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about
The United Golfers Association (UGA) was a group of African American golfers who operated a separate series of professional golf tournaments for Blacks during the era of racial segregation in the United States. It was started in 1925 with the collaboration of several golfers who saw the need for a organized effort to increase golf amongst themselves. Many talented golfers such as Ted Rhodes, Bill Spiller, Pete Brown, Renee Powell, Lee Elder, Charlie Sifford, Willie Brown Jr, Althea Gibson, Jim Thorpe, Jim Dent, Ann Gregory, and Howard Wheeler started their careers as members of UGA.
WHY WE ARE HERE
The current landscape of golf is built on exclusion; that known fact combined with the current climate of the country provides an opportunity for those who love the sport to advocate for groups who have been wronged in the past in order to achieve a bigger and brighter future for all who love the game of golf. Now is the time to combat the past with largest and most intentional golf diversification effort in history.
Vision Statement:
The Standard…of Golf
The Culture…of Golf
The Future…of Golf
We are Golf…
WHAT'S AT STAKE
What is at stake is that if the UGA doesn’t grab the baton and run with it in 2020 we possibly can see another 60 years go by with minimal growth in the sport of golf. The lack of a talent pool consisting of Black Golfers both men and women from teens to adults is considerably small. If we as African Americans don’t identify and cultivate the current talented dozen of ready golfers we have, we could lose an entire generation of potential Tour Ready Golfers. They will require UGA’s dedication to their needs; mentally, spiritually, physically and financially to execute their dreams of getting their Tour Card and competing at the top.
MORE WORK TO DO
In the last 60 years, there’s been approximately 15 Black Men & Women on the PGA and LPGA Tour. Since, 1996 when Tiger Woods earned his Tour Card there hadn’t been another African American golfer on the tour until Joseph Bramlett earned his card through the 2010 Q School. The PGA of America has over 29,000 members and only 127 (less than .5%) of those are African American. There’s a lack of qualified professional golfers and golf professionals that have the necessary resources and training to succeed in the golf industry. The UGA will provide the highest level of training to increase a talented and credentialed pool of qualified African Americans who will contribute to the success of the game of golf.