BY JAMES BEATTY
(July 1, 2019)
I was invited to attend the Rocket Mortgage Classic by the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC), a 501(c)(4) which has been Detroit’s lead agency for business retention, attraction, and economic development since 1978. DEGC provides general economic development services and management services for the various governmental authorities it administers.
In my role as a corporate site consultant, as well as serving as Executive Editor at the African American Golfer’s Digest, I am often invited to communities and cities across the USA and internationally. It was my pleasure to visit Detroit and learn more about this bustling Motor city and to enjoy the Rocket Mortage Classic golf tournament.
Kevin Johnson. President and CEO, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
For nearly 40 years, DEGC has served as the lead nonprofit economic development entity in Detroit. DEGC is governed by a 42-member Board of Directors consisting of civic leaders, corporate executives, government officials and other stakeholders. The DEGC President and CEO is Mr. Kevin Johnson, an African American, and a longtime friend of mine. Kevin has a long history of business success and he is considered one of the top economic development leaders in America.
DEGC is considered a critical citywide tool in deploying both place-based and job creation strategies. DEGC works to support existing businesses and bring new companies and investments to the city. From identifying potential development sites and negotiating development agreements, to managing construction projects and eliminating obstacles to growth, DEGC is dedicated to being an advocate for businesses large and small. DEGC is Detroit’s economic development expert and a one-stop shop for both emerging and expanding businesses.
Detroit’s strength as a business location is evident through its successes. Since 2012, Detroit has seen almost $1 billion invested in automotive manufacturing at new and existing suppliers and $96 million invested in over 14 full-service grocery stores. Downtown Detroit’s office vacancy rate has fallen 12 percent in the past five years to 17.5 percent. Additionally, according to the 2014-2015 Annual Michigan Venture Capital Fund Research report, Detroit is becoming a new focal point of venture capital activity, with 24 firms receiving $186 million in investment. Over 52 percent of those are tech-related.
Detroit has chosen to show off its assets through golf for the world to see. Clever, absolutely there are so many reasons why it is so apropos for Detroit to host its first PGA event ever as the African American golf DNA in Detroit is deeply rooted.
Mark Denson
Senior Director
Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
I would be remiss if I did not mention and thank my host and tour guide, Mark Denson, a native Detroiter, who on his paper route as a youth delivered the daily Detroit News newspaper to Aretha Franklin. And, Mark’s mother was a seamstress for the Supremes, sewing and altering costumes for the Motown female hit group. Today, Mark is the Senior Director of Existing Business and Operations for DEGC.
Detroit Golf Facts
Did you know…
AAGD Winter 2006 Issue
Calvin Peete was a Detroit native. He was also the most successful African American to have played on the PGA Tour, with 12 wins, prior to the emergence of Tiger Woods. Peete won the 1985 Tournament Players Championship and finished the season top-5 on the PGA Tour money list three times; 1982, 1983 and 1985. He played on the 1983 and 1985 U.S. Ryder Cup teams. He won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average in 1984. He was in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for several weeks when they debuted in 1986.
For 10 years, from 1981-1990, Peete led the Tour in driving accuracy. In 1983, he hit an astounding 84.55 percent of fairways in 87 PGA Tour rounds.
Joseph Louis Barrow, also known as Joe Louis, reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 to 1949 and is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. In 1941, in his hometown of Detroit, Louis sponsored the Joe Louis Open. He not only donated a $1,000 purse but paid the entry fees and transportation costs of golfer who otherwise could not afford to play.
In 1952, Louis was invited to play in the San Diego Open, but the PGA’s “Caucasian-Only” membership clause in its bylaws prevented such an entry. Louis confronted tournament officials and after an emergency meeting, Louis was allowed to compete as an exempt amateur. Louis wasn’t the only African American golfer attempting to enter that week. His friend, professional Bill Spiller had qualified but was not allowed to play.
Joe Louis became the first person of color to compete in a PGA-sanctioned event. The New York Times reported on Jan. 16, 1952, that Louis said that he would continue his fight “to eliminate racial prejudice from golf, the last sport in which it now exists.”
Louis posted a first round 76 while playing in a group that included two-time Masters Champion and PGA President Horton Smith, who had a 73. The next day after Louis turned in an 82 and Smith a 78, both missed the 36-hole cut. Source: PGA.com
AAGD Summer 2017 Issue
In fairness, I have to mention that former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who graced the AAGD Summer 2017 cover, was also an avid golfer.
The Detroit Golf Club (DGC), the site of the Rocket Mortgage Classic has its own history as it relates to golf and African Americans.
