Shoal Creek Fears Demonstrations Will Affect PGA Championship

Despite assurances that Shoal Creek Country Club, site of next month’s PGA Championship, could soon include black members, tournament organizers remain fearful of demonstrations and continued advertising backlash.

Birmingham, Ala., Mayor Richard Arrington, who is black, received a pledge from the club’s board of governors that blacks would be actively recruited and possibly approved for membership within the year. Arrington pleaded Thursday with organizers of a planned protest to reconsider.

The Rev. Abraham Woods, organizer of the proposed picketing, told reporters that no final decision had been made but suggested that Shoal Creek should invite Arrington as a member.

Bob Barrett, Shoal Creek head professional and tournament operations manager, said Thursday that no black had been proposed for membership. Rewritten bylaws address “silent” exclusion.

Earlier in the week, IBM and Toyota, citing the club’s discriminatory policies, pulled their commercials from the Aug. 9-12 broadcasts. Delta Airlines apparently has curtailed its number of ads during the tournament, and Anheuser-Busch has chosen not to run its commercials.