Anthony Wilkins Blog
(July 2014) –As I was growing up in the suburbs of northern New Jersey golf was never really on my sports radar. Outside of hitting a few balls at the range for free where my friends worked, I didn’t have much exposure to the game. It just wasn’t something my friends or my friend’s friends took part in—especially when the major sports of the time had no problem drowning golf out. Was that a socioeconomic thing? Maybe. Was that a lack of interest thing? Could be. But one thing that I know for sure is that since there were no players in golf that I could readily identify with, it was quite easy to continue to overlook it.
Even though I had become more acquainted with the game as I got older, I still hadn’t developed anything more than a passing interest in the game of golf. As I was growing up, I had heard so many stories about how the game of golf was not for African Americans, and, that so many that have even attempted to play the game were met with outright racist actions. Now, hearing stories like these, one can imagine how stereotypes have formed (like rocks) around golf and deterred so many from even attempting to learn how to play.
Fortunately for me, and countless others, Tiger Woods burst onto the scene as someone for me to look up to and identify with. His presence alone made me feel that golf was not only a game that could be enjoyed by all but that it was also cool to be seen as a golfer. I also quickly learned that not everyone felt the same way about not only his presence, but his dominance of the game. It was a valuable lesson for me to see that not even becoming a worldwide superstar could insulate Tiger from the hate that people would show him for simply pursuing his love of golf. His continuous drive and determination towards the top drove me to follow his career and sparked my interest in golf even further.
Ironically, it wasn’t until as an adult, I moved out of the northeast and into the stereotypically racist south, did I start getting more exposure to golf and began liking it. I have been blessed to have gotten to know some truly genuine people who have happily shared their love of golf with me. I have to count myself as one of the lucky African American golfers that have—honestly—never openly experienced a racist act while golfing. But I have to wonder how lucky I would have been if I had not been able to learn the game under the same circumstances. Would I have been subjected to blatant racism while simply trying to learn the game and have some fun at the same time? I can truly say that I love golf and cannot wait until my son can play right alongside me during a round. Now, would I have developed that love if I were racially discouraged from ever getting into the game?
I haven’t personally met anyone who has been subjected to racism while playing golf and I hope to never have to. Which I do not believe will be the case. But, if I am ever faced with such a situation, I will do my best to help this person see the beauty in the game of golf and to never give up. After all, playing golf with no distractions is mentally challenging enough without having to worry about the outside pressures of whether or not some stranger thinks that you should even be playing in the first place.
Well, until next time,
Anthony
Anthony L. Wilkins is a national Academy of Sports Medicine & Titleist Performance Institute Certified Personal Trainer an avid golfer from New Jersey who currently resides in the metro Atlanta area with his wife and son.
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