Where are the Black Golfers Today?

Many people anticipated a great new wave of African-American golfers after Tiger won the 1997 Masters, but the PGA Tour remains white-dominated and contains even fewer black golfers today than in the past. Even though a larger number of African-Americans are granted access to the game, a majority of black golfers seldom make it to the tour and play on an elite level as Woods.

The Decline of African-Americans in Golf

The decline of African-Americans playing at the elite level reflects a broader loss of access to the game due to growing racial discrepancies in wealth and the deterioration of predominantly black neighborhoods.

While the total number of black players continued to grow, their overall ratio on the PGA Tour declined.5 The National Golf Foundation (NGF) reported that 649,000 black golfers were actively playing in 1990, up from 360,000 four years earlier. However, at the same time, ratio of black golfers to the national percentage was declining, with African-American golfers constituting just 2.3% of players in the U.S.

Due to the growing racial discrepancies in wealth, the decline of golf highlighted the inaction towards "rising crime", "urban decline", and "racial unrest"5 , which in turn, make it more difficult to establish youth programs to cultivate the next generation of black golfers.

Another important aspect to raise is that the decline of black golfers correlates with the decline of black caddies. Caddying became one of the most effective ways for young black children to get involved into the game and start playing. But with the invention of the golf cart and with golf courses beginning to employ fewer full-time caddies, the popularity of caddying decreased. As soon as PGA Tour players started to hire their own personal caddies who traveled alongside them, there was a shift from black caddies to white caddies because the job became more "lucrative" and "respected."5 Thus, the appropriation of caddying by white folks signifies the end of caddying as a means to enforce racial and class divisions within the sport. Now, the status from caddying reflects the white elitist nature of the game and white caddies are allowed to be compensated more for being white.

Lack of Diversity:

Diversity on the PGA Tour has actually regressed since the arrival of Tiger Woods. As of April 8, 2022, there are only four Black golfers with full PGA membership, including Tiger Woods, Harold Varner III, Cameron Champ, and Joseph Bramlett, which makes up only 1.5% of the whole tour.11

Race and class intersect in ways that reflect the racial makeup of the tour and the broad class struggles of different racial communities in America. According to Demas, "money remains perhaps the biggest obstacle to minority golf advancement"5, where performance standards increase yearly as does the prices for equipment, instruction, course membership, and tournament expenses. Because of how race and class structures overlap in the US, many people in the black, Latino, and Native American communities don't have the funds to access resources crucial to early golf development and the chance at turning pro. Many Asian-Americans do have the resources, which correlates with the growing number of Asian-American representation on professional tours for both men and women.

But the golf establishment continues to remain predominantly white and privileged. In 2020, 82% of all golfers in America were white while 25% of junior golfers (aged 6-17) were non-white.10

Tiger's Response to the BLM Movement:

In 2020, after much speculation on whether or not Tiger will respond to George Floyd's death, Woods released a statement on Twitter that attempted to acknowledge both sides of the issue but contradicts himself. While condemning the police brutality involved in Floyd's death, Tiger also makes a point to voice his support for law enforcement, and by extension, the same institutionalized systems that the Black Lives Matter movement wants to dismantle. During a time so politically-charged and polarizing, Tiger's attempt to retain a somewhat neutral stance on the issue is consistent with the ways in which he sidesteps deeper conversations about the role white institutions play in enforcing racial and class struggles across the country.

The statement's most controversial line, "we can make our points without burning the very neighborhoods that we live in", indicates that white establishment thinking still influences Tiger's PR approach to racial issues and provides evidence of him trying to separate himself from the hooliganism and criminality stereotypes that BLM opponents use to commonly characterize the movement. Overall, Tiger wants to be seen as a supporter of change without being alienated from the white establishment, an establishment that still greatly influences the golf world today.

President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Tiger Woods pose for a picture with, Woods' girlfriend Erica Herman, his mother Kultida Woods, children Sam Alexis Woods and Charlie Axel Woods during a ceremony awarding Woods with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington.
Manuel Balce Ceneta, Associated Press

Criticism

Numerous online articles reporting on Tiger's comments about BLM repeatedly point out Tiger's history of avoiding critical discussions about racial issues.

