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 Bill Spiller (October 25, 1913 – 1988) was an American professional golfer who helped break the color barrier in the sport. Biography Spiller was born in Tishomingo, Oklahoma and moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma with his father when he was nine yea ...

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 Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, organized by Anna Robinson, applied to join. Also, the Wake-Robin Golf Club, whose first president was

Helen Webb Harris Helen Webb Harris (August 15, 1899 – August 11, 1985) was an American educator, playwright, and golfer. She founded the Wake-Robin Golf Club in 1937. It is the United States' oldest registered African-American women's golf club. In 1947, she be ...

, joined the UGA under her leadership. Jimmy Taylor added the Mid Winter Classic at

Rogers Park, Tampa Rogers Park Golf Course is a historic public 18-hole golf course in Tampa, Florida. Land for the park was acquired by the City of Tampa in 1947 and was used for picnics and games by black residents during the era of racial segregation in the Unit ...

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