Considering the club’s humble beginnings, the 80 year milestone is certainly worth noting. “Back that then there was one golf course owned by a Black which was wayside in Palos Hills. It burned down. They say that the mafia burned it down. And then we had to play wherever we could because we were not allowed on the courses,” Harper recalled.
Fast forward to 1989, and the Chicago Women’s Golf Club became the first women’s golf club admitted in to the United Golfers Association as well as the only club in the country to have a clubhouse. “When we got this building it was just in shambles,” Harper shared.
It’s safe to say, that they’ve come a long way from “shambles.” Today, the Anna Mae Robinson-founded club boasts with opportunities for the whole community, including annual tournaments and a junior division, the Bob-O-Links, “which is committed to the development and growth (character building, discipline, self-esteem, education, grit and integrity) of Chicago area boys and girls, ages 8 through 17,” the website states.
Though much has changed since the organization found its legs, one thing remains the same. The club’s members take much pride in contributing to a part of history. “Being a Black woman I am just proud to be in a club that has so much history. I just love it. I get out there and swing that club and it’s like I’m in heaven,” a longtime club member, Mary Stacker, told the local news outlet.
For more information, visit: http://thecwgc.weebly.com/. Watch the full ABC-7 story on the Chicago Women’s Golf Club below.