Some of you may already be familiar with the Nomads, but for those who are not, may I suggest you Goggle these guys or check them out online. Treat yourself to a group of distinguished Black Golfers who know how to have a good time. The private member club displays a perfect blend of diplomacy, and brotherhood, that’s hard to find in today’s corporate and professional circles. They talk smack, they sell noise, they hype on each other; and oh yeah, they play marvelous golf.
The NoMads are a group of prominent Black professional men of vast economic statue who get together every last week in July to do their thing on the links. Their aim is to make that one week out of 52 as special and memorable as possible.
Most of these guys belong to or are members of exclusive, private country clubs where most of the members are Caucasian. The Nomads all agree that there are two types of golf: There’s “White Golf” and there’s “Ghetto Golf”. For the Nomads, they’ve learned how to enjoy both.
RELATED ARTICLE: History of the Nomads, An exclusive African American Golf Organization
The club was founded by a group of doctors out of Chicago in the early 1950’s. Hall of Fame track stars Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe were notable members. Dr. Ted Mason joined the club in 1969. He was a dentist by trade. He also was a 7-time Club Champion and first of three generations of Nomads. Dr. Mason started out as a caddie at Cadiz Country Club, a private 18-hole, par 72, golf course in Cadiz, Oh. Dr. Mason passed away in 2004, but his son and grandson still play.
Important to note is that the Nomads maintain a 70 member capacity and applications for new member acceptance is no stroll in the park. However, once you’re in, you’ll never want out.
The membership selection process is one of a kind. To be one of the 70-member club is a prestigious and honored title. And as quiet as it’s kept, they don’t envy the members at Augusta National like so many others in the golfing community. The Nomad Club started in San Diego, Calif. The members range from scratch golfers to high handicappers, but they all share the same passion, love, and respect for this great game. The members also don’t deny that they bring a certain “flavor” to the links they play, one that could not be mistaken as conventional or traditional. That flavor definitely being a little more R&B and Jazz rather than Pop and Classical.
Their signature colors are yellow and black. They all agree that at home they’re all “somebody” notable, but when they come together during that one week in July, they’re just another f*%*@#g Nomad. –They hang their hats on that with pride and distinction. All of the members can relate to their individual personal and professional struggles from their own experiences, in one way or another. Collectively this bonds them to a unique brotherhood that’s bigger than any individual. Dr. Walt Bowers is the current President and he’s an Obstetrician from Cincinnati, Ohio.
I had the privilege to play the famed Baltusrol Country Club in Springfield, New Jersey, with the Mu Boule Sigma PI Phi Fraternity, another group of distinguished Black men who’s membership resonates heavily in high society. It was a historical undertaking for the famous golf course. It marked the first time that Baltusrol had EVER hosted 75 players of color on its course at the same time. Dr. Charles Bowers Jr., one of the Co-Chairman of the group, deserves a round of applause for the well-executed outing. There are several other Black golfing groups and clubs with similar goals and standards, but for today we’re gonna toast and give kudos to the Nomads Golf Club. So from my heart to your souls, may your pars and birdies be plenty and your golfing days be many. Allow me also to say that wearing that yellow and black one day is now officially added to my “Bucket List”. Go Nomads.
—John Perry, reporting for AAGD.
John Perry is a freelance writer, poet and active golfer with a passion for calling shots like he sees them and, then, telling it like it is. He resides in Vauxhall, NJ.
