A proposal for the addition of the sport of Golf to the Athletic Program at Stone Mountain High School

                                                                              Submitted by: Eric K. Johnson

*  Note:  This paper has also been attached as a PDF document
(because some of the tables are not displaying properly when I copy & paste)

I.    Introduction 3

II.   History of African-Americans in Golf 3

III.  Access to African-American Youth 5

IV.  Scholarship Opportunities in Golf 6

V.   Emergence of HBCU’s Golf Programs 7

VI.  The Business of Golfing 8

VII. Implementation of Proposal 9

VIII. Timeline 11

IX.    Financial Projections 12

X.     References 13

   I.  Introduction

              This proposal is being submitted to request the addition of the sport of Golf to Stone Mountain High School’s athletic program.  Historically, golf has been viewed as an elite sport of the privileged that has eluded African-American athletes for centuries.  Unfortunately, the sport of golf has a reputation of discrimination against minorities and institutional segregation as it relates to country club memberships and golf associations as well as access to golf courses.  Furthermore, the sport of golf has been typically perceived as the sport of the rich and famous.  Traditionally, most African-Americans affiliated with the golf world have done so primarily through roles as country club employees and/or caddies.  However, in recent years, with the emergence of athletic icons of minority descent such as Tiger Woods, many young African-American youth can now envision themselves becoming major and successful athletes in sports other than basketball, baseball, or football.  Hence, this type of proposal is long overdue.  It is most certainly past time that we seize this momentum and begin to expose our
African-American students here at Stone Mountain High School to other non-traditional sports such as golf.

II.  History of African-Americans in Golf 

            Unbeknownst to the youth today, African-Americans have played a role in the sport of golf dating back to the late 19th century.  An African-American/Native American golfer named John Matthew Shippen, Jr., was the first African-American athlete to compete in a U.S. Open (Wikipedia, 2010).  Shippen first competed in the second U.S. Open held in 1896, and he competed in a total of six U.S. Opens with his best finish in 1902 where he tied for fifth place (Wikipedia, 2010).  Furthermore, John Shippen became an entrepreneur making and selling his own golf clubs (Wikipedia, 2010).  The next African-American golfer, Ted Rhodes, did not compete in the U.S. Open until over forty years later in 1948. 
            According to Pete McDaniel (2000), writer for the Golf Digest, a prominent African-American dentist, Dr. George Franklin Grant, from Boston, Massachusetts, invented the golf tee in 1899.  Although Dr. Grant never marketed his invention, it was the first to be registered by the U.S. Patent office (McDaniel, 2000).  Calvin Sinnette (1998), author of Forbidden Fairways: African Americans and the Game of Golf, shares that the United Golfers Association (UGA) was formed in 1926 by two African-American physicians, Dr. Albert Hines and Dr. George Adams, both from Washington, D.C.  He reveals the UGA was instrumental in providing a stage for African-American golfers to compete by beginning a circuit of competitions at primarily black-owned golf country clubs throughout the United States (Sinnette, 1998). In 1946, Bill Powell designed and built Clearview Golf Course located in East Canton, Ohio, and it is the first and only golf course to be built, designed and owned by African-Americans (Nosner, 2000).
            In 1956, Ann Gregory became the first African-American to enter the U.S. Amateur Championship held in Indianapolis, Indiana (Glenn, 2005).  Charlie Sifford became the first African-American PGA Tour member in 1962 (Britt, 1998).  Thirteen years later, in 1975, Lee Elder became the first African-American golfer to play at the Masters Tournament at Augusta National; however, the first African-American member of Augusta National was not admitted until 1991 (Books, LLC, 2010).  Six years later, in 1997, Eldrick “Tiger” Woods became the first African-American Masters Champion (Books, LLC, 2010).  Thirteen years has already passed since Tiger Woods accomplished this feat.  An examination of the history of African-Americans in golf reveals it has been a long road from John Shippen’s entrance into the U.S. Open in 1896 to Tiger Woods first Masters Championship in 1997.  Therefore, it is critical that we begin providing opportunities for young, African-American students to gain knowledge, exposure, and experience with the game of golf early in life through the implementation of youth golf leagues and the addition of the sport of golf in Interscholastic Sports programs at predominantly African-American public k-12 schools throughout the country.

