Dallas CC Admits First Black Member After 13 Year Process

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James Ragland reports that 58-year-old private equity exec Kneeland Youngblood is the first black member admitted to the "exclusive" Dallas Country Club.

According to Ragland, Youngblood's application took 13 years.

“I respect the club’s decision,” Youngblood said in a phone chat from New York. “I’m honored now that they’ve chosen me to be a member.”

The club’s president, Ray Nixon, issued a brief statement Thursday that gives a modest nod to the cultural shift afoot in Dallas, without discussing the prolonged process Youngblood endured.

“Dallas Country Club is a vital asset and an extraordinary amenity in an increasingly global city,” Nixon said. “We have a long-standing history and commitment as both a social and family club.

“Kneeland Youngblood is an outstanding individual and friend; and we are delighted to have him and his family as part of our club.”

Rancho Park: "The American tapestry."

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When I think of the great places in the game, Rancho Park always comes to mind because it is the only existing course in America to have hosted all three tours (PGA, Champions, LPGA), millions of rounds of golf and remains the essentially the same place the West Los Angeles muni has been all of my lifetime: a special place to play golf.

Yes, they've raised green fees and conditioning is in flux with the incompetent city of LA in charge, but the people make the place and always have. Michael Bamberger captures it all in a nutshell after just one recent visit.

In the parking lot, I saw a young guy hop out of his truck, zip oranges into his golf bag, slide into his spikes and march off to the clubhouse. (Such an echt display of pre-round enthusiasm.) In the restaurant/pro shop, a man in a nearby booth ate breakfast with his bag beside him, headcovers on all 14 of his companions. A waitress arranged for my rental set, an interesting assortment of lost treasures: Ping Eye 2s, Titleists likely from another century, Stratas, a Zebra putter. On the driving range, there was a middle-aged man loading up his face with sunblock and his mouth with chew. All the while, over loudspeakers, the starter announced the batters off his ever-changing lineup card: Aiello, Shapiro, Chu. The American tapestry.

The Ghost Of Clifford Roberts Surfaces In Scottsdale!

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You may remember the "resignation opportunity" letter offered to Scottsdale National members by owner Bob Parsons. The GoDaddy.com founder had changed the name from Golf Club of Scottsdale and had dreams of building his own Augusta in Scottsdale. The results of the opportunity and revamped club appears to be borrowing liberally from the Clifford Roberts model for Augusta National, and that's not all bad! In fact, some of this is almost too good to be true.

To protect the innocent, this latest Parsons email to the members who survived the resignation opportunity has been copied and pasted from the original, emailed, stomped on, tilted and emailed again. But the ideas are undeniably those of Parsons who, if nothing else, will be considered reasonable for having backed off some of his original member demands (mandatory spending, big limits) and maybe even going full circle, turning into kind of a Santa Claus to those remaining members.

Here is the original letter.

And the latest correspondence, post-resignations and channeling his inner-Clifford: