John Anderson Golf Club Drives Big with Equitable Golf Initiative

The John Anderson Golf Club supports UCLA Anderson students and their significant others who enjoy the lifelong game of golf. The main goal of the club is to build a community of golfers of all skill levels at Anderson who play together on a consistent basis.

In 2023–24, I served as the club’s VP of equity, diversity and inclusion, with the goal of making golf more accessible within the Anderson community. Prior to entering business school, I had hardly ever touched a golf club, let alone played a full 18 holes. Yet after scoring my first “par” following a few quick lessons, I discovered the joy that accompanies the mental and physical challenges of golf. When I overheard a classmate describing a struggle with the upfront costs of golf clubs and lessons, I decided to help lead JAGC’s efforts to introduce golf’s joys to my peers by making the sport easier to pick up for newcomers like me.

MBA student Monica On ’24) takes a swing

Anderson supports some 50 student-led clubs and associations. They are an important aspect of the student experience and focus on career preparation, as well as an outlet for extracurricular passions — like golf and other sports. The clubs offer leadership opportunities and, equally important, opportunities to collaborate across degree programs, identity groups and academic or professional interests. For example, in 2024, our Technology Business Association organized an event that spotlighted universal design as part of the school’s Embracing Diversity series.

The JAGC enhanced its golf game during the 2023–24 academic year by launching the Equitable Golf Initiative. Designed to increase access to the sport of golf, EGI provided loaner golf clubs to first-time golfers while introducing a “golf buddy” system to ensure that new golfers could learn the sport from experienced members of the club. More experienced peers offer informal instruction to the newcomers. A year after its launch, EGI has proven successful, with 100% of its participants reporting a positive golf experience with the support of JAGC.

The EGI was developed by JAGC student leaders in response to existing inequitable conditions that make it difficult for many to enter the sport. While 80% of business executives say that playing golf has helped them develop new business relationships, only 22% of U.S. golfers are non-white, 26% are women and the median cost for a round of golf in the United States is $37. EGI was established to reduce barriers to entering the sport at UCLA Anderson.

This mission to expand access to golf resonated with JAGC president Austin Weatherholt (’24) from the beginning of his club stewardship. “A key goal of the 2023–24 golf club board was to engage the broader Anderson community and give students the chance to try golf for the first time,” noted Weatherholt, who played the sport as a Division 1 athlete in college. “Having volunteered as a golf coach for many years, I have seen the positive impact learning golf can have on one’s life. We were methodical in designing events for all skill levels to create an enjoyable experience and build a community around golf.”

Class of 2024’s Austin Weatherholt and Neel Mandavilli served in club leadership

Weatherholt, along with members of the JAGC leadership team, secured a grant from the UCLA Anderson Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to fund development of EGI. Purchasing golf clubs that anyone could use was the first step in making our club’s golf events inclusive for anyone who wanted to play, even if they showed up without any of golf’s often expensive equipment. Arguably, most important component of our initiative was the Golf Buddy program, which made it possible for first-time golfers to walk onto a golf course and gain confidence that golf could also be for them. And through this buddy system, new golfers, who would have paid upward of $100 for one-on-one golf lessons before ever playing the sport, could try out golf with the security of hands-on instruction from a peer.

“I never played golf before and I am now looking into picking up the sport because of my experience,” shared one first-time golfer EGI. Another reported a similar feeling, saying, “Having an experienced golfer on the teams, and their willingness to teach us, made the event incredible. I learned how to grip and swing, which was super helpful. They were very patient and kind, which I truly appreciated.”

Looking ahead, JAGC hopes to expand the impact of its successful rollout of EGI by raising funds to build out a sustainable series of beginner-friendly events at low or no cost to new golfers. As he prepared to step down from his tenure as club president, Weatherholt said, “The past year has shown us that providing free golf clubs and a coach who cares can make all the difference for a stellar first-time golf experience. I’m optimistic that we can continue to expand the reach of the sport at Anderson, and, I hope, set a best-in-class example of what equitable golf looks like in our degree programs and at any school in the country.”

UCLA Anderson alumnus Neel Mandavilli (’24) was the John Anderson Golf Club’s VP of equity, diversity and inclusion. As an MBA student, he was an Easton Technology Fellow and served as co-captain of the Parker Career Management Center’s Anderson Career Team for technology.