III.  Access to African-American Youth

            In today’s world of sports, Tiger Woods is clearly regarded as a major figure and pioneer for African-American golfers.  Woods becoming the first African-American Masters Champion, possibly considered the most coveted prize in the sport of golf, has definitely prompted a movement to include more African-American youth in the sport of golf.  However, traditionally, major obstacles for urban and minority youth participation in the sport of golf have always been the affordability of the sport and the accessibility of golf courses.
            In the past decade, however, there have been major actions initiated to make the sport of golf more accessible to African-American youth.  Although the Professional Golf Association (PGA) has been often stigmatized as an organization plagued by institutionalized racism and segregation, it has been on the forefront of current efforts to introduce golf to African-American and minority youth in order to promote interest in the sport as a potential career choice.  The PGA has implemented an aggressive campaign to increase the participation of African-American youth in the sport of golf through national programs such as the First Tee Program which has over 200 local chapters in all fifty states and abroad.  Through its National School program, First Tee has developed a golf curriculum designed to promote personal character development within a physical education setting (The First Tee Organization, 2008).  Its goal is to foster a lifelong interest in the sport of golf by engaging students through their golf curriculum (The First Tee Organization, 2008).  Currently, the First Tee National School Program is being implemented in over 3,500 schools in 350 school districts, and it has over 1.6 million students involved (The First Tee Organization, 2008). 

IV.  Scholarship Opportunities in Golf

            With the rising costs of college tuition today, most students, regardless of ethnicity or social class, need financial assistance to help pay for their college education.  In addition to academic scholarships, sport scholarships have served as a great vehicle to aid many African-American and minority athletes with college tuition and expenses.  Generally, African-American student athletes have found more success obtaining full sport scholarships in more traditional/popular sports such as basketball, track, and football; however, there are quite a few opportunities available for African-American students in search of a golf scholarship to help pay for their college tuition and expenses.

            There are host of golf scholarships awarded to minorities, high school students with financial need, and female golfers annually to help pay for college tuition and expenses for student athletes that play the sport of golf.  One well known scholarship program in the state of Georgia is through the Georgia Junior Golf Association Scholarship that awards various scholarships each year to high school seniors who enroll in a four-year college program the same year of their graduation.  To qualify for the scholarships, a student must be a member of the Georgia Junior Golf Association (GJGF, 2010).
            Other more well-known golf scholarships awarded to minorities and students from low socio-economic backgrounds include the Evans Scholars Foundation which annually awards the Chick Evans Caddie Scholarships to over 200 aspiring college students who demonstrate a financial need.  To qualify, a student must have a need for financial assistance, must have a B grade point average, and must have caddied for at least two years (Evans Scholars Foundation, 2010).  If selected, the recipients receive a full four-year housing and tuition college grant and would have to work at the sponsoring club during the summer while in the scholarship program (Evans Scholars Foundation, 2010).  In addition, the Tiger Woods Foundations has established the Earl Woods Scholarship (EWS) Program for Minorities.  The EWS are awarded to high school seniors who have excelled academically, have financial need and are commitment to community service in amounts of up to $5,000 annually (TWF, 2010).

V.  Emergence of HBCU’s Golf Programs

            In addition to the various golf scholarships that are awarded to high school seniors each year through foundations and private organizations, there are growing opportunities for student athletes who play golf to earn partial and full scholarships awarded by the college or university.  This trend is continually growing at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) where the addition of successful golf programs has been on a steady rise in recent years, particularly since 1996. 

