The United Golfers Association (UGA) was a group of

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

ers who operated a separate series of professional golf tournaments for

Blacks Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ch ...

during the era of

racial segregation in the United States Facilities and services such as housing, healthcare, education, employment, and transportation have been systematically separated in the United States based on racial categorizations. Notably, racial segregation in the United States was the leg ...

. It was said to have started in 1925 when George Adams became a founding member and in 1926 by Robert Hawkins, a golfer from Massachusetts. It was known affectionately as the Chitlin Circuit emembering the old UGA tour - all-Black United Golf AssnBlack Enterprise Golf and Tennis Challenge: 4th Annual Tournament Journal Black Enterprise, Sept, 1997 and included many talented golfers such as

Ted Rhodes Theodore Rhodes (November 9, 1913 – July 4, 1969) was an American professional golfer in the mid-twentieth century, a time when African American golfers were a rarity. Rhodes helped break golf's Racial segregation, color barrier. A native of N ...

, Bill Spiller,

Pete Brown Peter Ronald Brown (25 December 1940 – 19 May 2023) was an English performance poet, lyricist, and singer best known for his collaborations with Cream and Jack Bruce.Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'' (Muze UK Ltd, 1997) ...

Lee Elder Robert Lee Elder (July 14, 1934 – November 28, 2021) was an American professional golfer. In 1975, he became the first black golfer to play in the Masters Tournament, where he missed the cut. Elder was invited to the tournament after he won th ...

, Willie Brown Jr., Zeke Hartsfield, Howard Wheeler, and

Charlie Sifford Charles Luther Sifford (June 2, 1922 – February 3, 2015) was an American professional golfer who was the first African American to play on the PGA Tour. He won the Greater Hartford Open in 1967 and the Los Angeles Open in 1969. He also won the ...

. Women were allowed to participate from the group's inception, but only in 1939 did the first women's golfing organization seek affiliation when the Chicago Women's Golf Club, organized by Anna Robinson, applied to join. Also, the Wake-Robin Golf Club, whose first president was Helen Webb Harris, joined the UGA under her leadership. Jimmy Taylor added the Mid Winter Classic at Rogers Park, Tampa to the circuit in 1963.Rodney Page Rogers Park was golf haven for African-Americans February 23, 2011 Tampa Bay Times From 1934 through November 1961, the Professional Golfers Association of America maintained a "Caucasian-only" membership clause in its bylaws. The clause was removed by amending its constitution. Contemporary golf associations for African Americans include the African American Golf Association (AAGA), United States Black Golf Association, United Black Golfers Association (UBGA), Western States Golf Association, Bogey Boyz, Black Jewels Ladies Golf Association and the African American Golf Foundation, Inc.

References

Golf associations Golf in the United States Defunct sports governing bodies {{Golf-stub