Sirak wonders why, when during Sifford’s days upwards of ten African-Americans played the tour and today only one does, but concludes quickly:<\/p>\n
\nThe dilemma is not one of race as much as it is one of class. Despite all efforts, and until recently those efforts have been dubious at best, golf has become more expensive, more time consuming and less welcoming of new players. It is a closed fraternity and the secret handshake has been denied to most.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Sirak then goes on to point out that The First Tee, founded in 1997, has already reached 395,000 children and created 178 facilities nationwide. Golf outreach programs are involving hundreds of thousands of children. Greens fees have risen, but municipal course rates have actually trailed the inflation rate. Tiger Woods alone has involved more youth in the sport than we saw any group of people doing 30 years ago, including caddie programs – which ESPN cites as the primary reason for the lack of African-Americans on tour today.
\n
\nMe? Sport is sport, and different sports are played by different folks. How many African-Americans play NHL hockey? How does the NBA or NFL stack up to the national average? Golf and Hockey have been predominantly “white” sports,” basketball, football, and even baseball are dramatically “black.”<\/p>\n
The PGA Tour has become far more international today than it was in Sifford’s day. Gary Player and Isao Aoki were pioneers – travelling to play golf professionally – but today the PGA Tour has countless foreign players: players from Europe, Asia, South Africa, Canada, and more. These international countries have traditionally supplied Caucasian (or Asian, but not black) players. That’s sure to slant the stats.<\/p>\n
A high percentage of African-Americans in this country live in the inner cities. Regardless of race, it’s difficult to get to a golf course from the Bronx – far more difficult than it is to find a basketball hoop. Inner city high schools are far less likely to have golf teams. Outreach programs, Tiger’s efforts, and the First Tee are noble efforts, but the simple fact remains: golf requires a lot of space, and space isn’t something you’re likely to find in the inner cities of America.<\/p>\n
Ron Sirak, author of the article on ESPN.com, knows all of this. But hey, puff pieces take up column inches too, and Sirak’s got bills to pay. Perhaps next time he’ll pay more than lip service to the issue at hand: this isn’t a golf issue, but a societal issue. How do we clean up the inner cities of America? How do we create affordable golf courses within reach of large populations of minorities? How do we encourage high school golf teams in areas where golf courses are simply not available?<\/p>\n
And how do all of those international countries supplying top talent include their black populations in the sport? The weight can’t rest solely on American shoulders when upwards of 30-40% of the playing field in a PGA Tour event are international players.<\/p>\n
Aaron Whit, a new blogger on the scene, sums it up<\/a> with this: “Not everything has to be about race.”<\/p>\nCare to take your mulligan, Sirak?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Charlie Sifford was one of ten African-Americans on the PGA Tour in the 1970s. Today there is only one: Tiger Woods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-swing_thoughts"],"yoast_head":"\n
Tiger the Only African-American on Tour (Swing Thoughts) - The Sand Trap .com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/swing_thoughts\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Tiger the Only African-American on Tour (Swing Thoughts) - The Sand Trap .com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Charlie Sifford was one of ten African-Americans on the PGA Tour in the 1970s. Today there is only one: Tiger Woods.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/imgs\/pga\/tiger_woods_action.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@the_sand_trap\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@the_sand_trap\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erik J. Barzeski\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/swing_thoughts\\\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/swing_thoughts\\\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Erik J. Barzeski\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cf4b4d5ef0536bf3d071a9a2977774f\"},\"headline\":\"Tiger the Only African-American on Tour\",\"datePublished\":\"2004-11-17T16:41:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/swing_thoughts\\\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour\"},\"wordCount\":625,\"commentCount\":7,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Swing Thoughts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/swing_thoughts\\\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/swing_thoughts\\\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/swing_thoughts\\\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour\",\"name\":\"Tiger the Only African-American on Tour (Swing Thoughts) - The Sand Trap .com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2004-11-17T16:41:41+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/swing_thoughts\\\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/swing_thoughts\\\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/swing_thoughts\\\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tiger the Only African-American on Tour\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Sand Trap .com\",\"description\":\"Golf News, Reviews, and Commentary\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Sand Trap .com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/imgs\\\/cropped-tst_color-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/imgs\\\/cropped-tst_color-1.png\",\"width\":240,\"height\":65,\"caption\":\"The Sand Trap .com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/thesandtrapgolf\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/the_sand_trap\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/TheSandTrapGolf\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cf4b4d5ef0536bf3d071a9a2977774f\",\"name\":\"Erik J. Barzeski\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2b18d638ef64636d7d332e59a9c050497cdd604e494dbe1647115b2dd74fb7b5?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2b18d638ef64636d7d332e59a9c050497cdd604e494dbe1647115b2dd74fb7b5?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2b18d638ef64636d7d332e59a9c050497cdd604e494dbe1647115b2dd74fb7b5?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Erik J. Barzeski\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/u\\\/1\\\/iacas\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thesandtrap.com\\\/b\\\/author\\\/erik\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tiger the Only African-American on Tour (Swing Thoughts) - The Sand Trap .com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/swing_thoughts\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Tiger the Only African-American on Tour (Swing Thoughts) - The Sand Trap .com","twitter_description":"Charlie Sifford was one of ten African-Americans on the PGA Tour in the 1970s. Today there is only one: Tiger Woods.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/imgs\/pga\/tiger_woods_action.jpg","twitter_creator":"@the_sand_trap","twitter_site":"@the_sand_trap","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Erik J. Barzeski","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/swing_thoughts\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/swing_thoughts\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour"},"author":{"name":"Erik J. Barzeski","@id":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/#\/schema\/person\/7cf4b4d5ef0536bf3d071a9a2977774f"},"headline":"Tiger the Only African-American on Tour","datePublished":"2004-11-17T16:41:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/swing_thoughts\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour"},"wordCount":625,"commentCount":7,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Swing Thoughts"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/swing_thoughts\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/swing_thoughts\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour","url":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/swing_thoughts\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour","name":"Tiger the Only African-American on Tour (Swing Thoughts) - The Sand Trap .com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/#website"},"datePublished":"2004-11-17T16:41:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/swing_thoughts\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/swing_thoughts\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/swing_thoughts\/tiger_the_only_african-american_on_tour#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tiger the Only African-American on Tour"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/","name":"The Sand Trap .com","description":"Golf News, Reviews, and Commentary","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/#organization","name":"The Sand Trap .com","url":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/imgs\/cropped-tst_color-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/imgs\/cropped-tst_color-1.png","width":240,"height":65,"caption":"The Sand Trap .com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thesandtrapgolf\/","https:\/\/x.com\/the_sand_trap","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/TheSandTrapGolf"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/#\/schema\/person\/7cf4b4d5ef0536bf3d071a9a2977774f","name":"Erik J. Barzeski","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2b18d638ef64636d7d332e59a9c050497cdd604e494dbe1647115b2dd74fb7b5?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2b18d638ef64636d7d332e59a9c050497cdd604e494dbe1647115b2dd74fb7b5?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2b18d638ef64636d7d332e59a9c050497cdd604e494dbe1647115b2dd74fb7b5?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"Erik J. Barzeski"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/u\/1\/iacas"],"url":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/author\/erik"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1q2tI-3T","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Tiger](\"\/b\/imgs\/pga\/tiger_woods_action.jpg\")
Charlie Sifford, the first African-American to play regularly on the PGA Tour, is now the only African-American in the World Golf Hall of Fame. Things are looking up for black and African-American players, right? Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods – the top two golfers in the world are black. Right?<\/p>\n