            In 1996, The Jackson State Tigers, under the leadership of Coach Eddie Payton, became the first golf team from a historically black college to qualify for the NCAA tournament (Black Enterprise Magazine, 1996).  Coach Payton explained that HBCUs had to overcome a lot of preconceived perceptions including (1) black colleges were not serious about their programs, (2) black kids were not serious about their development, and (3) black coaches were not skilled enough to develop a program as good as the best programs in the nation (Black Enterprise Magazine, 1996).  There are thirteen black colleges in Division I which offer golf programs and award full scholarships to high school seniors including Alabama State, Alcorn, Bethune-Cookman, Florida A&M, Grambling, Hampton, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley, Prairie View A&M, South Carolina State, Southern, Tennessee State, and Texas Southern (Black Enterprise Magazine, 1996). 

VI.  The Business of Golfing

            Golf is traditionally viewed as an elite sport of the wealthy; hence, it makes sense that golf and business go hand and hand.  It has been the preferred sport of corporate America for many years, and major business deals have been brokered on the golf course.  Consequently, golf can help an individual build both personal and business relationships and network with key figures within the business world as well as serve as an important sales tool.  Many business executives belong to country clubs and a game of golf is thought to be a great assessment which reveals qualities about a potential business partner’s character.  Hence, golf has a long history of being used as a business tool among executives and business associates.

            Therefore, this is another important reason to get more African-American and minority youth involved in the game of golf.  Sports such as basketball, baseball, and football that many African-American youth typically participate in do not lend themselves to the types of business interactions a long, leisurely walk on the greens lends itself to including relationship building, scouting for potential business opportunities, exchanging of business ideas, and networking. 

VII.  Implementation of Proposal

            There are several key steps that must be taken to implement a successful golf program at Stone Mountain High School including:

• Launching an aggressive marketing campaign to engage students, parents, the surrounding community, businesses, and partners to volunteer, donate time and money, and get involved with the implementation of the program;
• Creating both a website and a Facebook account for the golf program to use as communication tools for promoting the program, recruiting players and supporters, partners, donors, and volunteers, informing the student body and general public of our tournament schedule and upcoming events, etc.;
• Developing schedules including practices and games;
• Obtaining membership to the Georgia Junior Golf Association (annual membership fee per student athlete is $25.00; website: http://www.gjgf.org/)
• Obtaining membership to the Stone Mountain Golf Club (which is located approximately 5 minutes from the high school) where the Junior annual membership fee is $540 per student athlete (website: http://golf.marriott-vacations.com/leisure/golf-courses/ston...) ;
• Joining a local chapter of the First Tee program (The First Tee of East Lake in Atlanta, Georgia; website: http://www.thefirstteeeastlake.org/);
• Joining the First Tee National School Program at a cost of $3000 per school which includes:
  • 1 SNAG equipment set, 1 curriculum manual and 2 physical educator online trainings, and
  • Funding opportunities are available for many schools.  Click on the “Funding and Grants” box near the top of this page.

Note:  The cost for the program is a one-time fee that will serve children in schools for many years to come (The First Tee Organization, 2010)

• Starting a Booster Club whose primary purpose will be fundraising to support the golf program and to promote school spirit for the golf program; and
• Planning other types of fundraising events such as hosting an annual Celebrity Charity Golf fundraiser featuring Stone Mountain High School’s alumnae who are currently collegiate and professional athletes in the arenas of baseball, football, and basketball and participating in the Georgia Dome’s “Concession” school fundraising program (which helps raise from $5,000 - $10,000 per event)

* Note:  All proceeds from fundraisers will go to the school’s golf program to purchase golf clubs, buy uniforms, and to help pay for other associated costs such as country club fees, various associations’ membership fees, clinics, tournaments, etc.

VII.  Timeline

Description

Dates

Initial Steps for Implementation

Fundraising events including Georgia Dome’s “Concession” school fundraising program (which helps raise from $5,000 - $10,000 per event)

Launch marketing campaign to recruit players for the team and to solicit support from the student body, parents, community members, and business partners to volunteer, donate time and money to help with the implementation of the golf program

August 2010 – December 2010

January 2011 – April 2011

Next Steps for Implementation

Join a local chapter of the First Tee program

Apply for memberships for the Georgia Junior Golf Association

Apply for Junior memberships to the Stone Mountain Golf Country Club.

