture of junior golfers with First Tee Programs at various facilities across the country. A quarter century later, while First Tee does reach many juniors, fewer than 1 percent of participants are Native American or Native Alaskan, and fewer than 1 percent are Pacific Islanders.
To level the playing field for Native youths, the NB3 Foundation took matters into its own hands in 2021 by starting the Native Junior Golf tournament. It is held each July at the Santa Ana Golf Club.
“When we started this tournament, we wanted to try to provide Native golfers with an opportunity to play at a higher level,” said NB3Fit director Clint Begay, who is Notah Begay’s brother. “Obviously, there’s kids here that maybe have never played in a big tournament, but they feel comfortable playing here at an all-Native tournament.”
Thirty Native juniors played in the first tournament, and 50 in 2022. This year, 62 Native juniors from South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, California, Oregon, Oklahoma, Hawaii and all across the Southwest met at the Santa Ana Golf Club. Eight flight winners were supported by the NB3 Foundation and given an exemption to compete in the National Championships in Louisiana in November.
Those eight included Talon Gover, Diné/Choctaw/Pawnee, who played in Boys 16-18; Preston Ross, Navajo, Boys 14-15; Deviond Gachupin, Jemez Pueblo, Boys 12-13; Wyatt Basford, Chickasaw, Boys 10-11; Maddison Long, Navajo/Coeur d’Alene, Girls 16-18; Peyton “Beans” Factor, Chickasaw/Choctaw/Seminole, Girls 14-15; Harlow Gregory, Choctaw, Girls 12-13; and Amelia Silva, Pacific Islander, Girls 10-11.
“We’re just trying to provide them an opportunity to qualify for the national championships in Coushatta, Louisiana, in November,” Clint Begay said.
Among the eight supported by NB3 to attend November’s National Championships, the best finishes were Wyatt Basford, who played in the Boys 10-11 flight and tied 16th, with an impressive score of -5, and Amelia Silva, who placed 23rd in the Girls 10-11 flight.
Coaches lighting the fire
Coaches also contribute to the development of young Native golfers.
When BlueEyes and Long returned from their weeklong training in Florida with the Pathways to Progression program, there was no question who their coach would be. Jason Montoya runs his school, EleVate GolfMindBody, out of the Santa Ana Golf Club, which is also home to the NB3 Foundation.
“You learn how they learn – that’s the biggest thing,” Montoya said. “When I get a player who’s been coached by dad or grandpa for many years, I have to assess how they learned and then … how do they get over that to improve their game? We learn together.”
Montoya has known both players since they were very young.
“With Zach,” Montoya said, “when he was a little guy, I was in Arizona teaching at Talking Stick. He came to one of my Nike N7 camps in Arizona. Then he found out I was at Santa Ana. Even though he lives a two-and-a-half-hour drive, he’d come down for lessons.”
BlueEyes parents cite Notah Begay and Montoya as positive influences on their son’s development both on and off the golf course.
“They have worked with him by providing golf lessons on the course as well as player development both on and off the course,” they said. “This player development includes patience, attitude, and strategy.”
Kristi Long said the program inspired her daughter to work harder.
“NB3 is what really lit the fire for Maddison,” she said. “I loved how they instilled in the kids the rules and course etiquette. They also really taught the kids about their short game. We were thrilled when Clint Begay, Notah’s brother, started working with Maddison and the girls when they started on the NB3 Elite Golf Team.”
Looking ahead
In the upcoming Las Vegas tournament, Long, a high school senior, will join 156 unsigned seniors expected to graduate in 2024 who will play in front of coaches from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other top schools.
Of the more than 30 tribal colleges and universities, there are no formal golf programs, as far as ICT can tell. Long will be looking to sign on with an NCAA or NAIA program in Division 1, 2 or 3.
BlueEyes, a high school junior, will play alongside other high school players with the most likely result being that he will return next year while catching the eyes of collegiate coaches from across the country.
Will Lowry – an African-American golf personality whose cross-handed swing and dreadlocks “shatter the perception of what a golfer looks like” – will be the media host in Las Vegas. Boys will be playing at the Painted Desert Golf Club, and the girls are playing the Las Vegas Golf Club.
The event will include a final in-person college prep session and an awards celebration for the golfers and their parents and guardians.
For Ramsey, the Pathways to Progression program and other outreach efforts are not only an extension of efforts to grow the game but also a means to involve more Black, Brown and Native junior golfers.
“This will be my last job,” Ramsey said. “This is not a one-year thing … Our leadership wants this program ingrained into the fabric of the PGA. It’s hard to be what you can’t see. Bringing these kids forward will grow the game.”
More info
A number of resources are available for young golfers interested in improving their game. They include:
—The PGA’s First Tee program, a nationwide development program with 1,200 sites
—The American Junior Golfers Association, which has organized junior tournaments throughout the country since 1978.
—The U.S. Golf Association, which sponsors youth programs through the country.
—State programs. Many states sponsor their own junior programs. For information about a particular state, visit the PGA junior league website.
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