African Diaspora in sports:sport of golf - Essay Example

? Lecturer: African Diaspora in Sports: Sport of Golf Introduction People engage in sports for different reasons. One may engage in sport to loose weight, to have fun, to win competitions. Furthermore, people engage in sports as way of living healthy. Sport was once considered a recreational activity but the sector has transformed itself into multibillion dollar industry, and golf is no exception. According to McGrath, McCormick and Garrity (p.5-6) describe golf is regarded as a precision club and ball sport where the competing players make use of several kinds of clubs to hit the balls into a series of holes on a course utilizing the fewest number of strokes. Golf is considered as one of the ball games that do not need a standardized playing area. However, the game is actually played on a golf course which consists of an arranged progression of either 9 or 18 holes. Every hole on the course needs to contain a ‘tee box’ to begin from together with a ‘putting green’ that contains the actual hole. The modern game of golf originated from Scotland in the 15 century, although there are still debates on its origin. The first written record of golf the banning of is James II in 1457 as an unwelcome distraction to learning society. The sport was also first played on Musselburgh Links, Scotland on March 1672, which is considered as the oldest golf course (Cochrane, p.3-4). The major championships include: The Open Championship, The U.S. Open, The Masters, and lastly, the PGA Championship (McGrath, McCormick and Garrity 12-14). The paper is going to discuss how Africans in diaspora have excelled in the sport of Golf with major reference to notable figures such as Tiger Woods, Lee Elder, Charlie Sifford, and Renee Powell among others, with their contribution to golf as well as Tiger Woods comparison to Michael Jordan. Discussion A view expressed by McGrath, McCormick and Garrity (p.12-13) observe that golf is regarded as a precision club and ball sport where the competing players make use of several kinds of clubs to hit the balls into a series of holes on a course utilizing the fewest number of strokes. According to the rules of golf, it is referred to as playing a ball with a club from the ground of teeing towards a stipulated hole by a stroke or successive strokes in agreement with the rules. Many African Americans have graced the world of sports at top level. These athletes are referred Africans in diaspora because they descended from the historic movement of populace from Africa, predominantly to United States and Europe. With reference to golf, the most notable figure of African American origin in golf is Tiger Woods. Woods has had a significant impact in the sport of golf. This chain can be traced way back to Lee Elder who was the first African American to play in the Masters. Moreover, he was also the first American of African origin to participate in the Ryder Cup. From John Shippen, Renee Powell, Charlie Sifford, to Tiger Woods, African Americans have played a very considerable role in the growth and development of golf, both on and off the course. The emergence of Tiger propelled golf to the next level as he has dominated the golf sport up to date. Eldrick Tont ‘Tiger’ Woods was born on 30th December 1975 in Cypress, California. His parents were African Americans (Savage 5). Tiger Woods is one of the most recognizable athletes of all time and has become the face of golf. Woods’ impact on the sport was immediate and permanent. Every year he continues to set new records across the history books of the sport of golfing. Woods turned professional in 1996 and by 1997 he had already bagged his first major trophy, the 1997 Masters in a record-breaking performance of only 12 strokes (21-23). He proceeded and attained the number one position in the world’s rankings by June 1997. All through the 2000s, Tiger Woods was a very dominant figure in the golf. He spent 542 weeks as the world number one (34-36). Besides, the ‘Tiger’ has won unprecedented 14 major golf championships, the second highest after Jack Nicklaus who has won 18. He has also bagged 79 PGA tours making to be second all time after Sam Snead (The Independent). Conversely, several typical African American golfers have not attained the status of Woods up to date, with no person of African-American descent participating or wining the PGA Tour. However, in 2011 saw the entry of Joseph Bramlet, a former Stanford star make his debut in the PGA Tour. On the contrary, people like Bill Neal another African in diaspora directly promote golf as he is the sole owner and general manager of Woodridge Golf Club since it was handed back to the locals again. Neal has initiated plans to grow the club’s value while at the attracting rounds from all walks of life. Recently, Thorpe, another African in diaspora who is three time PGA Tour winner, was in Montego Bay, Jamaica where he spent a lot of time teaching youths the benefits of golf at a clinic. He also organized the LIME Jamaica Open at Half Moon a tournament which attracted 120 players from America and has grown to be a major attraction. The following memorable individuals of African-American descent have propelled golf to the next level by creating diversity to a sport that was once considered as a white man’s sport. From the 1800s saw the entrance of John Shippen into golf tournament who previously worked as a caddie, at the age of 17. Discrimination was so engrossed in golf that some professional players threatened to boycott the event when they discovered his race. However, the then US Golf Association president defended Shippen as well as another entrant, Oscar Bunn. Shippen went ahead and played in five more US Opens. In 1922, Joseph Bartholomew commenced his career as a golf architect through creation of a new golf course at Metairie Golf Club, New Orleans. His is a perfect example of the color discrimination in the golfing sport