Golf courses are where the deals are made — it’s a business sport.

Juanita Lomax, founder and CEO of Hit Like A Girl, found this to be the case during her 20-year tenure in corporate America. Being unskilled in a club-and-ball sport predominantly saturated with white men, Lomax knew she was being left out of key conversations that could impact her career or life.

She said she remembers moments when she’d come to work thinking that decisions from the previous week still needed to be closed.

“Somehow, after the weekend, all of the decisions have been finalized,” Lomax said.

She decided to take a quick lesson from a friend who is an avid golfer. She shared the picture of her at the 20-minute lesson on social media and the senior community leader at her organization saw the photo, reached out and said, “I didn’t know you knew how to golf, but now that I know, I will absolutely start inviting you to … events on behalf of our company.”

She was unsure if the quick lesson would be sufficient for a full day on the green, but in 2021, Lomax stepped on the golf green for the first time.

“I met a lot of great people … my to-do list of four months was completely gone after about 20 minutes of conversation with people — they opened up themselves and their networks, sent texts to help alleviate some of my concerns,” she said.

Lomax remembers two men discussing a $4 million construction deal. The conversation could not have been more than five minutes, but within that time they agreed they would work on it together and agreed to move forward, according to Lomax.

“I recall taking a step back like, is that it, you guys are done? In the office we would have to talk about this for weeks,” she said.

Lomax knew a woman with her own construction company and that deal could have changed her life and the trajectory of her company — but she wasn’t there to capitalize on the opportunity.

“That moment I decided I was going to start something and help usher Black women into this sport to be able to be a part of the conversations,” Lomax said.

Hit Like A Girl started in 2022, with an emphasis on graduating Black women into the sport of golf. Women of color make up less than 5% of golfers according to the National Golf Foundation.

“Women who are not on the green and involved with those conversations are missing 100% of the opportunities presented there,” Lomax said. “Teaching women the sport of golf, you are essentially giving them a seat at the table.”

Janay Coleman, strategic workforce initiatives manager at The Pittsburgh Promise, was part of the second cohort of Hit Like A Girl. She initially participated because she wanted to build her network. She is still connected to the women from her cohort.

“I met people in various professions that I might otherwise not have had the interaction with, in a low-pressure way,” she said.

Coleman’s most memorable moment from the cohort was golfing at a charity event.

“We turned heads. Everyone was like, ‘well what’s this about?’ On one hand, it is sad and it is a shame that four Black women in a space turn so many heads,” Coleman said. “At the same time, it just speaks to what she is doing and the fact that it is revolutionary because it is just not something you see. My hope is that it does become normal.”

According to Lomax, golfing is a sport where you get to understand a person better — there’s an informal communication that takes place.

“People put down the persona of those business suits and just actually be,” Lomax said.

She said golfing is also a space for health awareness, a grounding experience in nature that can help women lower stress and anxiety.

Since the start of Hit Like A Girl, the program has graduated 60 women.

The course is $500 for eight weeks of instruction. Practice is once a week. Attendees are empowered with confidence, skills and knowledge to step out on the golf course individually or on behalf of their organizations. During the program, students learn everything from terminology to full swings, according to Lomax.

The classes are an hour long but often are extended. Lomax said she is still learning shoulder to shoulder with the women.

“We teach them what to expect at a typical hole, the golf green or the fairway. We make sure that they have all of that knowledge and information,” Lomax said.

Practice, community game days and charity golfing events are all hosted at Grand View Country Club in Braddock.

At the end of the eight-week program, there is a game day graduation in which every woman who has been part of the program is invited to support the new class of graduates.

Senior vice president of program project management at BNY Mellon Tammy Bey was in the fall 2023 Hit Like A Girl cohort.

“I got to learn the sport in a way that was encouraging,” Bey said.

Bey’s husband is an avid golfer and she wanted to enjoy the sport with him.

“There’s 18 holes to go through. There’s a lot of talking and walking and communication that happens,” Bey said. “It’s endless what opportunities can come from being on the golf course.”

Registration for the program opened March 15 and women can sign up online at hit-likeagirl.com. The spring cohort begins April 16.

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