April 2011 – March 2012

May 2011 – April 2012
(annually)

May 2011 – April 2012
(annually)

Final Steps for Implementation

Join the First Tee National School Program

Develop Practice and Competition Schedules

Apply to compete in Tournaments
(generally held May – November)

August 2011

August 2011

September 2011

IX.  Financial Projections

Items/Needs

Description

Projected costs

Golf Equipment

Powerbilt - Grand Slam 
13 Piece Package Set (3)
(www.golfdiscount.com)

$299.00/set = $897.00

Golf Apparel for approximately 10 student athletes

ClimaLite textured solid blue polo shirt (10), ClimaCool 3-Stripe khaki short (10), Golflite Slam 2.0 black golf shoes (10)

$29/shirt  = $290.00

$39/short = $390.00

$49/pair of shoes = $490.00

Total = $1,170.00

Marketing Campaign

Radio promotions, TV ad, flyers, banners, posters, calling post

$1,200.00

Website Design & maintenance

To be used as the primary communication tool for promoting the golf program, recruiting players and supporters, partners, donors, and volunteers

$500.00

First Tee National School program

A golf curriculum designed to promote personal character development within a physical education setting

$3,000.00/school

Membership for the Georgia Junior Golf Association

Its main purpose is to introduce the game of golf and its values to young people in Georgia and to provide opportunities for continued growth and involvement in the game (http://www.gjgf.org/)

$25/member = $250.00

Membership Fees for the Stone Mountain Golf Country Club

Junior Annual Membership to the Stone Mountain Golf Country Club includes free golf instructional and skill evaluation clinics

$540/player = $5,400.00

Total Projected Costs

$12,417.00

X.  References

Black Enterprise Magazine.  (1996). Tennis and Golf Programs at Historically Black

            Colleges and Universities.  Black Enterprise Magazine.

Books, LLC (2010). African American Golfers: Tiger Woods, Lee Elder, Calvin Peete,
            Charlie Sifford, Charles Owens, Bill Spiller, Pete Brown, Cheyenne Woods.
            United States: Books, LLC.

Britt, G. (1998). Great Athletes: Charlie Sifford. Greensboro, NC: Morgan Reynolds
            Publishing.

Evans Scholars Foundation. (2010). Chick Evans Caddie Scholarships. Retrieved on

            August 8, 2010, from http://www.evansscholarsfoundation.com/

Georgia Junior Golf Foundation (GJGF). (2010). Retrieved on August 8, 2010, from
            http://www.gjgf.org/

Glenn, R. (2005). Pioneer Gregory Broke Color Barriers. United States Golf Association
            (USGA).  Retrieved on August 5, 2010, from

            http://www.usga.org/news/2005/February/Pioneer-Gregory-Broke...

McDaniel, Pete. (2000). Birth of the tee: The story behind the man who gave the ball the
            perfect setup - George Franklin Grant, inventor. Golf Digest. Retrieved on August
            6, 2010, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HFI/is_10_51/ai_65486576/

Nosner, E.S. (2000). Clearview: America's Course, the Autobiography of William J.

            Powell. Los Angeles, CA: Foxsong Publishing.

Sinnette, C.H. (1998). Forbidden Fairways: African Americans and the Game of Golf.
            Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press, Inc.

The First Tee Organization. (2008). National School Program Summary Report. The First

            Tee Organization. Retrieved on August 7, 2010, from http://www.thefirsttee.org

Tiger Woods Foundation (TWF). (2010). Earl Woods Scholarship Program. Retrieved

            on August 8, 2010, from http://web.tigerwoodsfoundation.org/

Wikipedia. (2010). John Shippen. Retrieved on August 5, 2010, from
            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shippen