- [Chance] People don't realize Minnesota is actually a golf destination.

There's more golfers per capita in Minnesota than maybe any other state.

I might be making stuff up, but you can quote me.

(laughing) (upbeat music) (mellow music) - [Chance] When I was in middle school, Tiger Woods became a phenom.

I was inspired.

I learned to love golf, but I'm no pro.

I'm gonna meet up with Greg Grease and Jaycee Rhodes for some pointers.

They're both leaders at the Solomon Hughes Sr.

Golf Academy.

The academy's named after a Minnesota elite golfer who helped to end segregation in professional golf and became the first black player in the PGA.

(upbeat music) - Hey Bring it in.

Yo.

Yes, yes.

I'm so excited to get into it.

- So we brought some clubs for you to use today.

We brought the driver and then you got some irons with different numbers.

- The lower the number, the farther the club goes.

So five iron would be the closest thing to your hybrid that you have here and then all the way down to your pitching wedge.

That's gonna be like the things you use closest to the greens.

- Yeah.

I'm ready to hit some balls.

Let's go.

The goal of golf is pretty straightforward.

Get the ball in the hole in as few shots as possible.

Players begin each hole at the tee box behind the marker.

Play the ball as it lies or take a penalty stroke if your ball is considered unplayable.

A regulation golf course consists of 18 holes of varied length.

For gear, you of course need balls and a full set of clubs including a driver, fairway woods, irons, wedges and a putter.

The majority of courses will rent clubs for around 15 to $20.

Many courses have dress codes.

Typical golf attire consists of a polo shirt, golf pants or khakis and a hat.

So even if your golf game needs a lot of work your style game can still be on point.

I'm honestly thinking about the first time I met you and it's like straight front arm.

I'm like, - [Jaycee] Yes.

- Okay.

Okay.

Holy cow.

I'm just letting them rip.

Oh my God.

It's gonna be all wormburners.

As soon as we get to the tee back.

- We might just have to stay on the driving range.

- It's all about how, how you feel while you're doing it.

- [Greg] Confidence is key man.

- [Jaycee] That's the only way you can be good at golf.

Confidence.

Mindset.

- [Chance] As long as you not take yourself too seriously.

- [Greg] Right?

- It's easy to have a good time.

- [Jaycee] I'm ready to see what we've been working on out here.

- [Chance] Yeah - Bring that onto the real course.

- [Chance] Yep.

- Then for the second half, Greg will be out there with you.

- Yeah, well we can just both stink it up.

All right.

The Hiawatha Golf Course was central to the community of black golfers in the Twin Cities when segregation in the sport was still rampant.

It's revered for this legacy, but due to flooding and environmental issues, plans to reduce the course to nine holes is controversial for many.

The clubhouse was recently named after Solomon Hughes Sr. To highlight his legacy as a professional golfer that paved the way for others.

(upbeat music) When we're choosing a club, how do we go about it?

- They're par four, par three, par fives.

Most of the time on the par fours and par fives you're pulling out the big dog.

So the driver, using a long tee.

But once we kind of get to those smaller holes like the par threes that's more when you're pulling out the irons.

- [Chance] Let's just kick it off.

Geez, here we go.

Gotta make this outfit look good.

Kind of got under it a little bit but straight fairway shot - [Jaycee] Down the center.

- [Chance] First shot jitters are out of the way.

(laughing) (upbeat music) - [Chance] What do you think that is?

150 yards.

Well - [Jaycee] I mean, we don't even have to question - [Chance] What is this witchcraft?

- [Jaycee] It's called a range finder and it's gonna show you how far away you are.

- This stuff blows my mind.

210.

That would be like a fairway - [Jaycee] I mean, probably like a wood.

- [Chance] Little wormburner - That's forward.

- [Chance] Yep.

So you are the golf coach.

Tell me a little bit about your background in golf.

- [Jaycee] When I was three years old, my dad, instead of deciding to buy a babysitter chose to take me out on the golf course.

- [Chance] There, you gonna learn today - [Jaycee] And then bought me a set of those Snoopy plastic clubs.

At the age of five, I officially started playing in tournaments, and then at the age of six I won one.

And that was where I fell in love with that feeling of winning - [Chance] Five years old.

That's amazing.

- [Jaycee] What are you thinking over here?

The Texas Wedge is always an option.

- [Chance] Texas Wedge, playing with the putter?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

Okay.

I was like, I was like, I've never heard this term but I imagine you just mean putting it from the fringe.

Might use like a iron.

Get in there.

Putting speed is the most important.

- [Jaycee] Exactly.

- Learn that from you.

- [Jaycee] Yep.

All about the speed.

- [Chance] If I sink this, I'm only one stroke behind - For the first hole - bogey.

I'm, I'm the bogey man.

First putt strokes.

- That's what it's all about.

- [Chance] I feel like I need to put my stance a little further forward.

- [Jaycee] You had it right.

So like back of the stance would be this back foot.

- Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

- And just wanting to keep it low.

