3 min read
Golf smart. Swing with swag. Two phrases that any golfer can implement to unlock a more confident game no matter their skill level. But for golf creator and PGA of America Associate Mariah Swigart, those phrases have guided her approach on the golf course and online.
If you haven’t heard her name yet, get to know it. She’s a fixture on the Arizona golf scene, and her community offers something for everyone. Her social platforms focus equal parts on golf instruction and fitness, travel, fashion, inside-the-ropes competition, light-hearted trends, and insight from someone on the final leg of training to be a PGA professional.
But how did she find herself with a community of nearly 60,000 loyal followers consuming her content and looking to her for ways to improve their own game? Like many in the industry, Swigart’s journey is further proof that golf can change lives…and career trajectories.
An Indiana native, Swigart first found herself in Arizona by attending Arizona Christian University where she recalled women’s golf scholarships — at the time — being plentiful and ripe with opportunity for those looking for one.
“My first time visiting was to move into my college dorm,” said Swigart.
Escaping the snowy midwest for the sunny southwest, ACU was the perfect place to refine her skills on the golf course, while focusing on what she thought her true career path would be — education. Swigart was an elementary school teacher for many years, teaching fourth grade Arizona State History.
“I learned about Arizona very quickly having to teach them those facts,” said Swigart of her adopted home state and early assignment as an educator.
But it wasn’t an immediate switch from elementary to video content. Swigart’s husband, also a teacher, got a job teaching in Madrid, Spain, and the program couldn’t guarantee Swigart a similar role in the same city. So she took her talents online, picking up freelance work tutoring, writing blogs and copywriting.
“The websites were like, ‘Can you do photos, too?’” said Swigart. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I can figure that out.’ Then it morphed into videos.”
That was the very beginning of Swigart’s production company, Swigart Productions, where she later made her “Ms. Swag” golf page as we know it today.
“I didn’t think my face would be attached to it, I just wanted to showcase products.” Swigart said of the original intent of her Ms. Swag Instagram account. “So many new products and new brands [were] starting up. I thought this was the perfect opportunity for me to showcase the work [I’d] been doing for them.”
Her consistent posting and approachable style led to other women reaching out to her looking for other women to play with. From there, her community was beginning to blossom. And in content, community is key to longevity and loyalty.
Swigart’s flourishing online persona has led to collaborations with top brands and organizations in the golf industry since launching her account: GolfTec, SkyTrak, Fabletics, PopStroke, Play Yellow for Kids, Youth on Course, The First Tee, and many others. But Swigart’s desire to impact golf reaches far beyond social media. She’s currently in the teaching and coaching program through the PGA of America en route to becoming a PGA Professional, an idea born after years of organizing informal ladies’ clinics at Bellair Golf Park in Glendale, Arizona.
“I knew the basics, and really liked getting people to feel confident on the golf course but I wanted to know more about biomechanics, set up, and how to be a better teacher,” said Swigart.
She’s already put her teaching into motion, too, hosting women’s clinics throughout the valley to combine the social benefits of golf, while teaching the basics to those eager to find a low pressure entry point. But among all these unique but equally important ventures — content, continuing education, clinics — is one guiding principle that centers the work she does no matter the medium.
“I hope it’s encouraging, positive, and inspirational,” Swigart said. “And I use those words because someone stopped me the other day and said ‘I follow you and I’m inspired by what you’re doing on the golf course.’ A lot of women don’t feel comfortable on the golf course even to this day, so breaking down those stereotypes is what I’d love to see. I’m grateful the page aligns with that, and that’s what I want to continue to do.”
To keep up with Mariah’s journey, you can find her on social platforms “@ms.swag_golf”.