GolfWiz Blog: December 2010

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Where Are the Black Golfers

Joseph Bramlett made a putt during the final stage on PGA Tour Qualifying School to become the 1^st African American golfer since Tiger Woods to earn a PGA Tour card. When Tiger Woods won the 1997 Masters Tournament there was speculation that professional golf would be flooded with African American golfers following in Tiger’s footsteps, but nothing could have been further from the truth. In reality, it has taken 13 years for a black golfer to earn a PGA Tour card since Tiger’s historic win at Augusta.

There is quite a bit of speculation as to why this invasion of black golfers failed to materialize. The answer is very simple. Young black golfers who possess the talent to play on the PGA and LPGA Tour lack access to the advanced training and instruction required to play golf on the highest level. Unless these talented black golfers receive the best training, top notch instruction, and get the opportunity to compete against the best competition, it might be 13 more years before a black golfer follows Joseph Bramlett on the PGA Tour.

The biggest misnomer about black golfers and professional golf is that the First Tee Program was established as a training ground for professional black golfers. Nothing could be further from the truth. The First Tee Program is a wonderful program that introduces youth of all races and backgrounds to the game of golf. The program also uses golf as a way to teach participants important life skills that will benefit them in the future. At its’ core the First Tee strives to create productive, responsible and well-rounded citizens, not professional golfers.

In order to see more black golfers out on the PGA and LPGA Tour, they must be provided with access to the best instruction and training available. A local teaching professional or golf coach doesn’t have the resources to help take a talented golfer to the level required to play professional golf. I have always been a proponent of supporting our own and the African American community should take a hard look at itself and look for a solution to this problem. Before we ask for help from other sources, let’s start by helping each other and making a commitment to get more black golfers into professional golf.

Edward Wanambwa

GolfWiz Blog

Editor

www.golfwriter.com

Buffalo Trace: The Hallmark Of Kentucky Bourbon

If you think Kentucky is famous only for its horse racing and college basketball, you’ve missed a lot. It’s most famous product is Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey. Known the world over for its fine quality, 95% of all bourbon is made in the Lexington, Kentucky, area. Here, a half dozen distilleries (all within an easy drive) have formed a “Kentucky Bourbon Trail” where visitors can spend a day or more visiting various facilities and learning about (and taste) Kentucky Bourbon. The trail consists of six well-known bourbon distilleries., Four Roses, Heaven Hill, Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Wild Turkey, and Woodford Reserve. See .

Buffalo Trace, a bourbon maker located near the state capital city of Frankfort, is the oldest continually distillery operating in the United States. Just a short distance from Lexington, it offers daily (except Sunday and holidays) tours of its operations. Buffalo Trace Distillery welcomes visitors for tours and shopping in our Visitor Center year-round. Gift Shop hours are

Monday through Friday: 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.Saturday: 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Tour hours are

Monday through Friday 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. departing every hour. For further information see: www.buffalotrace.com

According to historians whiskey and other distilled spirits, such as rum, played an important role in both the American colonies and in the new democratic union. As early as 1657, a rum distillery was operating in Boston. It was highly successful and within a generation the production of rum became colonial New England's largest and most prosperous industry.

Even before the American Revolution, whiskey had become the preferred way to use surplus grains in the frontier settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains. The expansion of a corn belt in Kentucky and Ohio had created a corn glut. It cost more to transport corn or grain than it could bring on the eastern markets, so farmers distilled it into "liquid assets" that could easily be shipped or bartered. Practically every farmer made whiskey.

A whiskey tax led to the first test of federal power, the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. It was put down by federal troops ordered in by President Washington. After serving as president, George Washington became probably the new nation's largest whiskey distiller.

Its believed by 1810 there were at least 2,000 distillers producing more than 1.76 million gallons of whiskey. Annual alcohol consumption (including wine, beer, etc.) may have been as high as 8 gallons per person. I’ll drink to that.