A Brief History

Golf seems to be one of the sports lacking in desegregation although the success of Tiger Woods tends to blanket this belief. Ever since the beginning of golf, crusaders for the game have been trying to convince officials that golf was not just for the rich and that cities and towns should provide courses for the "masses" to play. The first public golf courses were flooded with people, both rich and poor, who were trying to prove that golf was not a current fad that would pass by eventually. The African Americans who were trying to enjoy this great game, were often disclosed from private white country clubs and kept out of public and municipal courses. The only action the African Americans were getting on the golf course was to serve as caddies for the white members. For the most part, African Americans as young as eight years old would haul around two bags at a time for a full day. Mostly in the north, the African American caddies were occasionally aloud to play a round of golf on Monday's when the course is closed to the members. However in the south, this was not seen as much because the country clubs and courses would often deny the African Americans the right to play.