Lee Baughman, who Mizuno described in a press release as an “absolutely average player” from Pittsburgh, has been named as the first member of Mizuno Golf’s “Play Famously” campaign team.

Baughman, 30, said he found out about the opportunity on a GolfWRX forum.

“I remember sitting there with my wife, on the laptop and actually showed her the contest,” he said. “Usually she doesn’t care too much about GolfWRX or golf in general, but I said ‘Look at this one. This would be a crazy contest to win,’ even though there wasn’t much information. So I entered on the site and didn’t expect to hear much out of it.”

When told of how Mizuno described him as an “absolutely average player,” Baughman chuckled. Baughman said he could be a better golfer if he had more time, but his job as a product manager in the mining industry and being a father of two children has limited the time he can play the game.

“The game is not very forgiving if you don’t give it a lot of time,” he said. “And I actually picked up the game very late. It was after college and I didn’t start taking it too seriously until a few years ago.”

Mizuno launched its Play Famously campaign to “champion the cause and determination of the ‘everyman’ golfer using Mizuno’s JPX-825 line of game-improvement irons.” To kick off the event, Luke Donald and the Mizuno Golf team hosted a press conference, introducing Baughman as the latest member of the team.

The JPX-825 was recently released by Mizuno to fit along with its Play Famously theme. Mizuno says the iron has an extra large sweet spot on its ultra-thin, ultra-hot face, which enhances the trampoline effect to create extra distance on shots.

“A lot of people still view Mizuno as a brand for only elite players, but that’s a misconception,” said Dick Lyons, vice president and general manager of Mizuno Golf, in a press release. “We know that we have the longest and most forgiving irons on the market in the JPX-825s, but we’re not asking golfers to take our word for it. We challenge any mid to high handicap players to put the JPX-825s up against anything they are playing now, and they will see for themselves.”

The JPX-825 will be just one of the clubs that Baughman and the rest of the yet-to-be-determined “average Joe” team will be using. The members will be outfitted with a number of Mizuno irons, drivers, woods and apparel. They will also receive instruction and tips from PGA Mastor Instructor Gary Wiren, and get a chance to compete in Mizuon’s inaugural JPX Invitational this September in Atlanta.

“The passion of amateur golfers is at the heart of our sport,” Donald said in a Mizuno press release. “It’s what drives our sport and it’s really special that Mizuno is going to these lengths to celebrate them with this campaign. Let’s be honest, I don’t think any of us pros are at risk of losing our jobs. For guys like Lee, consistently breaking 90 can be life-changing, and the right equipment makes all the difference.”

The rest of the team will not be announced until this summer. Golfers who want the opportunity to be selected for one of the other 11 spots available can do so via the Play Famously website.

Until May on the Play Famously website, players who have tested the JPX-825 can can to the website and leave feedback on the club. They will also be able to leave an essay, photos and/or videos demonstrating their passion and determination to the game, and why they should be selected to the team.