Forbidden Fairways African Americans and the Game of Golf

by Sinnette, Calvin H.

• ISBN13: 9781574781229
• ISBN10: 1574781227
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2015-07-28
• Publisher: Black Classic Press

Summary

The emergence of Tiger Woods on the international golf scene has brought the world's attention to the African American experience in golf. But before Tiger, names like Ted Rhodes, Bill Spiller, Ann Gregory, and so many others remained in relative obscurity without being given the chance to compete. Forbidden Fairways is not just a history of the African Americans who have been playing golf for over 200 years but a tribute to them as well. From the unnamed South Carolina enslaved young man who first dared to hit a golf ball when his master wasn't looking . . . to another young man named Tiger who dared to win the Masters while the whole world watched. It's a sad story in places, uplifting in others. It's about cruelty, but it's also about courage. It's about pettiness, but it's also about perseverance. It's about golf, but it's about life, too. Descriptive and intuitive, Forbidden Fairways lets you in on the real story.

Included in this edition is a new Introduction by Sinnette, as well as remarks he delivered at the African American Golf History Symposium at the United States Gold Association Museum in Far Hills, NJ.

Author Biography

Calvin Sinnette of Arlington, VA, has conducted extensive research on the history of the African American golf experience. Sinnette is a native of New York City’s Harlem, an avid golfer, and a graduate of Howard University’s college of medicine. In 2011 he was inducted into the National Black Golf Hall of Fame. He was introduced to golf while serving as a United States Air Force medical officer in Southern Germany. In 1998 he petitioned the Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) to award posthumous membership to William “Bill” Spiller who, 50 years earlier, had applied for, but was denied, membership. Dr. Sinnette’s advocacy was instrumental in persuading the PGA to reverse the 1948 decision that stemmed from the organization’s exclusionary racial policy.