Greg Fitzgerald never set out to be a standard bearer. He just wanted to be himself. And yet, his paths have coalesced. Traveling across cultural fairways cut with equal parts rapidity and lag, Fitzgerald came out as gay six years ago, becoming the country’s first male PGA professional known to do so.
He has since become a driver in golf’s continued narrative of becoming more accepting, more inclusive and more diverse. Fitzgerald, 48, and the head golf professional at The Institute in Morgan Hill since 2005, had long lived a personal life mirrored by the stature of his club – very private.
Yet, during a 2017 meeting of the NCPGA Section’s Diversity and Inclusion program, an initiative he then chaired, Fitzgerald made the bold decision to shed himself of the professional closet weight he’d carried for 18 years. The response then, just as with the support ongoing, has been warm and supportive.
“Personally, everything that’s come from myself being out, has been positive,” says Fitzgerald. “Every golf professional that I’ve been in contact with, both in our section and nationally, has been totally supportive.”