Who are you?
I am a former pro golfer, a queer woman of color, an LGBTQ+ sports law and policy expert, a mom and a decade long attendee of San Diego Comic Con.
What’s golf to you?
Something that don’t think I will ever be able to put into words. Golf has meant the world to me – a constant since I was three. Being a golfer, an athlete, is an identity that has always empowered me that has taught me how to win, how to lose, to foster your passion, make amazing friends, and that when you focus on the fun and the love of the game instead of winning or the mechanics of your swing – that is when you play the best.
Target handicap?
I honestly have never kept my handicap – mostly because I have never understood how they worked and have always been too lazy to actually figure it out. But right now, my target is to get back into competitive shape (I promise Im good at golf!), which, of course, means stroking my ego by bombing some cute little 280-yard drives.
Favorite golf course?
Torrey South Course, The Farms (San Diego) and the Hyderabad Golf Club in my fam’s hometown in India.
Favorite item in your bag?
My Callaway 9.0 epic flash driver with a Fujikawa shaft.
Shoutouts?
God so many! I dont think there’s enough room for them all but : Irene Crowchild, badass queer indigenous long drive champion! Bradford Wilson, Drew Westphal, and Connor Laubenstein the most support and wonderful guys in the golf world who have and continue to do so much to change the face of our sport and use their platforms to uplift others; Hailey Davidson, the first trans woman to win a professional golf tournament who is crushing it both on the course and in advocacy and visibility for trans inclusion in our sport despite cruel and unfair backlash; Tod Fitzpatrick, king of equipment at Callaway and fitting my clubs for almost a decade; and everyone Im so lucky to work with to fight for trans inclusion in sports (everyone please watching the documentary Changing the Game!)
Shout out to Amanda Corr, who has been doing so much on covering some of the history of women’s golf for an upcoming project.
Photos: instagram.com/mayasreddy / instagram.com/kylearl
