Tiger Woods has said that he could not have been successful in today’s game without black golf’s pioneers.

By JOHN NORTH

During a question-and-answer session that followed at 45-minute screening of his new documentary, “Uneven Fairways,” writer-filmmaker Pete McDaniel gave a brief talk on the history of African-Americans in golf, followed by a 30-minute question-and-answer session.

In noting that it took him two years to complete the documentary, McDaniel asked the crowd, “So how many of you knew Joe Louis was a key figure in black golf?” Only a few hands were raised.

What’s more, McDaniel noted that Althea Gibson “was not only a legendary (black) tennis player, she was excellent is just about everything she attempted, including golf.”

He also told about a local golf circuit, with sites in Asheville and Knoxville, Tenn., among others, which produced a number of top black golfers. McDaniel added that Asheville’s Harry Jeeter ranked “possibly as the greatest amateur I’ve ever seen.” He said Jeeter could have been “a great pro,” if he had chosen to follow that course.

In speaking of his own career, McDaniel said, “I started out as a ball boy” at a local golf course, describing his task, with a good-natured laugh, as that of “a glorified human golden retriever.” He was so proficient at the job, he soon was promoted to a full-time caddy.

When he was a youngster, McDaniel noted that a member of the Biltmore Forest Country Club, where he was working as a caddy, gave him a a bag of wooden-shafted golf clubs, which jump-started his interest in playing golf.

Across the road from his home in Arden, there was a cow pasture that “my brothers and I made into a five-hole golf course,” McDaniel recounted with a smile. His interest in golf continued through college at UNCA, where he played on the golf team, but afterward, he saw Lee Elder and some others play so well that it made him realize he was not cut out to be a top-tier player, so “I decided to become a writer.”

“It’s been 36 years since I’ve been in this place” at UNCA, he said. “I’m a 1974 graduate of UNCA and I’m truly blessed and got a great education here.”
During a 30-minute question-and-answer session, a man began by asking, “So how much does Tiger (Woods) make per year now?”

With a laugh, McDaniel said, “Before the (sex) scandal, $100 million per year. After the scandal, about $85 million a year.” (The scandal to which McDaniel referred culminated in the divorce of Woods, then the world’s No. 1 golfer, from his Swedish wife, Elin Nordegren, on Aug. 23. Woods, while still married, allegedly had sex with multiple women, includes group sex with prostitutes. Since his return to golf after the divorce, his game has deteriorated, but he remains a closely watched athlete — and a big draw of both fans and detractors.)

Someone asked McDaniel where the newspaper clippings, referring to black golfers of yesteryear, came from that were included in the film.

“Mostly, from The New York Times,” McDaniel replied, noting that “most daily papers (in the U.S. at the time) didn’t cover black golf ... Black papers did.” He particularly singled out Walter Winchell, a New York-based newspaper and radio commentator, for helping to publicize the plight of black golfers and push for their acceptance in white tourneys.

He also said that, with the aid of Winchell and others, boxer Joe Louis was alleowed to play in 1952 in the San Diego Open, breaking the PGA’s Caucasians-only rule. McDaniel explained that Louis was regarded as a hero for his war-time patriotism and a cultural icon, so the PGA, albeit reluctantly, felt it would be too controversial to deny his entry into the tournament. “That opened up the door for all other blacks to play golf.”

A man said, “I assume you were playing high school golf in the ‘60s and then here (at UNCA) in the ‘70s. How was it for you” during those eventful years during the civil rights movement?

“When I was an adolescent, I can remember going to The Block on Eagle Street” in downtown Asheville, which was the black section of the city. According to McDaniel’s recollection, there was only one movie theater downtown — and blacks had to sit in the balcony. He also remembered segregated water fountains and lunch counters.

In high school, “I had a bag of mismatched clubs and played against white kids” with country club-quality clubs. “I beat some of them ... The proudest moment I had probably was in the classroom.” McDaniel noted that his mother always emphasized to her children that they needed to work twice as hard as white children to excel — and he worked hard on his studies and achieved academic success.

