LeBron James plans a youth golf center in Akron through his foundation

LeBron James says his foundation is building a golf center for kids in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. He made the announcement in a new video on his YouTube channel, and the Akron Beacon Journal and Heavy both wrote it up. Golfweek ran the Beacon Journal story Tuesday morning, October 27.

James calls it the Strive for Greatness Golf Center. (Golfweek's version of the story spells it Strive Fore Greatness.) The LeBron James Family Foundation plans to put it near House Three Thirty, the foundation's community space on West Market Street. No opening date has been announced. Foundation officials told the Beacon Journal that more details will come in the next few months.

"Being a Black kid growing up in Akron, we didn't feel like, you know, the access to the game of golf was provided for us," James said in the video. Heavy quotes him saying the center "gives our kids access to the game of golf."

The round behind the reveal

The video runs about an hour, and the center comes up late in it. Most of it follows James and his chief of staff, Randy Mims, at Angels National Golf Club in Sunland, California, trying to break 100. The stakes were a donation to the foundation: $1 million if James broke 100 and beat Mims, or $1.5 million if Mims broke 100 and beat James, according to the Beacon Journal. The donor was not named.

Neither of them broke 100. "It's not over," James said. "It's over today, but the challenge continues." Both said they would keep practicing and try again, so the donation is still on the table.

A second golf project in Akron

The center follows an earlier announcement. The foundation's LeBron James Family Foundation Invitational is set for July 6-7, 2027, at Firestone Country Club. The Beacon Journal says the event is a PGA partnership aimed at underrepresented aspiring golfers. Firestone hosted its final Kaulig Companies Championship this year before that event moved to Newport Beach, California.

What to watch

The foundation has not said how big the center will be, what it will include, or when it opens. Watch for those details, including whether it adds indoor hitting bays or simulators for year-round practice. Also watch James's channel for the next attempt at 100, since that round decides whether the $1 million or $1.5 million donation gets paid.