This is what racism looks like
YORK, Pa. (AP) -- One of five black women golfers who were told to leave a Pennsylvania club said Tuesday it felt like they were playing "with targets on our backs."
Representatives of the Grandview Golf Club in York told the group at the second hole they were playing too slowly Saturday, said Sandra Harrison.
After the ninth hole, an hour-and-a-half later, the group of white men told them they took too long a break and needed to leave.
Harrison said she and two other women left because they were so rattled by the treatment.
"It was like we were playing with targets on our backs," she said. "What other reason could there be other than we were guilty of being black while golfing?"
The club called police on the two women who remained. No charges were filed.
Club co-owner JJ Chronister has said she called the women personally to "sincerely apologize."
It's part of golf etiquette that slow-moving players let groups behind them play through if they are holding things up, and often golf courses have employees who monitor the pace of play, letting golfers know when they are taking too long.
The five are part of a larger group of local women known as Sisters in the Fairway. The group has been around for at least a decade, and all of its members are experienced players who have golfed all over the country and world. They're very familiar with golf etiquette, Harrison said.
One of the women who remained and met with police, Sandra Thompson, posted a video on her Facebook page showing the interaction with club co-owner Jordan Chronister, his father, former York County Commissioner Steve Chronister, and several other white, male employees.
In it, Jordan Chronister tells the woman he's been timing them and tells them to leave the premises. The women argued they took an appropriate break, and that the men behind them were still on their beer break and not ready to tee off.
The women were told that the police had been called, and so they waited.
Northern York County Regional Police arrived, conducted interviews and left without charging anyone.
"We were called there for an issue, the issue did not warrant any charges," Northern York County Regional Police Chief Mark Bentzel told the York Daily Record.
JJ Chronister told the newspaper Sunday that she called the women personally to apologize. She said she hopes to meet with them to discuss how the club can use what happened as a learning experience and do better in the future.
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There is zero chance that this club would have asked well mannered white folks to exit the facility under these circumstances.
Finishing 9 holes in an hour and a half is a pretty quick pace. If it was me, I'd have trouble keeping up with their play.
That is pretty fast, I didnt notice that before. It seems there was no reason for complaint.
One isolated and cherry picked article does not imply institutional racism.
Why are you so quick to deny the possibility of racism?
I was born, raised and have lived here in York for over 60 years. I can't and won't address "institutional" racism locally, but what I can tell you is that there are numbers of people in the county, of all ages and both sexes, that wish the Civil War had ended differently.
I know a guy who owns a barbershop near there that agrees with that sentiment. He used to post in another forum and he was a closet Klan member.
I am not a regular golfer, but I have golfed maybe 100 times in my life.
There are courses that will not let 5 people play in the same group simply because it could slow things down.
Generally slow play results from people not being able to find their ball and then insisting on continuing to look for it instead of dropping a new one. If these women are regular golfers for years they may not have had that particular problem.
Some people stop after nine holes for a drink or a sandwich (because the course layout returns you to the clubhouse are after the ninth hole), and some don't. Again, not really a factor in 'slow play'.
Most people on a golf course are fairly laid back while they are playing, unless you are super serious it is a carefree pastime, which is why so many people (mostly guys) enjoy it.
What I truly don't understand is how someone could conclude they were playing slowly after just two holes. That is ridiculous and does sound like race may have been involved.
You've played a lot more than I have then, but even I have seen multiple instances where groups ask (or are offered) to play through, particularly when there becomes a consistent backlog at the tee. It's part of the gentlemanly nature of the game. That didn't happen here, because this was about chasing the wrong colored people off the course.
Yep.
Many times we have waved through the group behind us. We were good golfers. but sometimes we were chatting and didn't realize we were taking too much time.....at least we recognized it and practiced golf etiquette.
What do you think of someone from the course telling them they were playing too slowly after just two holes? That is suspicious in itself.
But why would you think it was racist. Maybe they were being drunk and disorderly. The leftist press is famous for not giving us "the rest of the story".
