26 June 6, 2013 - June 12, 2013 The Washington Informer www.washingtoninformer.com

More importantly, Langston has been both a playground and a meeting ground for generations of African-American golfers.

“I play twice, maybe three times a week and what never gets lost in everything that goes on here is this golf course’s tremendous importance in the area and to all of golf,” said Sa-voy, 68, a Greenbelt, Md., res-ident and the founder of the Langston Junior Boys and Girls Golf Club.

This Saturday, course officials will host a Langston Heritage celebration.

The June 8 event is an histor-ic, educational, community and family-focused day honoring Langston Golf Course and the Wake-Robin Golf Club for its recent induction into the Na-tional Black Golf Hall of Fame in Decatur, Ga.

The induction has inspired a more expansive vision to recog-nize the heritage of Langston

By Stacy M. BrownWI Contributing Writer

For many, like Ray Savoy, who regularly tees off at the historic Langston Golf Course in Northeast, the 74-year-old sports cathedral is a home away from home.

ESPN recently noted that the famed course is the only one in Washington, D.C., where you can still get breakfast at 6 p.m.

Golf Course, the groups who rallied for its creation in 1939, and its supporters’ dream in helping it maintain a foothold in the community, said Louis Tate, a Professional Golf Association (PGA) member and Langston’s general manager.

“Langston was commissioned to be built by the Department of Interior in 1938 to accom-modate African-American golf-ers in the District of Columbia

who could not play on any of the area golf courses because of the ‘whites only’ laws of that time,” said Tate, who lives in Northeast.

Not readily apparent in histo-ry is the large number of blacks of that era who were avid golf-ers, Tate said. “When Langston opened its doors in 1939, the list of African-American celebrities from the music, sports, gov-ernment and golf world made it very apparent that golf was very much a part of the Afri-can-American culture,” he said.

An African American renais-sance in golf began based on the creation of Langston, which essentially became the Mecca for black golfers.

World Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis, famed Big Band leader Billy Eckstein, sing-ers Dionne Warrick and Lena Horne and Hall of Fame base-ball player Willie Mays counted among the famous to patronize Langston.

Former President Gerald Ford, entertainer Bob Hope, and PGA champion Lee Tre-vino are among the notable non-African Americans who have played 18-holes at the fa-bled course.

“When I’m not traveling, I go there pretty much every day to meet and talk to my friends,” Herman Boone, the pioneering football coach at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., said in an interview in February.

See LANGSTON on Page 27

/Photo courtesy of Golf Course Specialists, Inc.

Golf Course Celebrates Its HeritageHistoric African-American Facility Inducted into Black Golf Hall of Fame

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www.washingtoninformer.com The Washington Informer June 6, 2013 - June 12, 2013 27

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“I can’t think of any place I’d rather be,” said Boone, 77, who was portrayed by Denzel Wash-ington in the movie, “Remem-ber the Titans.”

Northwest resident and golf-er Luke Watson is also a regular at Langston and his review of the course on his “hot dogs and golf ” blog echoes the thoughts of many who have had tee-times there.

“The first hole, a 472-yard par 5, is a perfect hand shake to start your round. The course quickly offers its challeng-es,” Watson said. “Hole 4 is a treacherous par 3 that requires excellent distance control. Too far requires a precise chipping game, and too short may leave you in a valley 30 feet below the green.”

The next contest is the wide-open, grip it and rip it, number 6, Watson noted. From the tee, the hole is pretty straightfor-ward but the approach to this massive green requires careful club selection.

“Coming in, the design-ers have put together a mas-terpiece,” Watson said. “The opening hole on the back is pure bliss. At 538 yards, the par 5, 10th hole is not overly long, giving the mounds on the right and the prevailing slope toward Kingman Lake on the left, a de-

Langston is bordered on the north by the National Arbore-tum as well as schools, housing and residential streets, which can be seen from the west side of the course.

To the east lies the Anacostia River and the course surrounds parts of Kingman Lake, on the grounds of the golf course.

Play traverses the water on the back nine holes. The length of the course is 6,652 yards and much of its historical layout has been preserved.

Tate said plans are in the works to refurbish the course, a transformation that will include upgrading it to championship quality, including the construc-

LANGSTON continued from Page 26

cent drive can leave you in sig-nificant trouble.”

Langston is much more than a golf course to the black community, said Paulette Sa-voy, 2nd vice president of the Wake-Robin Golf Club in Lanham, Md., the oldest Af-rican-American women’s golf club in the country.

“It’s a course built only be-cause black golfers got together and met with government offi-cials, held rallies, wrote letters, sent petitions to make Langston a reality for black golfers,” said Savoy, 68.

Langston is also the only course the federal government built specifically for African Americans. It was named af-ter John Mercer Langston, an abolitionist, attorney, activist, politician and the first dean of Howard University’s Law School. Langston, who lived from 1829 to 1897, also served as president of Virginia State University and served as the first representative of color to be elected to the United States Congress from Virginia.

“For decades Langston was the center of black golf in the city. Even though the Royal and Wake-Robin Golf clubs started petitioning back in 1938 to de-segregate the public courses in Washington, D.C., this was not done until 1955,” Paulette Sa-voy said.

tion of a new clubhouse with banquet facili-ties and the de-velopment of a museum.

“Many of us are determined to do what we can to upgrade the facilities at Langston,” Pau-lette Savoy said. “After all, it has been designat-ed an historic landmark and it should be treat-ed accordingly.”

The June 8 celebration will feature a num-ber of champi-on golfers, who will share their

remembrances about the sto-ried course. Lee Elder, the first African American to play in the Masters, Calvin Peete, the most successful black golfer on the PGA tour during the pre-Tiger Woods era, and Charlie Owens, a two-time PGA tour winner, are among those scheduled to attend.

A large and emotional gather-ing is expected for the Heritage celebration where golfers are sure to reminisce about 5-putt bogeys, game-changing birdies, rare eagles and the once-in-a-lifetime hole-in-one.

“I’m sure there will be a whole lot of memories about Langston that will be shared on Saturday,” said Jim Jenkins,

a course regular for 44 years. “Langston really became a stop-in place for African-American celebrities and recently, (former World No. 1 golfer) Vijay Singh was there. I remember walking 18 holes with Gary Player and it was an experience that opened my eyes and one I will never forget,” said Jenkins, who lives in Bethesda, Md.

Player, a nine-time major champion, hails from South Af-rica and Jenkins said the initial meeting between the men was uneasy.

“Growing up in the civil rights era, I was skeptical of Player because he is a South Af-rican,” Jenkins said. “But, he to-tally changed my view of things because he was such a great guy and we had a lot of fun. This is what the Heritage celebration is about and these are some of the great memories that will be shared.”

The Heritage Golf Tourna-ment is scheduled to kick off at 8:30 a.m., and guests are invited to participate in interactive golf activities, including a beat the pro contest.

Additionally, 10-minute les-sons will be offered along with hole-in-one contests, and a demonstration of the latest golf products, compliments of Nike.

The event is free and open to the public, but there is a $35 sign-up fee for those who would like to participate in the golf tournament.wi

For more information about the heritage celebration, visit www.langstongolfcourse.net.

Golf instructor Ray Savoy stands in front of the Langston Golf Course club-house in Northeast on Saturday, June 2. This Saturday, course officials will host a Langston Heritage celebration. /Photo by Khalid Naji-Allah

Ron McPherson enjoys a round of golf on Sunday, June 2 at Langston Golf Course in Northeast. /Photo by Khalid Naji-Allah

John Mercer Langston. /Photo courtesy of Golf Course Specialists, Inc.