The 10th’s tee shot is reminiscent of the downhill shot at the first, but this time with a wider fairway and (thanks to a water hazard fronting the green) no chance of getting on in one. The course long ago lost its capacity to keep up with modern equipment, but even though titanium drivers have a tendency to gobble it up, its rolling land creates a quirkiness that is timeless.ĭespite the hidden potential for putting up big numbers quickly, the front nine is never boring - but the back nine is at least as good. Today, the only remaining trappings of Highland Park’s past are the ones that encourage play rather than prevent it: it’s a short course playable at all skill levels, and it’s the site of Tad Moore’s annual Southern Hickory Four Ball Championship. Eventually, the city reopened the course in June 1963 (the story of which was told to National Public Radio by Dr. The city filled the holes in Highland Park’s greens with concrete, just to make sure no one played. Mayor Arthur Hayes defended the decision by describing it as “what we thought we had to do.” So in January 1962, Highland Park closed. That left the city what should have been an easy choice: open Highland Park to everyone, or close it to everyone.īirmingham chose the latter. Birmingham built a blacks-only golf course in 1952 in an effort to ward off integration, but in late 1961, a federal judge held what everyone already knew: racial segregation was unconstitutional, even on a golf course. Like every other part of public life in the South in 1927, Highland Park was segregated. Highland Park, on dramatic, rolling terrain in downtown Birmingham, has been open since 1903 - first as the Country Club of Birmingham, then under its current name after the city acquired it in 1927.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |