In my quest to read about golf as much as I can. I came across a book that was suggested by my golf club, the Black Diamonds. The Black Diamonds Golf Club is an all-male, African-American golf club in Baltimore, Maryland. As mentioned in previous posts, I joined the club three years ago and have counted it as one of my greatest golf gifts. To play with Black brothers who share my love of and some similar experiences in golf helps serve as a support system for me in the game. There have been times, over the years, when my ethnicity has not fit into the “culture” of golf. It is not usual to be at a course or tournament where I am the only Black golfer present. There have also been times when I have felt uncomfortable in some golf settings. Whether my discomfort was intended or perceived is hard to decipher, at least in 2024.  I have never been accosted or directly told that I could not play at a course or in an event. However, there have been times, over the years, when there was no doubt in my mind that I was tolerated but not welcome at a course or event. Having a group of similarly challenged friends with whom to share those experiences offers comfort and strength for which I am very grateful. I would be remiss, though, not to mention that I have given many warm and generous welcomes in the golf world. In fact, that type of reception is more the rule than the exception. Probably, because most of the time I have felt genuinely included and welcomed, when that is not the case, I feel “struck by a bolt of lightning.”

The reading suggestion that was posted on the Black Diamonds website is called Playing from the Rough, by Tiffany Mack Fitzgerald. It’s a relatively short read. What struck me most about Ms. Fitzgerald’s book was a lot of what I referenced in the opening paragraph, only from a more obvious and egregious perspective. Ms. Fitzgerald talks about taking up golf as a part of her desire to fit in at her corporate job. Before taking the game up, she observed how much golf was a part of her corporate setting, especially among her White male colleagues. She noticed, on several occasions, that many company discussions that should have involved her, took place among her colleagues and the senior leadership, not at her job, but on the golf course. When she decided to take up golf, she was the only Black woman on the management team at her job. Initially, she decided to take up the golf to “play the corporate game” and prevent being excluded from office conversations. Once she started her golf journey, in addition to facing the normal “bumps and bruises” of learning the game that any golfer would face, she experienced some “social obstacles” that not all golfers face. As I mentioned earlier, I have faced some of those “social obstacles,” too, but I am a man. My gender privilege is definitely an advantage in golf, regardless of ethnicity.  Ms. Fitzgerald describes facing unique challenges as an African-American woman golfer with which I can only empathize. Like all golfers, at one time or another, she thought about giving the game up. However, like almost all golfers, she got “hooked” and was determined to find her place and passion in the game. Without going into the rest of her story (you should read it for yourself), I was inspired by her perseverance, love for the game, and commitment to sharing the game with fellow Black women and girls.

I purchased copies of Playing from the Rough for my wife and three adult daughters.  My wife and kids have dabbled in golf, but they are not into it with nearly the passion that I am. However, my hope is that for them, Ms. Fitzgerald’s book is more about “Black Woman Power” than it is about golf. Golf is the “vehicle” Ms. Fitzgerald uses to tell her story; her journey is an inspiration beyond golf. My intent in purchasing the book for each of my immediate family members is that the book will resonate with them that I do “hear and see them” (at least I try).  Empathy is one of the great human connectors, or as the poet Mary T. Lathrap suggested in 1895, we should try to “walk a mile in his moccasins.” I am striving to “walk in the moccasins” of the women in my family and my Black Diamond brothers. With that goal in mind, I found a kindred spirit in Ms. Fitzgerald through Playing from the Rough.