Amaya shares her unique story of growing up with golf in Antigua, the stark contrast she felt returning to the game as a woman of colour in the UK, and the pivotal moment that led her to leave her law practice behind. We dive deep into her strategic approach to building trust and breaking down barriers in underrepresented communities, and vision for a more diverse and welcoming future for golf by embracing community, intentionality, and the transformative power of invitation.

Episode Chapters:
(00:00 - 01:28) Introduction and Welcome
(01:29 - 03:15) Amaya's "Invitation to Golf" - Learning the game with her father in Antigua.
(03:16 - 05:04: Early Exposure - Growing up in a diverse junior golf ecosystem.
(05:05 - 10:55) The Career Pivot - From practicing law internationally to becoming a "pandemic golfer" and finding community.
(10:56 - 14:23) The Turning Point - Hosting a "Getting Women Into Golf" event in London and landing a job at Golf Canada.
(14:24 - 19:52) Inside First Tee Ontario - Mission, strategy, and the critical importance of building trust in communities.
(19:53 - 23:25) Creating Pathways - Engaging families and the "next step" onto the golf course.
(23:26 - 30:08) The Regional Director Role - Building relationships with golf facilities and navigating capacity challenges.
(30:09 - 35:26) The Municipal Golf and Land Use Conversation - Opportunities for public access and partnership.
(35:27 - 39:18) Innovative Access Points - The role of putting courses, short holes, and "Golf in Small Spaces."
(39:19 - 42:10) The Indoor Golf Boom - Simulators as a key entry point for new golfers.
(42:11 - 45:10) Amaya's Vision for Golf's Future - Hoping for greater diversity at all levels of the sport.
(45:11 - 46:38) How to Connect and Outro

Key takeaways in this episode with Amaya that you will discover:
Trust is the Foundation:
You cannot simply invite new groups into golf. You must first build authentic trust within their existing communities. Amaya emphasizes partnering with local schools and community centers to run initial programs, creating a bridge of familiarity before transitioning participants to a traditional golf course.

Meet People Where They Are:
Growth requires identifying and intentionally removing specific barriers—whether transportation, cost, equipment, or intimidation. Success comes from adapting the delivery (using plastic clubs indoors, providing busing) and finding facility partners whose values and capacity align with the mission.

Access Comes in Many Forms:
The future of growing the game isn't solely dependent on 18-hole tee sheets. Community putting greens, short courses, indoor simulators, and programs like First Tee create crucial, low-pressure entry points that can complement traditional golf and build a broader, more inclusive participant base.

Three Compelling Quotes from Amaya:
*On Finding Belonging: * "When I was in the UK, suddenly I was the only woman of colour that I would find on any golf course. It became a moment of fear, of isolation, of no longer feeling like this sport is mine or belongs to me."

*On the Power of First Experiences: * "Seeing women that I wasn't seeing on the course, but that I needed to see on the course, holding a club for the first time. How hungry they were to know more, but had never had that invitation. That one event changed the course of my life."

On the Secret to Welcoming New Golfers: "People might not remember what you say, but they'll remember how you made them feel. And I think that's the most important part of running programs."

Are you more of a watcher than a listener? Then check out our extended bonus segment with Amaya on The ModGolf YouTube channel. Click on this link or the image below to watch.

Amaya Athill's bio page >> https://modgolf.fireside.fm/guests/amaya-athill
Amaya Athill is a dynamic leader, advocate, and passionate force for change within the golf industry. As the Regional Director, Ontario for Golf Canada, she leverages a unique blend of professional rigour and heartfelt mission to break down barriers and make the sport more accessible and welcoming for all. Her journey is a compelling narrative of purposeful transformation: after building a successful international career as a civil litigation lawyer called to the bar in the UK and the Caribbean, Amaya made a decisive 180-degree pivot to follow her passion for golf and community. This shift was sparked by her own experience of feeling isolated as a woman of colour returning to the game in the UK, which ignited a drive to ensure others from underrepresented backgrounds could find belonging on the fairways.

