Opportunities, Challenges, and Successes of Immigrants in Golf
A panel of four professionals connected with the golf industry assembled at the PGA Show in Orlando in January to share their personal journeys and discuss opportunities, challenges, and successes of immigrants in golf. The presentation included case studies and examples of legal immigration options, and testimonies about successful immigrant journeys in the golf industry, in addition to an overview of challenges and opportunities for outreach, recruitment, and training. (Click here to watch PGA Show presentation. )
One of the panelists was Shayain Gustavsp of Vancouver, B.C., an LPGA Pro, businesswoman, YouTuber, and entrepreneur, who now also sits on the board of directors of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association. She was born in Pakistan, and along with her parents and two brothers immigrated to Canada in 1994 when she was a child.
Shayain is the founder of a popular YouTube channel, “Coach Shayain,” where she is widely known as a golf expert for beginning golfers. Her content focuses on making golf accessible and easy to understand, especially for women and minorities, helping newcomers feel welcome in the sport. Her mission is to break down barriers and make golf digestible and inclusive for all.
“Growing up, I did not think you could work in golf, I thought you could only play golf, because I did not see anybody like us teaching or in the front of the clubhouse at a golf course,” said Gustavsp. “As with many immigrants, my parents couldn’t afford golf or country club sports, so most of us were told we can only participate in whatever’s free. From that I learned volleyball as a young kid, and basketball, whatever free sport was around, I was there. Young girls in Pakistan don’t have the opportunity to play sports because of it being an Islamic country. Depending on where you live, the opportunities just aren’t there. So coming to Canada at eight years old, and going to a school where I could play whatever I wanted and nobody would judge me was pretty incredible.
“That really spoke to me and spoke to my heart as a person.”
Golf entered Shayain’s life when she was 16. “I played competitive volleyball and injured my ankle,” she recalls. “My mom told me to go with my younger brother to a driving range to keep him company. At first I said no, but I did go, and watched him taking a golf lesson.”
During a break in her brother’s lesson, Shayain asked him why he’s not doing what the instructor is telling him to do. So he said, “If you know how to do it, then you go take a lesson.”
Shayain hobbled over to the instructor and asked how to hold the club. “And that was it. That’s how I got into the game.”
“I didn’t ever think that I could work in golf,” she said. “I thought you only played golf, because nobody like us was ever at a golf course that I played at. You’re coming into an unknown foreign land. You’re trying to learn the culture. Golf has a lot of similarities with immigration and being an immigrant kid – the game being hard and not welcoming either. The journey of the two is actually parallel, I would say.”