LOL. You are hilarious. There is nothing in the article to indicate that they were drunk and disorderly. Maybe the golf course manager was drunk and disorderly, and racist. Can you prove he wasn't?
Oy vey! There is video in the source link. Perhaps you should watch it before you jump to the first racist-sympathetic conclusion that comes to mind.
Mr. Russell. Unless there is a rule at the club....no twosomes or, maybe, just on certain days it is, usually, etiquette to wave the twosome through. After one hole it would be annoying for a twosome to wait for four ladies to take their time.
Also, we have had the pro shop send out someone telling us we are playing too slow.
Will the day ever come that most everything can be attributed to something other than race?
Another one....Waffle House ....Because the woman was black and the police white the judge has denied the defendant bail even though witnesses and video show that the woman was in the wrong. BUT, protestors gathered. Very sad!
John - the "usual" guidelines for time are allowing 13/14 minutes per hole allowing persons to finish 9 holes in 2 hours and 18 holes in 4 hours. Of course, the timing changes depending on whether you're on a par 3, 4 or 5, but generally averages out to 13/14 minutes.
Unfortunately, you get some Ol' duffers who have been at the course for 175 years and think that they run the damn thing and they are who create the vast majority of the problems.
Good call by the cop-shop.
Like anything else, they give just enough information in articles like this to allow people to make the judgement they're aiming for and of course it's Associated Press. I've really paid attention to there write-in journalist articles and I'm finding this isn't uncommon for them to do this sort of thing regularly. I'm finding these credible sources are not always credible, only big and influential.
Only if the first 2 holes took a really long time and the golfers were chatting, wandering, doing other stuff, as in Not Golfing. Otherwise no. And every course I've played, people let people through if they are holding things up. Of course, as none of us were there, none of us will be able to find out the full story.
Another day in Murica. Ah well, Macron is at the WH and Melania was holding Trump's hand.
This is also what racism in America looks like when a white woman is beaten by a mob of black teens.
That is hard to look at. These beatings never make the evening news.
With no link that could just be a random pic from a Hollywood makeup artist.
I have to say these social justice warriors are determined to create a crisis in this country between the races, genders, rich and poor and anything else they can come up with. If a person wants to compare how bad or good people have it around the world and start realizing how they are being manipulated then take a look at this.
quick analysis.....five women {most courses don't allow more than four for time's sake}, completed course in 90 minutes.....generally 2 par 3s {10 minutes each} 5 par 4s {13 minutes each} and 2 par 5s {16 minutes each}....9 hole average 117 minutes plus approximately 8 minutes to get from hole to hole....total 125 minutes. Slow play....no way 2 to 2 1/4 hours is normally acceptable. What these ladies were doing was speed golf. What the ranger was doing was being an ass and a racist. End of story.
I don't agree at all. You said it correctly when the club allowed five golfers to tee off,
BS......any reason at all to call racism.
He just pointed out that despite the group having five members, they were not doing exactly what you are claiming they were doing, which is holding up play. It seems like you take any opportunity to illogically deny racism is real. How many times have you seen a group of seasoned golfers asked to leave a course that they paid money to play on, for any reason other than being drunk and disorderly? How many times have you seen cops called to a golf course period?
You were pretty much on target when you started off until you put the 'and a racist' in there and then you exposed yourself and screwed the whole thing up. I've been on many courses over my life time and there are plenty of assholes on golf courses. Like I said, the article gives just enough information to get the desired opinion of the situation from the readers and considering the media today, it seems they have programmed some people to see racism in just about everything that is done against a black.
Bushwood? Dump?
If they were approached on 2, or after finishing 2, my guess is that the group behind them was complaining about pace, or the carts have GPS and can track pace. Either way, I'm betting the course was second guessing the decision to let them push off with a group of 5, especially after play was delayed an hour.
But, if they finished 9, albeit while skipping #3, in 1:45, club shouldn't care. I don't know. Face of racism? I'd like to give people the benefit of the doubt. Does seem like a croc-o-shizzle to me though.
If the club pro had not allowed 5 they would have called racism.