Beyond her programmatic work, Amaya is a sought-after voice on diversity, inclusion, and the future of golf. She is the founder of the digital community "Golf, Interrupted," which highlights diverse stories in the sport and is also the founder of Black Women Golfers (Canada).

Links & Resources Mentioned:
Amaya's Instagram: @golf_interrupted
LinkedIn: Amaya Athill
Golf Canada: www.golfcanada.ca
First Tee Ontario: www.firstteeontario.ca
The ModGolf Podcast: www.modgolf.com

Listen and subscribe to The ModGolf Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the extended video conversation on the ModGolf YouTube channel.

Join our mission to make golf more innovative, inclusive and fun... and WIN some awesome golf gear!

As the creator and host of The ModGolf Podcast and YouTube channel I've been telling golf entrepreneurship and innovation stories since May 2017 and I love the community of ModGolfers that we are building.

I'm excited to announce that I just launched our ModGolf Patreon page to bring together our close-knit community of golf-loving people! As my Patron you will get access to exclusive live monthly interactive shows where you can participate, ask-me-anything video events, bonus content, golf product discounts and entry in members-only ModGolf Giveaway contests.

I'm offering two monthly membership tiers at $5 and $15 USD, but you can also join for free. Your subscription will ensure that The ModGolf Podcast continues to grow so that I can focus on creating unique and impactful stories that support and celebrate the future of golf.

Click to join >> https://patreon.com/Modgolf

I look forward to seeing you during an upcoming live show!... Colin

We want to thank our partner British Columbia Golf for presenting this episode of The ModGolf Podcast!

When I mentioned Phillis' episode to the folks at British Columbia Golf they immediately wanted to support it, as one of their goals is to create a sport that is accessible and inclusive. They strive to create a golf environment that is respectful of participant's personal goals and is free from all forms of maltreatment. British Columbia Golf supports women golfers and players of all ages and abilities, while continually working to increase participation in the sport with programs such as the Cloud Series.

British Columbia Golf is the Provincial Sport Organization for golf as recognized by the Government of British Columbia and ViaSport. Golf Canada recognizes the association as the governing body within the province. British Columbia Golf provides programs benefitting golfers and the golf industry in the province. Check out their website https://britishcolumbiagolf.org/

Special Guest: Amaya Athill - Founder of Golf Interrupted / Regional Director with Golf Canada.

"I'm fueled by the fact that so many people came before me like Charlie Sifford, Lee Elder, Althea Gibson, Teddy Rhodes, Renée Powell. What they had to endure makes what I'm doing just not that hard. It's time consuming true, but I have to take the next steps and recognize the great people. People that came before me - both black and white - that stood up, took a position, maintained it and created change."

Click on the image below to check out our extended conversation with Jim on our Youtube Channel!

Jim is also the founder and organizer of the African American Golf EXPO and Forum. This is a multi-day event held to promote the business and economic opportunities for African Americans in the $84 Billion Golf Industry.

To learn more about and to register for the 2nd annual EXPO August 27-31 2022 in Charlotte NC, visit their website.

You can also learn more about Jim on his bio page.

Join our mission to make golf more innovative, inclusive and fun... and WIN some awesome golf gear!

As the creator and host of The ModGolf Podcast and YouTube channel I've been telling golf entrepreneurship and innovation stories since May 2017 and I love the community of ModGolfers that we are building.

I'm excited to announce that I just launched our ModGolf Patreon page to bring together our close-knit community of golf-loving people! As my Patron you will get access to exclusive live monthly interactive shows where you can participate, ask-me-anything video events, bonus content, golf product discounts and entry in members-only ModGolf Giveaway contests.

I'm offering two monthly membership tiers at $5 and $15 USD, but you can also join for free. Your subscription will ensure that The ModGolf Podcast continues to grow so that I can focus on creating unique and impactful stories that support and celebrate the future of golf.

