We did not arrive at the resort until late Friday afternoon. We had hoped to play nine holes before nightfall, but our late arrival prevented us from playing that afternoon. By the time we checked into our rooms on the hotels top floor and got settled, it was time to get ready for dinner. After shaving, showering and changing into dinner attire, we met at the bank of elevators on our floor. The four of us got into a car heading down to the dining room. Two floors down, the elevator stopped.

When the doors opened, two elderly white women stepped in. Visibly taken aback to find themselves in close quarters with a group of black men, each woman gave a short, soft but distinctly audible gasp. Their eyes darted about, and their lips quivered as they tried to maintain composure. The elevator doors closed, and the car renewed its descent. At this point, the more intrepid of the two looked at us with a tentative smile and asked, "Do you boys play in the band?"

We were perplexed, angry and disgusted. Though we were well groomed, well behaved and fairly prosperous-looking, it was all lost on the two women. Skin color was the sole measurement they used to conclude that we were musicians. Once again, blind, irrational, racial stereotyping was the order of the day. It was one hell of a way to start a weekend of golf.

Yet, my experience at Grossinger's pales in comparison to the crude indignities suffered on golf courses over the years by Charlie Sifford, Ann Gregory, Bill Spiller, Renee Powell and countless other African-Americans. Nevertheless, despite the grudging and agonizingly slow pace of improvement in the attitude of the dominant culture, one cannot deny that favorable changes have taken place. With each year, the situation for African-American golfers has become more hopeful. Another milestone was reached in the waning days of the 1996 summer season with the arrival of Tiger Woods. His presence has the potential to drive another mighty nail into racial prejudice's coffin. Its burial is long overdue.

Not long after I began the research for my book "Forbidden Fairways," it became clear to me that a serious study of black golf history had never been written. I learned this after visiting he Library of Congress, which has 1,900 golf-related books. Short references to African-American participation in golf are mentioned in many books, but only two examined the subject in a less than cursory fashion.

In 1988, the late tennis champion Arthur Ashe published "A Hard Road to Glory." Ashe's three-volume work covers the participation of black athletes in many sports. Only five pages in the first volume, however, and 11 pages in the third are dedicated to golf.

The other book, published in 1993, is "Just Let Me Play," an autobiographical treatment of the career of golfer Charlie Sifford. Valuable as both books are, neither was intended to provide a detailed examination of African-American golf history. This meant that I had to look for a source of information other than books. Fortunately, I found one.

Until a generation ago, mainstream white newspapers seldom published substantive reports about developments in the African-American community. Without the black press, I would have fount it difficult, if not impossible, to trace much of the history of blacks and golf. Not only did black newspapers report the story, but their reportage helped me put it in perspective to our nation's history of race relations. Here are some profiles on African-Americans who ventured onto the nation's forbidden fairways long before the arrival of Tiger Woods.

Excerpt from Sunday, February 7, 1999; "The Sun," Section C - Perspective