For Alexis Ohanian, golf stopped looking like an exclusive sport the moment his daughter saw it differently.

During a press conference at the TGL Playoff Finals on Tuesday, Ohanian described how a routine with eight-year-old Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. reshaped his view of the sport.

“I still don't play golf. I'm still terrible at it. But every Sunday I take Olympia, and so here's this little Black girl who's gone to a golf course here in South Florida every Sunday for a few years now. She genuinely thinks that golf is a sport for girls,” Ohanian said.

That perspective did not come from messaging. It wasn’t anything planned. Just showing up every week, taking lessons with Brittany Ferrante, getting better bit by bit. At some point, even making par during a 2024 practice round stopped feeling like a big deal.

He didn’t think much of it at the time.

“It was probably a year into it that I realized she thought all the old white guys on the driving range were just waiting for their daughters,” he added.

That’s what stuck with him. What she saw every week simply felt normal to her. Ohanian pointed to Serena Williams as an example, noting how that kind of shift has already played out in other sports.

Alexis Ohanian on TGL, Social Media, and Golf’s Changing Audience

Ohanian is the primary owner of Los Angeles Golf Club in TGL, the league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. He pointed to format as a key factor in reaching a different audience.

“This format of TGL is so perfect for the online generation. Again, I say this as a Reddit guy. Take my word for it. It is perfectly built for the social media age,” he said.

For him, the shift is not just about how the sport is played, but how it is seen. Shorter formats, digital reach, and creator-driven coverage are changing who engages with golf and how they experience it.

He also pointed to what comes next. “I can't wait to see what happens with WTGL, and I obviously can't wait for the women.”

If visibility and format continue to evolve, the audience will follow, just as it has in other sports.

Read more at Daily Club Golf!

Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav