Golf grows an understanding of STEM In Harlem
Young men in Harlem are learning math and science though an unlikely ally: golf. The Bridge Golf Foundation located in Harlem, New York, is a learning hub for young men of color to learn STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) through the sport of golf. After 2 p.m. the facility fills with young men hitting golf balls into a projector screen, complete with programmed golf courses, and analyzing their swing using cameras installed at each bay. Others work on their putting or read about golf in books pulled from a small library.
The Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, came to life by chance. Farrell Evans, a former writer with Sports Illustrated and ESPN, was paired with former Wall Street commodities trader Bob Rubin during a round of golf at Century Golf Club, just outside of New York City.
“We were out there talking, hitting golf shots, and he [Bob] asked me how I got into the game,” Evans recalled, “and I told him how I had grown up in Georgia, that my dad played and uncles had played, and that I had a strong network of African-American golfers I was part of.”
“It was Bob’s vision to create the learning center and build it in Harlem and from that meeting he said, ‘Farrell, I’m retired, so go out and figure the rest out.’”
Utilizing his experience as a journalist, Evans researched all the ins and outs of starting a foundation and found the location for the facility. In January 2015, the foundation was officially launched, and Evans left his employer, ESPN, to focus on the foundation full time
The plan for the foundation was simple: make golf possible for the community in Harlem. To do this, the facility would also serve as a state-of-the-art learning facility called the Bridge Golf Learning Center. This setup allows people who want to take golf lessons or play golf on top-of-the-line simulators to do so with the proceeds funnelling back into the foundation.
The main focus, however, is on the young men the foundation aims to reach. The foundation partnered with Eagle Academy for Young Men of Harlem, a public all-boys school 10 blocks away. Through their partnership, 20 young men were selected to be part of the rigorous after-school program that would combine STEM studies and golf.
The disparity of young men of color in STEM is hard to ignore. A study found that people of color received just 6 percent of all STEM bachelor’s degrees. Less than half of those went to black males.
While the foundation’s facility was under construction, the young men met at the Harlem YMCA. Randy Taylor, a teaching professional at the Foundation, recalled, “We rented out a whole entire building, and we had a STEM room, an education room, and the gym for golf, building ourselves a nice little indoor golf facility.”
Brown believes that repeatedly exposing kids to the concepts of STEM will help these men develop confidence. “I want them to know that other kids aren’t smarter than them, it’s just that they’ve seen the material more. So once our kids have the same exposure to STEM, they can go out do incredible things because they know they’re just as smart.”
Because the young men are learning golf simultaneously, they talk about magnus force, the vertex of air with the golf ball, how the golf ball performs differently based on the number of dimples on the ball, or how the attack angle when striking the golf ball applies to science and math.
As for the impact the foundation is having on lives of its students, Evans expressed with gratification, “Imagine being able to immerse yourself in the game of golf, but through the game, every other aspect of your life is going to be impacted: your education, your social skills, and self-confidence. We’re very much involved in their lives in a very deep way.”