Click to join >> https://patreon.com/Modgolf

I look forward to seeing you during an upcoming live show!... Colin

Special Guest: Jim Beatty, Executive Editor with African American Golfer’s Digest.

The United Golfers Association (UGA) was a group of African American golfers who operated a separate series of professional golf tournaments for Blacks during the era of racial segregation in the United States. It was started in 1925 with the collaboration of several golfers who saw the need for a organized effort to increase golf amongst themselves. Many talented golfers such as Ted Rhodes, Bill Spiller, Pete Brown, Renee Powell, Lee Elder, Charlie Sifford, Willie Brown Jr, Althea Gibson, Jim Thorpe, Jim Dent, Ann Gregory, and Howard Wheeler started their careers as members of UGA.

Click on the image below to check out our extended conversation with Andy on our Youtube Channel!

Learn more about Andy on his bio page.

You can learn more about The United Golfers Association by visiting their website

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If you love golf, we have exclusive deals on golf gear and services that we use and support! We launched The ModGolf Pro Shop to offer you - our ModGolfers - 10-20% OFF exclusive discounts using promo code MODGOLF. We have curated a diverse selection of awesome brands like KINONA, deWiz Golf, ODIN Golf, Back2Basics Golf, Deuce and Project72Golf to help you play better and look great while doing it. CLICK TO SHOP AND SAVE.

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Show Notes and Andy Quotes
"I don't know if it's been thrust upon me, but a it's a great privilege of mine to work with the young black players behind me. There's been a few of us inside the ropes so now it's time for us to lift those ropes up and help the others behind us. We're going to train these players at a bricks and mortar facility in Florida that I call The Wakanda For Golf that will be the most state-of-the-art facility in the world to learn this game at the highest level. Resources that include biomechanics and short game area to learn how to score develop emotionally, physically and mentally."

"As well we will introduce players of African decent to the industry because not all of them are going to play on tour. We want to flood the industry with qualified professionals that go into the management side of the game, or golf architecture, club design, agronomy. All the different opportunities with the PGA and on The PGA Tour."

"At an early age you don't know any different. You don't learn about race and colour until it's told to you. As I got a bit older, when I'm 14, 15 years old and I'm one of the best players in the country, the questions started to come. "Pop, why didn't I get picked to be on that team when I won the scoring title and more tournaments than anyone else?" This is where my dad started talking to my about race, privilege, inequities and equality. I remember playing in a qualifier tournament in Houston, I shoot 69 or 70 and I'm 14 years old and while I wait for my dad to pick me up. Some members of the club walk by a guy hands me his bag thinking I was a caddie. That was one of the first times where I faced it blatantly and I started to get pissed off. I always used that as motivation, not as a discouragement or a reason to quit. I was always like "you know what, I'm going to take these clubs and beat your ass with them!" I used it as encouragement to push forward."

Special Guest: Andy Walker - Director, UGA Academy & Player Development.

To open Season 9, host Colin Weston is joined by LPGA Teaching Professional Dr. Greta Anderson - Founder of Dr. Greta Golf - to learn how she applies her PhD in Higher Learning and voracious curiosity to help students understand the WHY.

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After testing the deWiz biofeedback swing analysis product we were so impressed with the results that we invited them to offer you an exclusive 10% OFF your purchase using promo code MODGOLF! CLICK TO SAVE on deWiz to see (and feel) lasting results in your swing tempo, length and path improvement.

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To learn more about Dr. Greta, check out her bio page and Instagram @drgretagolf

Click on the image below to check out our extended conversation with Dr. Greta on our Youtube Channel!

                                        ______________________________________________

If you love golf, we have exclusive deals on golf gear and services that we use and support! We launched The ModGolf Pro Shop to offer you - our ModGolfers - 10-20% OFF exclusive discounts using promo code MODGOLF. We have curated a diverse selection of awesome brands like KINONA, deWiz Golf, ODIN Golf, Back2Basics Golf, Deuce and Project72Golf to help you play better and look great while doing it. CLICK TO SHOP AND SAVE.