because in spite of creating various public courses, he was not allowed to play in them. 1926 witnessed the first African-American golf tournament that was staged by Robert Hawkins. He went to establish the next events in 1927 and in 1928 he created a tour for those players who were excluded from PGA events. In 1946 William Powell built Clearview Golf Club. He was to become the first American of African descent to build, own and operate a golf course. During that time segregation was so pronounced in the golfing arena which culminated in Bill Spiller being denied entry into the Richmond Open. In that same year, Ted Rhodes became the second African to play in the US Open after Shippen. Considering the fact that most golf clubs did not admit female athletes, In 1956 Ann Gregory rose to the occasion to become a very dominant figure in women’s golf. She became the first African-American player to enter the U.S Women’s Amateur. Another golf sensation of African-American decent Charlie Sifford won the Long Beach Open in 1957. He went on and became the first African-American player to earn a PGA Tour card. Due to his remarkable talent, he won the 1967 Greater Hartford Open Invitational together with the Los Angeles Open in 1969, the PGA seniors championship in 1975, and lastly, the 1980 Suntree Classic what is now referred to as the Champions Tour (Sounes 13-18). After the abolition of the “Caucasian-only clause” in the American PGA, it opened doors for all other players to participate in professional golf tournaments. Pete Brown became the first athlete of African descent to win a PGA sanctioned event. He also won the 1970 Andy Williams San Diego Invitational. Calvin Peete won the 1979 Greater Milwauke Open. He became the most prolific African-American golfer until the emergence of Tiger Woods in 1994 (David 23-38). In spite of the "Tiger effect," appeal to the public and hype that has been injected in the golfing sport by the non-white golfers, the American golf history is one of the sports that has been dominated by the white man for too long. This is one of the America’s history greater tragedy and irony that may engulf golf. The sport even today is mainly played by the white people. In the past Jew, blacks, and colored persons were not allowed to join the golf clubs. Although that perception has really transformed in today’s world, where one is judged according to the skills and prowess he/she possess rather than the color of the skin. To show how golf has transformed, in 2006 the University of St. Andrews in Scotland awarded Charlie Sifford Honorary Doctorate of laws to become the first African-American golfer to receive such an award. Renee Powell was the first female African-American to receive the same award. Sifford went on was awarded the Old Tom Morris Award, the highest honor that is bestowed by the Golf Course Superintendents Association America. As the golf was now viewed as a sport for anyone to play and manage, in 2008 Junior Bridgeman became the third American of African descent to serve on the PGA Board of Directors, following a standout performance in the National Basketball Association (NBA) career and becoming a respected entrepreneur. More Americans are giving up on the sport of golf for various reasons some of whom cited discrimination. Discrimination can be traced way back in 1916 when PGA was founded. The rules of the Caucasians kept aloof the minority outside the organization for a period of almost fifty years (Vitello 32). A noted by David (17), although there are many golf clubs throughout the country that continue to admit women and the minorities, there are still some areas in the sport of golf that lack diversity. First, is the business side, as reported by the World Golf Foundation, Caucasians held 80 % of the industry jobs, and a paltry one-third is held by females. Furthermore, Stirk (12-16) notes that less than 90 PGA professionals out of the many 28,000 are African American. In that sense, there are only 263 Hispanic members and 196 Asian members. Currently, there is one woman Christine Garrity an executive employee of PGA America who serves as a managing director and the general counsel. In 2009, the Nothern Trust Open in Los Angeles created the ‘Charlie Sifford Exemption’ in respect to player who represented the advancement of diversity in the sport of golf. Just like the short races in athletics that has been dominated by blacks with likes of Justin Gatlin, Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell, Maurice Green, and Tyson Gay. The stereotypical "black" athlete Tiger Woods has dominated a sport mainly associated with white people and has brought in a lot of diversity. Much of the disparity in golf emanates from the fact that the sport is pretty expensive in terms of equipment and the course fees required. Besides, the disparity also originates from lack of financial support for the aspiring golfers. It has been shown that certain golf levels are out of reach to an average American. And this is where the majority of the blacks and other minority population fall. Consequently, according to a view shared by The Diversity Journal (2) asserts that since golf derived its origin from Scotland, it has since been a popular pastime activity in America and the rest of the English-speaking nations for many years. Thus, the perception of a white man’s game. The sport’s original structural framework not only barred women from engaging in the sport, but also banned blacks only allowing them to be caddies. The slow progression of diversity that has characterized golf is similar to another white male-dominated area: corporate America. And as it evident in the corporate world, diversity can only be attained and fully implemented without the passionate support of the white males. This is why the entry of Tiger Woods and Steve Mona the CEO of the World Golf Foundation has created diversity in golf. In spite of the low number of blacks engaging in golf, Woods