Preston Shytle
Spearheading the LPGA’s social impact
Golfers love to give. Whether it be strokes, cliched advice, or endless forms of stick, something about the game inspires players to share. When it comes to the professional world of the sport, no one understands this philanthropic tendency better than Preston Shytle.
The director of philanthropy for the LPGA, Shytle is the engine behind the organization’s numerous charitable efforts and community impact programs. With the LPGA Foundation as a medium, he is taking the lead in breaking down barriers to golf for thousands of women across the country. He leads a team determined to enact meaningful change within all levels of the game, from the halls of professional play to grassroots outreach.
Born in rural western North Carolina, Shytle grew up as a multi-talented athlete. The game at which Shytle would excel was baseball, earning a scholarship to play for Montreat College in his home state. It was this time with the ball club that first gave him a peek of what a career in sports could look like.
“My experience as a student athlete kind of allowed me to see the sports world from a different angle,” Shytle said. “I started to understand the business of sport, the jobs that were available within athletic departments.”
Shytle’s journey to the LPGA began with a humble sales internship for the Charlotte Hornets basketball team. It was here that he developed the connections that landed him a position with the ticketing sales firm Playfly Aspire, where he began consulting with multiple universities about how to best monetize their athletic programs.
It was after a successful year working with the University of Maryland that Shytle took the next step in his career. Having made an excellent impression with the institution, he got a call from the school’s deputy athletics director who offered him a full-time role with the Terrapins as the director of major gifts.
Shytle jumped headfirst into this new position, where he worked to manage relationships with the university’s prominent donors.
“I really took away the lesson of building relationships through authenticity,” Shytle reflected on his time at Maryland. “Teamwork amplifies talent.”
According to Shytle, the flagship Girls Golf initiative has introduced the game to more than one million young women and counting, with the LPGA’s “One Million More” campaign striving to double that number by 2030.
After years in the collegiate space, Shytle returned to his roots and stepped into the sphere of professional baseball. He took a new position as the Washington Nationals’ senior director of development, leading the organization’s Youth Baseball Academy program. Shytle worked firsthand with elite talent such as Max Scherzer, Ryan Zimmerman, and Anthony Rendon to make an impact on the city’s youth.
“It was a part of being in a community, seeing how the blend of pro sports can transform lives on a much more local basis,” Shytle remembered.
Spurred by a desire to come back to his home state, Shytle took an open job with Duke University as its director of major gifts in 2019. He worked with the Blue Devils through the pandemic until 2022, when he made the decision to jump into the world of golf.
The LPGA, having created a new director of philanthropy position, thought Shytle would be the perfect man for the job. Having immediately connected with the organization’s mission, Shytle wasted no time in drawing on his career history to formulate a path to growth.
“Our model is not one-size-fits-all,” Shytle explained. “It’s custom-built to where I was able to pull best practices from different experiences I had on the professional and college side.”
Shytle’s reverse-engineered philanthropic structure includes aspects such as player involvement principles learned from MLB, a collegiate-style blend of ticket sales and individual donors, and a clear grasp of the LPGA’s overarching mission. All of these elements combine to help fundraise for programs vital to the heart of the organization.
“We aim to empower, inspire, and transform the lives of girls and women through golf,” Shytle stated.
To this end, the LPGA Foundation spearheads a suite of efforts focused on community impact. According to Shytle, the flagship Girls Golf initiative has introduced the game to more than one million young women and counting, with the LPGA’s “One Million More” campaign striving to double that number by 2030.
Recently, Shytle’s primary efforts have been directed toward the LPGA’s 75th Anniversary Pro-Am, one of the largest undertakings in foundation history. The event will bring together the LPGA Tour’s biggest stars and the most prolific benefactors of the women’s game in a celebration of golf’s past, present, and future.
“Golf is one of those games where you always can grow,” Shytle stated. “It offers a chance to create social impact.”
Daniel Polce