For example, the news outlet BET (Black Entertainment Television) released an article with a subtitle, "The golf icon makes a rare statement about social justice", further mentioning that he "is not known for his bold political commentary."9 The article mentions another statement Tiger made about the BLM movement:

"I think change is fantastic but as long as we make changes without hurting the innocent...Unfortunately that has happened. Hopefully, that doesn't happen in the future but a movement and change is fantastic."

In a subtle dig at Woods, BET writes, "it's not clear who Tiger is referring to when he says 'hurting the innocent.'" Based on Tiger's previous Twitter statement, it can be assumed that he is criticizing black militancy. The article's slightly judgmental tone is used to expose the hypocrisy of Tiger's inability to reflect deeper on racial issues and lead change while he criticizes the actions taken by others for change.

In another web article titled, "Tiger Woods is Irrelevant to Black Lives Matter", Civil Rights Activist Dr. Harry Edwards scorns the idea of Tiger as a productive voice for racial movements:

"I've talked to him in the past. I have talked to Tiger in the past and I haven't heard anything from him. I am not looking at anything from him...As far as I am concerned, with this movement he is irrelevant. I think that we should just move on...I mean, there is nothing there that is going to have an impact. Nothing that he could say would be believable, nothing that he could do would be creditable, nothing that he could contribute would be worth very much."

Opposite of the post-racial narrative that Tiger was the catalyst for racial change in America, Edwards rejects the idea of Tiger being a voice and symbol of the black community. Further, the article mentions that many black people feel particularly alienated by Tiger's decision to accept honors from President Donald Trump. With the emergence of athletes such as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul who have all used their platforms to directly speak out against racial issues in America, black people have found other athletes to be better activists for their community instead of Tiger's adherence to a colorblind vision of America.1

Does Tiger Uphold White Prestige?

Tiger Woods was supposed to be the first of a new generation of non-white professional golfers promised to diversify the tour, but recent evidence of the decline of African-Americans in professional golf coupled with the lack of diversity among young golfers shows that this was not the case. Much of the reason there was no substantial racial change in golf is because Tiger used his success to fortify underlying racial biases within golf's white elitist culture to promote his brand ambitions rather than utilizing his success as a platform to urge social change.

Obsessed with maintaining an appealing image for white America, Woods's economic status relied on the conservation of the wealthy white class that fuels sponsorships, provides a target consumer base, and decides who is worthy of visibility on tour. It probably wasn't Tiger's conscious intention to uphold white prestige in golf, but becoming the face of racial progress while attempting to reach the highest levels of personal success is difficult when the lines are blurred between politics, class, and race in golf's institutionalized structure. It is also considerable to note that the racial conversations happening during Tiger's peak years is very different from the conversations happening today and how black activism is becoming more vocal.

However, this doesn't take away from the achievements he made and what they mean for non-white communities who hope to see more representation on tour. Tiger is widely considered the face of modern golf, which makes it all the more powerful as a non-white leader in a traditionally white space. Tiger may not have been the person to enact major racial progress, but his presence and identity opened up discussions about portrayals of race in sporting contexts and how they can reflect American cultural ideas on masculinity, luxury and capitalism, and familial relationships.

Images and Media

Header Image

EA SPORTS PGA TOUR, 2022, https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-lord-of-the-rings-return-of-the-king-game-was-made-using-tiger-woods. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.

Background Images

Cannon, David/ALLSPORT. "US Open", 1997, https://golf.com/gear/golf-accessories/vintage-tiger-pictures-you-can-buy/. Accessed 2 Dec. 2022.

Media

"Arnold Palmer with National 'Iron Man' Avery", https://www.todays-golfer.com/news-and-events/majors/the-masters/the-caddies-of-augusta-national-golf-club/. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.

Ceneta, Manuel Balce/ Associated Press."President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Tiger Woods pose for a picture with, Woods' girlfriend Erica Herman, his mother Kultida Woods, children Sam Alexis Woods and Charlie Axel Woods during a ceremony awarding Woods with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington", 6 May 2019, https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-golf-tiger-woods-05e571d5c096410d92c812b039eb496d. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022.

Woods, Tiger [@TigerWoods]. Twitter, 1 June 2020, https://twitter.com/tigerwoods/status/1267631798437261312