"Friends ofLangston " Scrapbook

BY | Tony Starks PHOTOS | Courtesy of Troy Mullins / TaylorMade Golf

By nature, golf can be a lonesome pursuit. It's the ultimate individual sport. There's no singular opponent to stare down, no teammates to blame when things go wrong only you, the course, and the shot in front of you.

If only we were engineered to be solitary. People strive for connectivity, belonging and acceptance. For women of color in golf, those things can seem rarer than a hole-in-one. Within the following lines, we'll unpack Troy Mullin's journey within the game and industry, exploring her struggles to find her "tribe," and her unwavering commitment to being a successful role model for women like her.

"It's been a challenging world to navigate," says Mullins "Trying to be taken seriously in a space where I didn't fit in, where few women of color are in visible roles. But I can feel the tides shifting. More and more black women are interested in golf, and there are so many talented players at the collegiate level that can break through as pros "

Among those talents is AllAmerican Amari Avery, the USC super sophomore currently ranked 14th in women's amateur golf rankings. Then there's Bailey Davis from the University of Tennessee, who has a 2022-23 scoring average of 73 28 and a career-low round of 63 this season

Mullins, age 36, was also a premier college athlete. The Ivy League graduate earned a degree in China Asia Pacific Studies and International Relations from Cornell University while standing out on the track as a heptathlete - shot-put, javelin, long jump, high jump, 100m hurdle, 200m and 800m By professional standards, golf came late to her life. She first picked up a club when she was an adult. Because hand-eye coordination was second nature, she was among the select few who could hit the ball from Day One

For those of us who have toiled with the game for years, we love and hate Troy for that God-given ability.

While studying abroad in China to complete her degree, Mullins often found herself at the driving range She used it as an escape, something different to break up the monotony of academics while finetuning her fluency in Mandarin

"People would come up and ask crazy things. 'Are you a pro?' 'Are you here to play in a tournament?'" she laughs, thinking back on it "When they found out the truth, the questions turned to how are you this good, this fast? Truthfully, it gassed me up It made me believe this golf thing is easy, and if I kept it up, I would turn pro within a year."

With her degree in the books, Mullins turned her attention to golf Adopting her track mentality, which was fueled by her father, Billy, who held a 400m world record in 1978 and qualified for the 1980 U S Olympics team, she started training.

She consumed every instructional book she could get her hands on and fell into a deep YouTube rabbit hole Mullins was obsessed She even pulled out her savings to get lessons from Rick Sessinghaus, the now famed coach of two-time major champion Collin Morikawa. Her game elevated quickly, but there was one area where she towered above the rest: Distance.

Troy Mullins could bomb the golf ball So much so that her closest golfing friend, a Women's European Tour member, encouraged her to pursue the burgeoning world of long drive. It wasn't mainstream golf. It wasn't the LPGA Tour, but it was an opportunity – one that Mullins would take full advantage of.

Her style, charisma and ability made Mullins a main attraction As a World Long Drive competitor, she won the 2017 Mile High Showdown in Denver when she over 117 miles per hour. hammered a then-record 402-yard drive -- becoming one of just a handful of women to eclipse the 400-yard mark However, she is far more than a bomber Her effortless swing is more poetry than power, more rhythmic than ravenous. was up in arms about the Tour There was no talk of washing when they wanted to women's golf, only when it was a competitor to the PGA TOUR," llins. "Double standards are real." merit to that argument The around LIV has quieted in recent while the alternate tour has ed to gain momentum, adding a ner and more events in 2023 sked the most surprising thing V Golf, Mullins speaks about her ship with the players one in ar.

Off the course, Mullins' magnetic personality makes her a natural in media settings. She made several guest appearances on Golf Channel in partnership with NBC Sports before signing as an on-course analyst and media personality with the controversial LIV Golf Tour in 2022.

The PGA TOUR competitor (turned partner) is funded by the Saudi Arabian royal family and has been accused of sports-washing, taking advantage of a fractured ecosystem in men's golf as tactic to save face on a geopolitical scale Mullins, however, sees things differently She first met Majed Al Sorour in 2019 – he's now the managing of LIV Golf. At that time, Golf ad just founded the Aramco ductively defined as the s version of LIV.

Reed is one of my favorites," she e's gotten this stereotype, this But I did a feature story on his t year, and he was so fun and cool I learned that he was quietly sponsoring Michael Herrera at the time, who's playing on the APGA Tour. Who would have known he was out here supporting people of color on their journey in golf? It's cliché, but you can't judge a book by its cover "

Time and time again, Mullins has felt like people in golf misjudged her. Whether it was being perceived as "difficult" because she challenged the makeup artist's misuse of toner or an apparel company's appropriation of her style, she struggled to find allies until she joined LIV

"It's been tough to stand up for myself without being characterized," she continues "I'm careful with how I represent my blackness; I know that I'm not only representing myself I won't stand for the stereotypes or the nonsense."

Mullins admits that things aren't perfect with LIV She laughs uncomfortably as she tells the story of being confused for the "other" women of color who works for them The golf industry is a continuous work in progress Through it all, she embraces her employer’s sincere effort to reach new audiences and the willingness to separate from "the way things have always been "

Having had multiple sponsors over her career, she's emphasizing the feeling of acceptance and appreciation overall. For that very reason, she's beyond thankful that she was invited to join Wake-Robin Golf Club – the country's oldest Black women's golf club, instrumental in the founding of Langston Golf Course. That invite told her she was on the right path That she needed to continue emphasizing her commitment to stewardship, mentorship and community service.

"In a sport often associated with conformity and assimilation, we must boldly embrace our individuality and style," she says. "Wake-Robin has been doing that for decades Golf needs a fresh perspective, no matter how much they may fear it. We must continue to be unapologetically ourselves, representing the unrepresented and pursuing our passions with confidence and resilience That's what women of color do "

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