LBGTQ+ Rainbow Laces Campaign

The golfing world constantly attempts to make the sport more inclusive, but could more be done to promote accessibility and equality in the game?

To coincide with this year’s Rainbow Laces campaign, bringing visibility for LGBTQ+ people, Hazel Grove Golf Club focused on the efforts being made within golf to try and make the game more diverse.

England Golf has supported the Rainbow Laces campaign again this year, with Jamie Blair part of the drive to welcome and encourage more LGBTQ+ people to participate in the game.

An Interview with Jamie Blair

“The first thing we’re doing now is with visibility,” Blair said. “It’s making sure that people see and hear golf. There are a choice of 1,880 golf clubs, 400 driving ranges and short courses across England, let alone in Wales and Scotland and Ireland.

“That visibility they give to the game is important and we have to create discussion, it isn’t about conflict, it’s creating discussion and education. You might not quite able to understand exactly why somebody wants to use a particular pronoun, but you need to respect it and we have to help clubs create that environment where people can be themselves in whatever form that takes.”

“The game offers itself to individuality and we’ve got to celebrate that more. Showcase that, within the opportunities that exist in the game, is really about being yourself. I think it comes down to the culture that you have at the club and I think it’s the position that we need to reach out a lot further and we need to connect within local communities.”

“I wish I’d been more open when I was younger,” Jamie said. “Everybody has their own journey, so you can’t say when is the right time to come out and the right time to talk about it.”

“Everybody has to do their own individual thing and then they should never feel pressured, but I guess what was important for me was that I wanted to be completely authentic. That’s been a big word for me in my life in the last year.

“I wanted to, for myself more than anything, was just completely put it out there about who I was and not hide anything. I look at my sexuality as kind of one part of me and I don’t think it defines me.”

“I felt a bit of responsibility as well. I know Mel Reid speaks a bit about this. As you get older, and I’m about to become a mum, I want to be able to talk about this with my little boy. I want to be able to help kids and give back a bit to the community.

“In the past I’ve just gone about my business and lived my own life. But I am proud of who I am and what I’ve achieved and personally some of the obstacles I’ve overcome so I wanted to give back a little bit”

‘A high-profile gay golfer would break down barriers’

The women’s game has had several openly LGBTQ+ players through the years, although the PGA Tour and DP World Tour have still yet to see someone compete as an openly gay golfer.

We think having a high-profile male gay golfer is really going to help break down those barriers. It’s probably going to help push along modernisation and help clear out some of those old attitudes that still exist.

LBGTQ+ At Hazel Grove Golf Club

This week we have flown the LBGTQ+ flag on our 18th green. As A Club For Everyone the committee and James Rowlands thought it was something we had to support. We signed up as soon as Kathie Glazier pointed us in the direction of the campaign Rainbow Laces with England Golf. Today Mr Captain, Mr President, and Lady Captain swapped their laces for the Rainbow Laces in support of the campaign. We are proud to say we are England Golf’s golf club of the year but we are even more proud to say we are A Golf Club for Everyone!