Diamonds In The Rough - history of the African American Trek on the Golf Course - Brief Article

The History of the African American Trek on the Golf Course

For more than 100 years, African Americans have been avid participants in the game of golf. But while public golf coupes have enabled blacks to enjoy game for more than a century, with the exception of a few, including senior PGA player Charlie Sifford and young Masters champion Tiger Woods, there are still noticeably only a handful of blacks among the ranks of professional golfers. Yet, in every decade since the 1960s, an African American has made their mark on green. Organizations such as the National Minority Junior Golf Scholarship Association and the National Minority Golf Foundation have also done their part by exposing minority youth to the game and the business of golf.

Now, the recently foxed Minority Golf Coalition has set out on a course across cultural barriers to improve access to opportunities for current and yet-to-be discovered jewels at the tee.

1896-1949

1896 - The first African American professional golfer is John Shippen. Not only does he qualify for the U.S. Open, he comes in fifth.

1899 - George F. Grant, a prominent black dentist and an avid golfer, is granted a patent for the golf tee.

1916 - Cobb's Creek, one of the first public golf courses, opens in Philadelphia's Fairmont Park.

1926 - The United Golf Association (UGA) is founded by Robert Hawkins in Massachusetts. For nearly four decades the UGA serves the black golf community. It also sponsors the annual Negro Open.

1939 - Langston Golf Course opens. It symbolizes the development and desegregation of public golf and recreational facilities in the Washington, D.C., area.

1946 - Bill Powell designs and opens Clearview Golf Course in Bayside, New York.

1948 - Theodore "Rags" Rhodes, Bill Spiller and Madison Gunther file a civil lawsuit against the PGA for civil fights violations. Their action causes the PGA to amend its constitution to allow black golfers to play as nonmembers.