and other have managed to cut a niche in the lips of golf lovers. Lee Elder, Calvin Peete, Charles Sifford, Renee Powell, and Tiger Woods have inspired a lot of the minority African-American population. The notable figure of Tiger Woods has dominated golf for almost two decades. He is an inspiration to black, Asian, Native Americans, whites, and Cablinasian kids. The inspiration brought about by Woods in golf can be compared to the influence brought about by Michael Jordan in basketball. Both athletes are regarded as the best of all time and are of African American Origin. Both are viewed as sports icons in their respective sports due to their rise from humble backgrounds to being world class players. They are both sources of inspiration to both whites and blacks. Both athletes have collected a host accolades during their playing careers and are considered by the public as greatest athletes of all time. Both popularized their respective sports in the 1990s with Tiger extending his reign up to date. Jordan is no stranger to infidelity, getting divorced as many times. The same applies to Tiger Woods who has also accused of extramarital affairs that led to divorce. As noted by (Porter, 2009) Jordan holds the record of the highest career regular season scoring and the highest career play off scoring average. He was acknowledged by ESPN as the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century. On the other hand, as noted by Roberts (23-45) Woods holds the record of having more career PGA tours and career major wins compared to any other golfer. He is also the youngest player to win the career Grand Slam and the fastest and youngest athlete to win fifty tournaments on tour. These athletes are highly regarded by the present generation. Although golf is dominated by whites, basketball is dominated by the black minority. This is somehow linked to where one grew up from. A place like the Orange County is the third most populous city in the state of California. The county is made of a cosmopolitan population with the majority of the inhabitants being whites. The whites account 44 % of the total 1,830, 758 people with the African Americans accounting for 1.7 % and the rest are Latinos (Arellano, 2011). From this statistics it quite clear blacks are the minority population. The tremendous growth in golf in this county is due to the majority whites who are associated with sport. Tiger Woods grew up in Orange County. On the other hand, Birch and Wachter (p.313) observe that Crompton was originally mainly occupied by the black community and it is mainly a working class city with middle-level neighborhoods. Crompton was popularized by numerous rappers and hip hop groups. This genre of music is mainly associated with African-Americans. Numerous professional athletes and rappers of African-American origin have come from Crompton. Just like Brooklyn which produced Jordan, the region is more popular with basketball and baseball than golf showing how the black population is not interested in pursuing golf. As a result, people like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are an inspiration to many blacks due to their prolific scoring and their stature as great athletes of all time. On the other hand, Tiger Woods was hit by an infidelity scandal that rocked his career. On November 2009 a supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer wrote an article claiming that he had an extramarital affair with a New York City nightclub manager, Rachek Uchitel. More women alleged that they had affairs with Woods. He admitted of his unfaithfulness and apologized. As a consequence, he announced he would be taking a break from the professional golf. He was later divorced by his wife Nordegren on August 2010 (Savage 65-66). Due to the infidelity scandal, several companies re-evaluated their endorsements and sponsorships to Tiger Woods. General Motors, Gatorade, and Accenture completely terminated their sponsorship deals. Contrarily, Gillette suspended any advertisements that featured Tiger Woods. The TAG Heur barred Woods from advertising in December 2009 and later terminated their deal. In spite of all this suspensions and termination of deals, Nike and Electronic Arts continued to support Tiger Woods (Goldiner 13-14). Even after taking a break in professional golf, after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 2013, he recaptured his world number one slot once again. As noted by Bamberger nearly after 20 years golf is still struggling to attract the minorities. In the development of American golf, the death of African-Americans at golf’s elite levels, amateur and professional is strange and unwelcomed, considering the fact that America’s black population has shot to 39 million. This is evident in most golf clubs where you can not tell the difference between the loppers and the players. The caddies are as competent as their bosses. However, one thing stands out; they are impressive collection of white men. This is evident in the emergence of Rory McIlory who is considered to be the new face of golf. When the two are compared at similar points of their careers, though Rory’s record looks impressive at their age, 23, Woods is till dominating the PGA Tour at that age. Rory McIlory has been deemed to follow in the footsteps of Tiger although Rory needs more effort to match Woods’ success (Doster). However, on 2011 another African Joseph Bramlet made his debut on the PGA tour earning his playing privileges at the Q-School in the late 2010. Since Tiger Woods, the former Stanford star is the first player of African-American origin to make it to the PGA Tour. More minority groups such as African-Americans need to engage in sports like golf instead of living one group of people to dominate. Works Cited Arellano, Gustavo. Orange County. New York: Scribner, 2011. Bamberger, Michael. 03 July 2013. Where are all the black golfers? 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