Founded in 1899, DGC sits on 220 acres of wooded landscape, just west of Palmer Park on the city’s westside. It is located behind large Colonial and Tudor homes on Hamilton Rd., south of W. 7 Mile Rd. It is located within the city limits of Detroit, versus the suburbs like most private and country golf clubs across the nation, making DGC totally unique.
Horton Smith who won the first Masters Tournament in 1934 and again in 1936 became the club pro at Detroit Golf Club in Michigan in 1946. He was also the playing partner of Joe Louis in the 1952 San Diego Open.
DGC also has one of the nation’s most diverse memberships. It was estimated that in 2015 that 10% of DGC membership was African American.
Here are some other notable DGC facts of particular interest.
Walter Watkins, a prominent banking executive in the region, was the first African American to receive full membership to the DGC, about six months after Mayor Coleman Young broke the organization’s color barrier in 1986 as a social member without golfing privileges. In 2003, Walter C. Elliott Jr.was elected as the first African American president of DGC.
In October 2014, Lane Coleman, an African American, and global entrepreneur served as president of the historic Detroit Golf Club (DGC) and chairman of its board. Source: MichiganChronicle.com
Harold Varner III, who turned pro in 2012 missed the cut while shooting -2.
Varner is averaging 302.3 yards in driving distance and 58.59% in driving accuracy. He has earned $970,675 this season
Joe Louis Barrow Jr, son of Joe Louis served 18 years as CEO of the First Tee retiring in 2017.
“I have the greatest respect for Joe Barrow. He’s done a fantastic job of leading The First Tee. Without Joe, The First Tee, I don’t think, would have gotten where it is.”—World Golf Hall of Fame golfer and Trustee of the First Tee, Jack Nicklaus.
Selina Johnson, a Detroit native and founder of the Hollywood Golf Institute in 1983. Selina Johnson is the first African American woman to ever to receive the prestigious Carl Walker Award for outstanding contributions to junior golf. Ms. Johnson is also in the International Afro-American Sports Hall of Fame based in Detroit, Michigan and the African American Golfers’ Hall of Fame “West Palm Beach.” Through her Hollywood Golf Institute, Selina Johnson has introduced over 4,000 young people to the sport of golf.
Renee Fluker, in 2001, while working as a social worker and single mother, founded Midnight Golf. The organization began after Fluker had noticed the impact golf had on her son’s life—a student golfer—and she was encouraged to find a way to provide other young people with the opportunity to experience the game he so loved. From its humble beginnings with just 17 students meeting at Franklin-Wright Settlements—a small community center in Detroit, Midnight Golf has helped bring golf learning skills to over 250 students. The program has seen phenomenal success and has expanded to a 30-week curriculum that has helped hundreds of Detroit’s at-risk high school students enter college and various professional careers.
RELATED: Harold Varner III Unravels to Finish at T36 in PGA Championship
Jerome Abram Bettis Sr., nicknamed “The Bus,” is a Detroit native and plays regularly at Detroit Golf Club. Bettis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. He is also the Honorary Cochairman of the 2019 US Senior Open. The Detroit native also participated and his team won in the Area 313 Celebrity Challenge held during the Rocket Mortgage Classic, earlier this week. Yes, The Bus was definitely The Bus!
Motown’s Smokey Robinson is an avid golfer. Some of us might even remember the commercial Smokey made for Callaway Golf
Did you see Johnny Miller’s lame move? Really Johnny!
Cameron Champ in his second year on the tour finished tied for 46th including a sizzling 65 during Friday’s second round and was on pace to break the course record posting a 28 with 6 birdies and an eagle on the front nine but cooled off on the back.
Watch his second round interview below:
Champ is averaging 317.1 yards in driving distance and 54.19% in driving accuracy this season. He has earned $1,572,908 in official money this season.
Coincidentally, Varner finished just one stroke ahead of Champ earlier this season at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico.
Well, I hope to be back next year pulling for a great finish for Champ and Varner but this year I have to congratulate fellow Nebraskan, Nate Lashley on his first PGA victory. His victory was so unlikely as he failed to Monday qualify but was selected as the first alternate after several withdrawals from the tournament. Just goes to show you, never give up in golf. What a game!
Detroit has made a name in business, industry, music and this week we can add GOLF to its rich heritage.
James Beatty, Executive Editor, African American Golfer’s Digest is also Founder of NCS International, an Omaha, Nebraska-based company that providers of an array of economic development services. He also serves on the WE ARE GOLF Diversity Task Force and recently launched Jim Beatty Golf Ventures, a golf promotion and management company.
