Smoking Gun identified that the most effective way to highlight growth potential was by expanding the audience for golf itself.
The strategy centred on increasing accessibility and broadening the appeal of the sport by amplifying the voices of those often underrepresented within it.
To bring this to life, American Golf launched The Game Changers – a powerful initiative designed to spotlight remarkable individuals who are redefining the sport. The campaign set out to challenge outdated perceptions of golf, promote inclusivity and inspire a more diverse generation of players.
Through The Game Changers, American Golf shared the stories of inspiring golfers such as Mandi Large, the Blind British Champion, double amputee athlete George Blackshaw and Ray Nyabola, founder of Black British Golfers. By highlighting these voices and their journeys, the business showed its commitment to making golf more inclusive and representative of wider society.
In addition to telling these stories, American Golf backed its message with action – supporting and sponsoring organisations actively working to diversify the sport.
As well as partnering with groups such as Black British Golfers and the (LGBTQ+) Out2Golf group, American Golf offered free golf sessions for children during the summer holidays and created Game Changers discount codes for young people who were new to the game.
The initiative became a statement of the brand’s values and long-term vision: that growing the game of golf must be rooted in representation, inclusion and inspiration.
As part of Smoking Gun’s wider work, the agency’s pro bono PR support for Variety, the Children’s Charity, created further opportunities for American Golf.
Through this partnership, the brand gained valuable association with a respected national charity and received invitations to major networking events including the prestigious Variety Awards.
These opportunities elevated American Golf’s presence among key stakeholders and decision-makers, reinforcing its commitment to social impact and community engagement. This also led to American Golf being recognised at Variety’s annual Disability Sport Awards and to an award being presented to American Golf’s disability sport ambassador George Blackshaw.
