Sacred Soil

The Green Magazine charts courses where African American golfers, owners, architects and teachers pioneered a game that was rightfully theirs

By: Naimah Jabali-Nash

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Golf is a game founded on just principles—integrity, to call a penalty on yourself when no one is watching—graciousness, even in defeat and courage to risk losing everything or gain it all in one stroke. From the moment you set foot on the tee box, look your competitor in the eye and shake his/her hand, it is in this grasp that those beliefs are resurrected. Twelve-time PGA Tour winner, Calvin Peete, once said, “Golf is a game where the little man can compete with the big man on equal terms.” But those terms were far from equal when this common man’s game sailed across the Atlantic in the early 18th century. Ask any golf fan to the name greats of the game’s past and you’re likely to hear the names of Hogan, Hagen, Palmer and Nicklaus. But, few know the names (or courses) where Bartholomew, Shippen, Rhodes, Powell, Sifford and a host of other men and women played and humbly contributed to the game at a time when golf’s exclusionary stigma was at its peak. They fought to combat the social injustices and racial discrimination that plagued such a timeless game. And challenged the character of golf’s sanctioning bodies, forcing them to hold true to the pillars on which the game stood upon. Organizations like the United Golfers Association, the Royal Golf Club and the Wake Robin Golf Club were formed of members who fostered a love and appreciation for the game and were integral to the development of several African American golfers. The Green Magazine recognizes significant courses where these trailblazers exuded sheer altruism in the face of adversity.