With much pride, McDaniel recounted that he graduated “No. 18 out of 300 students from T.C. Robinson High School in Asheville. Then, “in 1970, when I came to the campus (at UNCA), I had an afro (haircut).” Both McDaniel and the crowd laughed when he recalled that, upon his arrival at UNCA, “I thought I was H. Rap Brown!” He noted that he and others formed UNCA’s first black student union — and that there were moments of racial tensions at the university.
“I feel really proud today when I see” the racial harmony at UNCA, he said.

Regarding questions about his golf game, McDaniel said, “I shot a 67 once, with five straight birdies. I thought I was hot stuff and I won a lot of money” that day. However, he said he is happy to be a senior writer with Golf Digest, which has been described as “the Mercedes Benz of golf writing.”

Another person asked, “Where can I go (locally), as a black woman, to courses where there’s diversity and learn the game of golf?”

“Boy, that is a great, great question,” McDaniel replied. “Golf used to be very popular in this area among minorities ... There’s still lots of older minorities playing” golf. “In the Asheville area, a lot of minorities play at ‘Muni,’” a reference to Asheville Municipal Golf Course, off Swannanoa Road in East Asheville.

McDaniel said he has four more years of work before he will retire, at which time he hopes to begin programs that encourage minorities to play golf and pursue opportunities in the industry that has developed around the game.

Someone asked McDaniel what he learned from producing the documentary and why there are not more minorities competing in the current golf tournament.
“I learned a lot — about filmmaking and how nice Samuel L. Jackson is,” McDaniel replied. “It turned out to be a fairly extensive project and well-received.” From his research, he said he concluded that it is important to “never underestimated the power of people who are determined and passionate.”

“As for the second part of the question, I’m not even sure the game wants us (blacks) today.”

After a pause, McDaniel added, “Most of those guys (in the documentary) started out in the caddy ranks ... We’re not doing a good enough job” in encouraging black children to participate in golf. He called this a shame because, among other factors, it “is an $80 billion per year industry.”

As for questions about Tiger Woods, McDaniel noted that he represents “a minority (who) for the last 14 years has been the most powerful figure in golf. Despite that, other blacks (in golf) are getting the table scraps.”

Further, McDaniel asserted, “There are so many aspects of the game” in which blacks could participate and reap the awards, but that is not happening. He also noted that “you can get a free college education” by excelling in golf and winning a scholarship to play on a college’s golf team, as he did.

“If you’re a black female and can break eight you can get your college education paid for free,” he said. However, for whatever reason, “the interest level is just not there.”

Frowning, McDaniel said, “The future is not very bright (for blacks in golf), but I’m a man of faith, so I remain hopeful.”

Did McDaniel experience segregation during his early golfing days in Asheville? someone asked.

“When I came along at UNCA, we had issues in 1972, ‘73 and ‘74, where we couldn’t play some courses” because he was black and there were Caucasian-only clubs, he replied.

At the same time, he said his participation in golf helped to open his eyes to the world. For instance, McDaniel said, “When I first caddied, I got paid $3 or $4 cash — and the man paid it out of a money clip. I’d never seen a money clip before.”

He asked the audience if it knew what a “Detroit bankroll” is?

When no audience members raised their hand, McDaniel noted that it is a wad of money with $50 bills on the outside, giving one the impression that all the bills are $50s, but instead with $1 bills on the inside.

“My story also includes a connection with the Biltmore Forest Country Club,” McDaniel said. “My grandmother was a white woman. She sold the property to George Vanderbilt for 50 cents per acre.” As a boy, he would ride through the tony neighborhood, saying to himself, “One day, I’m going to be part of that world.”
However, he said with a laugh, “As my wife would say, “It’s fool’s gold.’”

Another questioner wondered what McDaniel’s explanation would be for the lack of African-Americans in the youth ranks in the U.S. “Is it because youth today — they (realize they) all can’t be like Tiger Woods.”

“That’s part of the problem,” McDaniel said. “There’s the lack of visibility of other black golfers ... We allow ourselves to have the wrong role models — rappers and strippers and Lady Gaga ... My four-year-old can ‘do’ (imitate) Beyonce.” He lamented that teachers, fire fighters and others are no longer role models for U.S. youngsters.

A woman asked about opportunities for minorities in golf, via scholarships, to which McDaniel reviewed a number of specific options available. He added, “So, there are educational opportunities and funding. There’s just not enough interest.