Renee Powell (born May 4, 1946) is an American professional
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
er who played on the US-based
LPGA Tour
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...
and is currently head professional at her family's Clearview Golf Club in
East Canton, Ohio
East Canton is a village in Stark County in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 1,591 at the 2010 census. It is part of the '' Canton-Massillon, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area''.
East Canton was originally settled under the name "Osnab ...
. She was the second African-American woman ever to play on the LPGA Tour.
The daughter of golf course entrepreneur
Bill Powell, Renee grew up in Ohio and took up golf at an early age. After winning several youth amateur trophies in her teens, and captaining the women's golf teams at
Ohio University
Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...
and
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
, she turned professional in 1967. She moved to the UK in the 1970s to further her career and joined the
British PGA
The Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) is the professional body which represents the interests of teaching and club golf professionals in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It was established in 1901 and is based at The Belfr ...
. In 1977, she became the first woman to compete in a men's golf tournament. Following her retirement in 1980, she appeared as a television commentator and became the head professional of the
Clearview Golf Club in 1995.
Powell is a member of the Ohio Golf Hall of Fame. She is also a member of
Sigma Gamma Rho
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority, international collegiate, and non-profit community service organization that was founded on November 12, 1922, by seven educators on the Irvington campus (1875–1 ...
sorority. In 2017, she was inducted to the PGA America Hall of Fame.
Early life
Renee Powell was born in
East Canton, Ohio
East Canton is a village in Stark County in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 1,591 at the 2010 census. It is part of the '' Canton-Massillon, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area''.
East Canton was originally settled under the name "Osnab ...
, where she was raised
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
She began playing golf at the age of three.
Her father,
Bill Powell, is the first African American to create and build his own golf course in the US.
He made miniature golf clubs for her to use as a child and was her golf teacher. Her early life was quiet, and Powell played a number of different sports as a young person, including archery, ballet and basketball. She helped maintain the Clearview golf course, driving a tractor.
Powell entered her first amateur tournament at the age of 12 and won her division. Three years later, in 1960, she had 30 youth tournament trophies. By 1961, she had 50 trophies and was playing golf daily on her father's golf course. She had won the Great Lakes Bantam Golf Tournament, the Columbiana County Open, Clearview Golf Club junior, Sixth City Ladies (three times), Tiretown Open Ladies (twice), Vehicle City tourney, and the Midwest District Junior in three consecutive years. ''The Akron Beacon Journal
The ''Akron Beacon Journal'' is a morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States. Owned by Gannett, it is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper's coverage focuses on local news. The Beacon Jou ...
'' called her the "Queen of the Bantam Golf Show." In 1962, she was the first African American to enter the U.S. Girls' Junior The United States Girls' Junior Championship is one of the thirteen U.S. national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association. It is open to amateur girls who are under 19 on the last day of the competition and have a USGA ha ...
. In the junior championship, she caused an upset in winning the first round. In 1963 she won the Akron Tire Town open for a third time. She entered the Girls' Junior Championship again in August 1963. In the summer of 1964, she won a "sudden death" match in the Lyle Chevrolet women's golf tournament. She was considered a favorite in the 1964 United Golf Association
The United Golfers Association (UGA) was a group of African-American professional golfers who operated a separate series of professional golf tournaments for Blacks during the era of racial segregation in the United States. It was said to have sta ...
(UGA) National Open and went on to take the amateur title that year.
Powell graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1964. She went on to attend Ohio University
Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...
(OU) and then transferred to Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
(OSU). At OU she was majoring in speech and hearing therapy, but changed her major to sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
when she transferred to OSU. Powell captained the women's golf team at both universities and at OSU, her role as captain made her the first African American to lead a major university golf team. When she wanted to play in the Ohio State Golf Association tournament, OSU backed her decision and stated that they would leave the organization if Powell was not allowed to play.
Professional career
Powell competed in more than 250 professional golf tournaments. In 1967, she joined the Ladies Professional Golf Association
The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Infor ...
(LPGA). She became the second African American player in the LPGA. When she was a rookie in the LPGA, she received death threats by people who did not want to see a black woman playing golf. There were times she was not allowed to stay inside the official tournament hotels. When she toured with Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
golfer Sandra Post
Sandra Post, (born June 4, 1948) is a retired professional golfer, the first Canadian to play on the LPGA Tour. In 1968 at age 20 in her rookie professional year, she won a women's major – the LPGA Championship, and was the youngest play ...
, the two would work together to ensure that Powell would be able to get a room. Sometimes, however, Powell and Post would not be served at restaurants and left hungry. When they were not served, Powell would joke, "I didn't want to tell you, but it's because you're Canadian." Powell did not make enough money to live just off her golf earnings, so she also worked at Wilson Sporting Goods
The Wilson Sporting Goods Company is an American sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois. The company has been a subsidiary of Finnish multinational company Amer Sports since 1989, and is, in turn, now under the Chinese Anta Sport ...
and doing golf clinics and exhibitions. Her parents were also happy to help her out financially. By 1969, the LPGA insisted that they were an integrated tour and announced this at any towns they were visiting in order to head off problems before they might start for Powell.