You don't even have to full swing.

- Yeah, but I want a club face kind of in.

- Yeah.

- Okay.

Ah, I bounced it, but hey, that's the, - [Jaycee] Hey, that worked.

- That's the fairway baby.

So for people getting started, you know people might think of golf as a wealthy person's sport.

Is it a misconception or would you agree with that?

- [Jaycee] There are way more opportunities in golf than people understand.

That's something that I really like, want to focus in on.

That's why I genuinely loved working with the Solomon Hughes Sr.

Golf Academy because we are able to get these young kids the opportunities that they deserved.

And I want to be able to get that outreach to way more kids and way just more people in general.

- I was unaware of the, the Solomon Hughes Sr.

Golf Academy and Greg reached out to me and that was so fun.

Like the energy, the youth I met you, I was like this is a cool organization.

Ah, averaging bogey and the birdie putt for Jaycee and she's one under.

Three strokes ahead after two holes.

If I could keep it to bogeys today, I'm not gonna be upset.

(upbeat music) - [Jaycee] Great shot.

- Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Now last hole, there's a thing of the past.

- [Jaycee] This is where the mental comes in.

That's exactly why I love golf cuz you can relate it so much to life.

- [Chance] What are the motivators for you to get more people involved?

- [Jaycee] I honestly think it's super cool to see people fall in love with the game.

- [Chance] So this is my par put.

- Yeah.

- Got a par.

- I'm sorry I had to do it to you like that but at least you tied me on the last hole.

- I'm a graceful loser.

Catch you back at the clubhouse.

- Yep, for sure.

- Me and Greg now.

Now we're gonna see what happens.

Now I gotta do some pointers.

Oh yes.

The back five of the nine.

Feeling warmed up, man, I can't, I can't wait.

- [Greg] It takes me about nine to warm up so - I've been loving seeing you out here, you know, teaching golf.

What do you love about golf?

- [Greg] Being out in nature and immersing myself in the fresh air and the good vibes.

Aside from hitting bad shot, I mean, it's a huge lesson in humility, you know, Uh, and it didn't work.

- [Chance] The first time I heard about Solomon Hughes Sr.

Golf Academy was from you.

So what's the overall mission?

- I think a big part of it had to do with resources and accessibility in terms of even knowing that it exists.

So for us it's all about increasing the exposure but then it's also about providing the resources for people that might not necessarily have the resources.

We call these tap-ins.

- [Chance] Tap it in.

Are you too good for your home?

Haven't done any Happy Gilmore references yet.

Why would you say golf is like a great thing for youth development?

- [Greg] I mean, I think there's a lot to learn on the golf course in terms of life and when we're talking about young people specifically we're talking about golf being a game of patience.

It's a game that you're kind of playing against yourself.

- [Chance] Personal development, that's, that's what golf offers.

- [Greg] Chance, man.

You might have just found your hidden talent, bro.

- I'll take it.

That'll play.

- I think another big misconception is that it's it's gonna be way too expensive.

Which don't get me wrong, it could get expensive.

- [Chance] So for people just getting started what's an affordable way without busting the bank?

- [Greg] If you're talking about equipment, you can always go thrifting.

My first set of clubs I got from Goodwill, if you're talking about hitting the ball, driving range is gonna be your best bet.

Just a great way to get introduced to the game, It's a good way to get some steam out.

Golf is is really a multi-generational sport which is pretty sweet.

And so you could be out here with your grandfather or your kid.

- [Chance] Yeah.

- So I think that's a really powerful thing.

- [Chance] Come on, double bump.

Yeah - Nice.

- All right.

Double bogey.

I gotta get a par, to get back to my bogey average.

- [Greg] So there we go.

We were talking about saving money, golfing which is a slang moment.

I don't have a tee right?

So I just look around - [Chance] Some broken tees to choose from.

- [Both] Some kibbles and bits.

(laughing) - [Chance] That is a shot, bro.

Y'all remember Greg Grease's golf swing?

- Only that one.

- [Chance] That was the one.

- Strike all the other ones from the books.

- [Chance] Edit all the other stuff.

- That was it.

(upbeat music) Ah, sit down.

Way past.

Go in.

- [Chance] Look at that.

- [Greg] Go in.

Go in.

- [Chance] Whoa, dude I told you there's gonna be an incredible shot - [Greg] For par too.

- [Chance] You just got a par.

Oh dude, you did it.

- [Greg] I needed that.

- [Chance] When I got to the driving range, I was just smashing them.

But really I'm not that great at the game.

Besides what I learned from Jaycee the first time I met her.

Just a little bit of advice can change your whole game.

The work that they're doing is so important.

Making golf something that's cool for young people it's for people of all ethnicities, of all backgrounds.

When you recognize how challenging the sport is it's okay to not be great at something and still find a lot of joy in doing it.

But overall, I got, I got a lot of improvement I can make which makes me want to come back and play again.

I feel blessed to be here.

It's Chance signing off.