I swear to you.....NEVER have we been allowed to have five in our group!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's sad that you can't see the racism that is inherent in your Nostradamus prediction. I have a prediction too - I predict that the N word was used many times in the minds of many who were involved, or even those who have read this story.
Color me sad.
I've played in a group of 5 on more than one occasion. I can't remember playing in a 5 man group on a busy day, after a weather delay though.
Seems like a bad decision to let the group of 5 play, especially when the times were pushed back. Again though, if they pushed off at 11, and finished 9 at 12:45...I really don't see the issue, other than the apparent long wait at the turn.
Played Pebble Beach once in the morning fog, party of five became 3, then 4 then 5 again - then 3...
there wasn't anyone else on the course and "they" still followed us and at one point asked us to speed IT up?
After 9 holes and a long beer break, another couple showed up and we let them tee off ahead of us.
Some places are just weird little fiefdoms. PB is not cheap. The key here, is, as you said, a busy day.
York County is a 93% white farming community cut in half by the PA turnpike and US 30 tourist traps, not sure of the percentage of Amish
but African Americans are less than 4%
I've seen pictures of Pebble Beach...I certainly don't get to play anything like that, although I have played some nice courses.
That's why I put the quote from Caddy Shack in my first comment. Golf snobs. I'm the Al Cervic of our little group. Former baseball player. You can goose me during my backswing, and I doubt I'd flinch. I play with 3 guys that played college golf. They are all 3 Judge Smails. "Do you mind sir? I'm trying to tee off." Hit the ball sugar, and quit worrying about the fact that you can see my shoes.
I try to avoid the fiefdoms. I play to relax and have fun, not to worry about some jackass with binos, sitting on top of the hill, waiting to see if I left the cart path other than at a 90* angle. You give me a cart with GPS, and that thing will be beeping at me the entire round.
There's are also several great public courses only a few minutes away where one can play for about 1/10 of what PB charges.
I'm slow - lost a few balls in the ice plants - they still tell us to speed up - lol.
Been on golf courses most of life, private and public, never ever seen a group of 5 being allowed.
The club should have followed the rules in the first place. Bet they will now.
I've worked at a couple courses as a Starter/Marshall and presently work at a university course. On the week-ends, we always allow five-somes in the mornings up 'til 11:00, but NO singles or two-somes. Reason being is that the singles/two-somes will wind up behind a 4 or 5 some and usually get frustrated because they have so many that they ask/expect to be allowed to play through. And, also, the groups of 4 or 5 will "usually" be folks who can only play on the week-ends.
Exactly, and on a crappy day with few reservations, you take who ever shows up with cash.
"with cash" or they "Know" someone who works there
These folks should consider themselves lucky that the Grandview Golf Club even allows black folks to be members, unlike the whites-only country club which Rush Limbaugh attends.
My impression of Grandview (never played it) is that it is a family owned public course.
I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the club other than a somewhat racist employee. My comment was just a joke about a very small handful of golf clubs and country clubs still being one of the last bastions of whites-only & gentiles-only privilege.
What's even worse is that Augusta now allows women to play!
At one point, they allowed women to play Thursdays only.
Never had a problem with that just like I have never had a problem with men only clubs of any kind.
yer supposed to be outraged at everything! don't ya know?
It’s nice that conservative women like yourselves know and respect your role beneath your male counterparts.
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Your sarcasm is lost!
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The women were told that the police had been called, and so they waited.
Northern York County Regional Police arrived, conducted interviews and left without charging anyone.
Though I myself quit playing seventeen years ago, I did spend forty years between caddying and playing. Over that time span I do not recall anyone ever calling the police to a golf course. Now I'll give you that times have changed a bit, but I do not know if this is a case of racism, stupidity or plain old over reaction.
I vote for stupidity.
Last time I played, I did ok. It was that darn windmill, gives me fits. Don't get me started on trying to get the ball into the mouth of some weird looking animal.
Oh wait...
The only time I was on a golf course, it was one of the most boring things I have ever done. The saving grace was the woman that drove around with her portable bar. She learned to stay close to me.