Happy Juneteenth.
Interesting thread. The historical reality is that outside of Joseph Barthowlemew and Brandon Johnson, there really are few if any other notable “1st Chair” Black architects with full design credit to date. It’s not a surprise that Black GCA opportunities were rare. Bill Powell is a notable exception but he never had forma design training nor a red plaid jacket.
Golf has been socially combative across class and racial lines for a century. Hagan had to bang open the front door to the club for White professionals, Hogan wasn’t allowed in the front door and had to eat in the kitchen while practicing for The Open at Carnoustie. Blacks simply weren’t allowed on top courses, public or private so the possibilities of a Black GCA gaining access to study routings and features at a top club was laughable and likely lethal.
Today, thankfully, the opportunities are increasing. But you have to know where to look
Brandon’s modern day experiences are notable as he was a stick with a passion for design.
I would like to recognize a few positives here.
Cheers and thanks to the efforts of pals Bausch and Cirba for their Cobbs Creek project and affiliations with Charlie Sifford Foundation offering a litany of learning and scholarship opportunities.
A number of us have joined Josh Woodward’s project to revive the Donald Ross Tumblebrook and we have partnered with Golf.My Future.My Game founder Craig Kirby who has developed strong affiliated programming with ASGCA, GCSAA and the USGA. This will help spread exposure to gca opportunities.
One lingering unfortunate GCA reality is that a high % of the best GCA in the U.S. is behind historically segregated private clubs.
Although legal segregation has ebbed-ish, and membership is available, social segregation is still in play and if you’re historically unfamiliar with excellent GCA, and the bulk of your school-aged golf was played on rock strewn fairways and broken concrete paths, where is your incentive to get into GCA?
We are in an excellent period of the appreciation of GCA, especially the migration of great GCA and conditioning into the public golf sector. Brandon or I are generally the only Black folks that people in the GCA Community know, and I’m not an architect. Ha. But public access to great GCA is a positive engine for cross-cultural access and appreciation.
I have had some conversations with the Bartholomew family where some have inferred there are secret plans afloat, but we’re not holding our breath.
The future is brighter than the past thanks to nerd havens like GolfClubAtlas and FriedEgg and public golf breakouts like Jeffersonville, Keiser’s, Lawsonia, Sweetens, Landmand and others. Most public focus is still on lists and play but this appreciation is thankfully driving excellent gca deeper into the narrative across all demographics.
Historically, it has been hard to get school aged kids excited about a GCA career without access to, or any reference or visual familiarity with the best of GCA. Future is bright.