When Tiger Woods won the Master’s in 1997, John H. Kennedy, M.A.’79, felt Woods’ tournament victory and victory over the image of golf as a sport reserved for the affluent and white could not have emerged out of a vacuum. He found his hunch was right. Kennedy’s research uncovered a rich history of African-American golfers that hadn’t received significant coverage outside of the black press.

Kennedy details this history in A Course of Their Own: A History of African American Golfers, published in July 2000 by Stark Books, an Andrews McNeel Publishing Imprint, with a forward by basketball great and golf-lover Julius Erving.

A Course of Their Own chronicles the history of African-Americans in golf, which is as old as the history of golf in America. Amateur golfers in the United States began hiring course builders and professional golf players from England and Scotland in the 19th Century. At this time, African Americans and Native Americans were allowed to compete. John Shippen, an African American, played in the United States Golf Association’s second open championship as early as 1896.

Out of this long history, Kennedy focuses on the lives of a group of African-American men who played golf in the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s—many of whom came up from the ranks of caddies. Through the voices of the men themselves, other golf professionals, friends, family and journalists, Kennedy depicts the lifelong struggle of these men for recognition within a sport that had codified as well as subtle racism. These players remained passionate about golf in the face of a PGA clause that excluded non-Caucasian players until 1961. Players such as Bill Spiller, Lee Elder, Howard Wheeler and Charlie Sifford, who crossed color lines, paved the way for younger golfers. They were among the best golfers of their time, but many people have never heard of them.

Kennedy currently lives in Philadelphia where he teaches journalism and communication courses at La Salle University, writes books and freelances. He previously worked for the Associated Press in the Northwest, United Press International, and as a reporter for the Boston Globe for 10 years. He recently set up a communications major at Franklin College in Switzerland.