I Am Angry!

     I played terribly yesterday.  The course, DeLaveaga in Santa Cruz, California was in great shape and I enjoyed playing with two new friends Mark and Mike. I don't like being on the not playing for three months program and my game has all but disappeared. That is not what is making me very angry though. I just get tired of how the media is always trying to tear open the scars of racism, most of the time to benefit a political agenda. Much of that agenda is to put golf in the light of being an elitist sport for old rich white men. I totally resent this portrayal of our great game. Come to my home course and see for yourself. True golf is diverse and welcoming to all.
     I saw a post on FaceBook today that was published by the Huffington Post. I don't honestly attach much credibility to the Huffington Post, given its tilt to the political left but this post made me angry.  It was a YouTube interview of Tiger Woods where he was asked if he could feel the racist vibes when he went to a course to play and if it bothered him. Of course his answer was that it did and it does exist. He also said that it did bother him, and rightly so. The problem here is not what Tiger said, and I would agree with him to a certain extent but the problem is the YouTube video the Huffington Post chose to make their point. I feel that it was not a good video to illustrate what golf today is like and the subject of racism.
      The video that Tiger was in was from an interview that he did very early in his career.  In fact, it appears as if it was before his rise to his star career.  It seems as though this is Tiger at maybe eighteen or nineteen BEFORE he turned pro. The interview was probably filmed in 1990. Yes, at that time the color barrier had not been broken and attitudes as far as the professional game was concerned had not changed much. The curtain of racism pulled back just a bit with the careers of such outstanding black golfers such as Calvin Peete, Lee Elder and Charie Sifford but that barrier wasn't broken.
     I have to admit to some degree that curtain is still hanging and golf does have to address this, but it is not because of outright racism. It is hard to get on tour even for a white golfer.  My congratulations to Harold Varner III who just earned his PGA tour card through the Web.com tour. Oh, by the way he is black and did quite well in his first event. But, make no mistake, the PGA tour is not what golf is and is only a small percentage of what our sport truly is. It is the greatest game.

George Lopez

     Please come and visit my course and see for yourself Huffington Post. Come talk to Chuey and Steve  and Joe and Jose and Phil. They are not rich white men. As a matter of fact, I'm not either especially after looking at my recent bank statement. Yes, there are "snooty" country clubs but if they make you feel uncomfortable don't play there.  You probably won't meet a Mark or Mike. Golf is for everyone.

The true faces of golf.  The one on the right needs to lose a few pounds.  That's right, I did.