The Gay Games is the biggest LGBTQ+ sports and culture event in the world and is held every four years, bringing together thousands of participants across eight days and a wide variety of sports.
It was first held in San Francisco in 1982, and golf was also on the schedule for that inaugural edition.
PGA Member Gary Shaw headed to the 2026 Gay Games in Valencia and competed at Parador El Saler in the All-Gender Division A category. Representing Ireland, he took the silver medal.
“That was my first time going. I’d never gone to it. It’s on every four years. It changes location every four years, so the next one is in Perth in Australia,” Shaw said.
“There were about 12,000 participants across all different sports, so golf wouldn't have been the biggest. There were 200 players at golf overall.
“It's like a very small Olympic-style event. There are people from all over the world. I was golfing with people from Australia, San Diego, the UK. It’s a huge coming together of LGBT people, and it's a great feeling of inclusivity.”
Shaw acknowledged that the competitive element was important, but only one part of the event's appeal, alongside the chance to meet and interact with other people who belong to a shared community.
“The competition part is an important piece of it, but it's not the be-all-and-end-all,” he said. “Some people are just delighted to go and play for a medal and enjoy the game again and meet fellow LGBT people and go and see a nice city as well. Valencia is gorgeous.
“We played El Saler Golf Club. At the past Gay Games, they also had really good golf courses.
“They go out and they make a proper scene of it. They have flags up across the golf course, and they kind of take over the city. That's the vibe of the week. You see a lot of events going on. There are musical things going on after the games and loads of social activities.
“It's a very exciting week and just really good energy.”
In 2022, Shaw launched Inclusive Golf in County Kildare, which was a Golf Ireland-supported programme providing coaching for young golfers with additional needs.
Shaw writes on his website that, after coming out as a gay man, he experienced both the challenges golf can present and the benefits it can offer someone who may not feel represented in traditional sporting spaces.
After moving to London, Shaw established LGBT Golf, a community built around inclusion, representation and professional coaching. It serves a community he believes remains underrepresented within the game.
Pictured: Gary Shaw (middle right) with three other players
“I was a PGA Assistant Professional in Ireland. I was just qualifying as a PGA pro when I moved to London, and I always had it in the back of my head that I would do something – I started Inclusive Golf in Naas,” he said.
“I used to work in Naas near Dublin for almost three years when I was training, and Inclusive Golf was for youth golfers who had health issues, so kids who had poor vision, or cerebral palsy, cancer, or previous cancer patients.
“People who probably wouldn't have much chance to play golf – giving them a platform, which was great. We had great success with that. And while I was doing it, it was at the back of my head. I was thinking, ‘I'm part of a minority group here. Maybe I should try and do something there’.”
Describing the development of LGBT Golf, he added: “When I started it, I was just like, 'What do we do?'. We started to meet up. Then I said we need something a bit more stable and consistent. I set up what I call The Monthly.
“The Monthly is a monthly meet-up, and I coach outdoors at West Middlesex. I also coach indoors at a couple of different places. I like to keep it outdoors if I can, as realistic as I can, even though that's tricky in the winter.
“The idea behind that is it's a two-hour get-together, and for the first half an hour, we just mingle. We just get together, usually on the putting green. We'll do a few putting games, have a chat, just get to know each other, and make sure the community is the first part of it.
“I'll also give them tips and coaching whilst they're warming up and getting ready to go out. After about 20 or 30 minutes, we'll do a scramble-style get-together, so we'll go in threes or fours and go out and play. I usually mingle between the different groups.
“I'll bounce between and make sure everybody gets attention and everybody is feeling welcome. It's very golf-centric, and it's coaching-centric, and it's getting them confident on the golf course.”
Shaw's background as a PGA Professional gives LGBT Golf a distinctive foundation, combining qualified coaching with his own personal experience. Looking ahead, he hopes LGBT Golf can expand beyond London through initiatives such as a certification scheme for inclusive clubs and events bringing players together.
“It would be amazing if it went international in some way,” he said. “Something I thought about from the start was a certificate for golf clubs. If they could prove they met a certain standard, they could put on their website that they were LGBT Golf approved.
“LGBT people would see that and know the club had reached a certain standard of inclusivity and that they weren’t going to be discriminated against.
“Because I’m coaching-focused, rather than just running a society, it would also be great to have a tournament of some sort – perhaps an open championship to crown the best LGBT player in the world.
“But right now, it’s about getting people involved, bringing LGBT players together and helping them feel they can compete, improve their game and meet fellow LGBT people. Hopefully, the long-term picture is bigger than that.
“It would be good for the game. It’s not about creating a different golf; it’s about bringing people into golf as it is, respecting its traditions and what the game stands for. It’s rooted in honesty, connection and people coming together.”
Pictured: Gary Shaw