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Show Notes and Greta Quotes...
"Apart from the collateral damage of the pandemic itself, it was a great year from my perspective to focus on the client. Because golf served as an outlet, as a stress reliever for a new adventure when other adventures weren't available, it serves as so many things for so many people last year that i really felt that it forced me to up my game. So this past season was one of my best ever. It was exciting to introduce so many people to golf, to reintroduce so many people to golf and for so many people who decided that golf was going to be their jam. They really want to get good at it and learn more about it beyond just hitting the ball. That's exciting to me. I love when people want to learn golf. I feel like a big part of my job is kind of like Love Connection. It's my job to help people fall in love with golf."

"Golf is a beautiful sport in many ways but I also saw how difficult it is to learn golf.  The interesting things that really fortified my desire to build this business as a very good golfer from the right side of the ball, was when I began this journey and committed to learning and starting all over again as a left handed golfer. I had to forget what I knew and start over. I got rid of all my right handed equipment and went to a golf store with my dad and bought beginner clubs and started from scratch. I was shocked by the lack of enthusiasm that several instructors who I visited with had. I was told a couple of times "you're probably not going to be that good anymore!". Like who says that? It was once I met an unbelievable instructor that things changed. I was struggling to get consistent ball-first contact and get the ball into the air. I told her my intentions and she didn't bat an eye and said "yeah, we can make that happen!".

"We are making progress but there definitely are a lot of areas that we need to do more work. It's implied bias. I'm continuously saddened by the number of people - especially women of colour - who land at my lesson tee. I always like to learn their history. Everyone's story is so interesting to me. I think that's the social scientist in me. I just love the human stories. But I also like to narrow in and understand where they are coming from in golf. Often times it is a return to golf after a bad experience that happened a decade or two ago and for whatever reason they have decided to give it one more shot and they found me. That makes me so happy but I'm always so sad hearing these stories because they could have been enjoying this great game for twenty years! But because you ran into a jerk, had a bad experience or you were purposely excluded from the golf network at the law firm or wherever they work. There are so many forces in place that have discouraged people of colour from getting involved in the game. It works on many people. Fortunately there are increasing numbers who are saying "no, that looks like fun and like something I want to try". Whether it's purely for fun or they realize that golf is a great business tool. Any number of those factors but that's really one of the driving forces that gets on my nerves. I don't like being the exception on the course.

"What I saw was a lot of people really wanting to move the golf needle, but many people want to understand how to move their needle. Most golfers that I work with now know that I'm very big on the WHY. It's not just what and how I say, but why I say it. I want to create an informed student who is a great golf citizen. I do not want you be dependent on me although yes, that's what I'm here for as a professional to help you refine and build your skill set but I want you to most importantly be an informed golfer. So as a passionate educator, just an if I was coaching at the collegiate level or teaching first grade, I'm the same way on the lesson tee. Excellence in education is significant because I am passionate about growing the game. Here's what I know: golf is way more fun and you're more likely to stay engaged in this great sport if you have some skills".

"I sensed that I was missing the breakthrough because often times, teachers and coaches it's more about what they're telling you to do and not questioning and not searching for the WHY. I always need to understand the why. I'll walk to the ends of the earth for you if I understand why. Every learner does not require that, but many do and many don't realize how helpful the why is. That's just my philosophy and my approach. I probably say that a hundred times every day on the lesson tee, but I feel it's so important that I want you to understand why. Why is the ball flying like that? Why is the ball hooking to the left or right? Not just "It is and that's disappointing for you", let me help you make the connection of the laws of ball flight. It's physics, it's nothing personal. The club just isn't doing what it needs to do".

Special Guest: Dr. Greta Anderson - Founder of Dr. Greta Golf and LPGA Teaching Professional.