Powell won the 1973 Kelly-Springfield Tournament in Surfers Paradise, Queensland
Surfers Paradise is a Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Surfers Paradise had a population of 23,689 people.
Colloquially known as "Surfers", the suburb has many high-rise apa ...
, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Her win was a course-record when she scored a final-round of 67 strokes. She visited Africa 25 times, and taught golf to heads of state and other people while there. She undertook a USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
Tour in 1971, which included meeting troops in Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
at the height of the war. She was friends with fellow golfer Patty Berg
Patricia Jane Berg (February 13, 1918 – September 10, 2006) was an American professional golfer. She was a founding member and the first president of the LPGA. Her 15 major title wins remains the all-time record for most major wins by a femal ...
, who encouraged her career and advised her on how to hold golf clinics.[
Powell moved to the UK in the 1970s to improve her career there, playing her first round at the ]Old Course at St Andrews
The Old Course at St Andrews, also known as the Old Lady or the Grand Old Lady, is considered the oldest golf course.
It is a public course over common land in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland and is held in trust by the St Andrews Links Trust under ...
in 1975. She was briefly the first female head professional at Silvermere Golf Club. Powell later joined the British PGA
The Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) is the professional body which represents the interests of teaching and club golf professionals in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It was established in 1901 and is based at The Belfr ...
and was the first woman to compete in a British men's tournament when she played in the 1977 Surrey PGA Championship.[ She also designed golfing outfits for ]Harrods
Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...
.[ She styled herself "the lone ranger" due to being the only significant black female professional golfer.]
In 1980, she retired from the LPGA. During her time at the LPGA, she had competed in over 250 professional golf events. After retirement, she became a television commentator for ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
and CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
. In 1995, she became the head professional at Clearview Golf Club in East Canton, Ohio
East Canton is a village in Stark County in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 1,591 at the 2010 census. It is part of the '' Canton-Massillon, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area''.
East Canton was originally settled under the name "Osnab ...
, which her father had started in 1948 as a club free of racial and social discrimination. Her work as manager of the Clearview club was recognized by the LPGA in 2000 when it designated the course as one of 75 Girls Golf Club sites. She runs a rehabilitation program, Clearview HOPE, for female war veteran
A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military.
A military veteran that has ...
s. Clearview HOPE is a golf program that is recreational, therapeutic, and free for veterans in Northern Ohio.
In 2019, Powell was elected to become the first at-large member of the PGA of America board of directors.
Awards
Powell and her family were awarded the Jack Nicklaus Golf Family Award from the National Golf Foundation
The National Golf Foundation (NGF) provides golf-business research and consulting services. Founded in 1936 by golf writer Herb Graffis and his brother Joe, who nearly went bankrupt in the process, its original mission was to publish authoritative ...
(NGF) in 1992. She was elected as a member of the PGA of America
The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish ...
in 1996.[ The LPGA honored her with a Service Award in 1999.] In 2003, she was awarded the First Lady of Golf Award from the PGA.
In 2013, Powell was inducted into the Stark County Amateur Hall of Fame. She earned a ''Black Enterprise
''Black Enterprise'' is a black-owned multimedia company. Since the 1970s, its flagship product ''Black Enterprise'' magazine has covered African-American businesses with a readership of 3.7 million. The company was founded in 1970 by Earl G ...
'' Women of Power award in 2016. Powell was later inducted into the PGA America Hall of Fame in 2017. Her father had also been an inductee, making the pair the only father / daughter combination to both receive this award. Upon induction, Powell said, "To be inducted into the PGA hall of fame alongside my father is extremely special as he was my only instructor over these many years."
Powell earned an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of St Andrews
(Aien aristeuein)
, motto_lang = grc
, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
, endowment ...
in 2008. In 2015, was invited to become one of the first women members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. At the formal luncheon at the club, she was allowed to bring one guest and Powell chose to bring her friend, Franco Harris
Franco Harris (March 7, 1950 – December 20, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A nine-time Pro Bowl selection ...
. At the university in 2016, the women's team named their tournament after Powell. In 2018, Powell came back to St Andrews
St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...
for a ribbon cutting ceremony for two new student residence halls at the university, one of which was named after her. Powell and her family were honored with the Old Tom Morris Award The Old Tom Morris Award is the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America's most prestigious honor. It is presented each year to an individual who "through a continuing lifetime commitment to the game of golf has helped to mold the welfare ...
by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America at the 2019 Golf Industry Show.
References
External links
*
LPGA Golf Legend Renee Powell
(2010 video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Renee
American female golfers
LPGA Tour golfers
African-American golfers
Golfers from Ohio
African-American sportswomen
African-American Catholics
Sportspeople from Canton, Ohio
1946 births
Living people
21st-century African-American women
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American women