Andy Walker, head men’s golf coach at Lynn University
I would be telling you the biggest lie on Earth if I said I’d never been discriminated against because I’m black on a golf course. I would say it’s far-fetched that any person of color that’s played this game hasn’t felt discrimination in one form or another. From the time I was young playing junior golf up until now.
The point is, there have been numerous incidences that have happened, so how do we treat that? We either let that defeat us and discourage us from playing or use it as motivation. Do I think the game of golf is racist? No, it’s a game. It doesn’t know race. It’s something that we go out and play. Does the structure behind golf have a racist past? Yes, of course it does. In 1961, which is still in our generation, that’s when the PGA Tour’s Caucasians-only clause was lifted. So it’s not like it was such a distant past where those things were happening. So short story long, yeah, I have felt discriminated against in the past.
… So how do we fix it? Is there a question or is there something that the governing bodies in golf need to do? I don’t know other than just being supportive of the people that are feeling this way and acknowledging that there is a problem. All of these people are hurting and protesting for a reason. There’s real pain behind all of these protests and conversations right now. So there are people that understand that it’s not just people that look like them that are being affected by this. I think that the main thing is just the acknowledgment of, hey, we know that there’s been a shady past, we know that all these things have happened, how do we move on from here? And I think that’s where a dialogue is starting to get to. Everyone needs to get comfortable being uncomfortable for a while and have some uncomfortable talks and accept some very uncomfortable truths.