OCTOBER 24, 993
They had this crazy dream, Eugene Hardy, Alton Duhon and Charles Amos. A dream that three African Americans who are passionate about golf might win the contract to manage Chester L. Washington Golf Course, one of the first in Los Angeles County to allow blacks as members.
Sure, Hardy and his partners knew there would be competition to run the course, a busy place just outside Hawthorne whose regulars over the years have included boxer Joe Louis, Dodger great Maury Wills and football’s Jim Brown. But Hardy, Duhon and Amos were determined.
After all, they know golf. Hardy is a professional who runs Victoria Park in Carson. Duhon, also a pro, was the first black to win the U.S. senior amateur men’s title. Amos is a well-known course superintendent who has worked at such links as Poppy Hills in Monterey.
They also know the Washington course–Hardy and Duhon learned to play there.
And if that weren’t enough, the trio figured that with the Washington course’s place in local black culture and the post-riot talk about giving people of color a stake in rebuilding Los Angeles, they could have the inside track on the county contract, even against a big firm like American Golf Assn., a Santa Monica-based company that manages 155 courses nationwide.
But what the three men did not know was that American Golf brought its own black partners to the table. Or that the black partners would be no less prominent than Los Angeles Raiders quarterback Vince Evans and the husband and son of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles).
Now, the dream of Hardy, Duhon and Amos has given way to despair–almost disgust–over what they say was unfair competition.
“I think it’s a political thing, I really do,” Duhon said.
Added Hardy: “As far as (county officials) talking about minority participation, I think that’s a crock of bull because they made it quite difficult. . . . I think our offer was reasonable.”
The notion that politics decided the contract is rejected by Steve Duron, who supervises the county’s 18 golf courses. Duron and American Golf officials note that the winning proposal not only came from the nation’s biggest golf course operator, but offers more in improvements and rent for the county.
Duron further disputes the idea that, in post-riot Los Angeles, awarding the contract to Hardy, Duhon and Amos should have been the all-important factor.
“All things being equal, that argument may have quite a bit of merit,” Duron said. “But in this case, all things were not equal. The American Golf proposal was much better. So it was not a matter of splitting hairs.”
While Evans and the other minority partners could not be reached for comment, American Golf officials disputed that the contract was decided by politics.
“I would recommend that (skeptics) look at all the proposals because that’s what the county staff did,” said Kevin Roberts, president of the company’s resort and public golf division.
Added Craig Price, the company’s executive vice president: “If we had an inferior proposal, then certainly there would be questions. But we didn’t. We had a far superior proposal in terms of investment, in terms of ability to provide that investment and in terms of involvement of the community. It’s a solid deal.”
Still, the partnership arrangement has raised some eyebrows.
Read more at LATimes.com
