What It Took To Get Golf Back In The Olympics

Paris 2024 Olympic Games - Previews - Golf Back In The Olympics

PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 21: The Eiffel tower decorated with Olympic rings is seen on July 21, 2024 in Paris, France. The city is gearing up to host the XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, from 26 July to 11 August. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

(Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

What it took to get golf back in the Olympics. Only a few people know the full story, Ty Votaw is one of those people.

As you’ll hear, Ty Votaw has had a wide and varied career. He started as a lawyer at a law firm in Cincinnati. Did that for a while before a client got him involved in the game of golf. Ty went on to be the Commissioner of the LPGA. He worked for 20 years with the PGA Tour until his retirement a couple of years ago. During his tenure with the tour, he was tasked with teaming up with then the CEO of the R&A, Peter Dawson as co-chair of the International Golf Federation.

Getting Golf Back In The Olympics

The Federation’s job was to reintroduce golf to the Olympic games. It was a sport in the games at the turn of the century.

In our conversation you’ll hear Ty talk about what it took to return golf to the games. It returned to the games in Brazil in 2016 and then again in Tokyo in 2020. As fate would have it, in both cases, there were health issues. Zika in Brazil and Covid in Tokyo.

There are no such issues with the Paris games this year.

If you click on the link below, you’ll hear my conversation with Ty…