The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Match Limited Golf Club marks 50 years of diversity in golf
For a half century, the historic Match Limited Golf Club has ventured to Northeast Ohio golf courses for fun.
But on back-to-back weekends, members teed it up on Lorain County tracks: Forest Hills Golf Course on Aug. 11; and Grey Hawk Golf Club on Aug. 18.
This is the 50th year the club has been in operation and the golfers generally travel to various courses across the area on their continued mission to bring a diverse group of people together to celebrate and play the game.
Nelson Morales, 69, of Elyria, is one such Match Limited member.
Morales said he learned of Match Limited from a few of his friends from Cleveland.
After playing with the group a couple of times, he found that he liked it.
“It was a very nice place to be,” he said. “We have people of all cultures, people of all kind of different job-related things; doctors, lawyers, truck drivers it doesn’t matter.”
This acceptance of diversity is clear from the start of the organization back in the spring of 1968 when golf buddies Ismael Johnson, Kenneth Carey and Leon Hogg, who were black, discussed their desire to play with a larger group during their usually Saturday game, according to a history of the club written by Edwin Kelly.
More people were brought into the fold who began accompanying them on their weekly outings to assorted courses throughout the state.
The group wanted to show their skills and crown a champion.
Later that year, the members organized a tournament they dubbed the Local Soul Open, Kelly wrote.
This was the first of the tournaments the group hosts each year.
At the time, when segregation was still a major factor in American life, the group was one of the few black golf clubs in existence and together they decided that if they were more structured, they could promote the game and have matches with other clubs.
So, the Match Limited Golf Club was born.
Bucky Ousley, 75, of Mayfield Heights, said he was one of the original members when the group was formed.
“What people don’t understand is, in the 1940s and 1950s in Cleveland, there was only two courses that black people could play, and that was Highland Park and Seneca Golf Course,” Ousley said.
“Some of us went to school together and we decided we should put a club together to have a tee time every Saturday.”
Ousley said the group would integrate the courses where they weren’t allowed to play because of the color of their skin.
“We had one or two white guys that were members and we would go out there in the middle of the week and send a white guy in to make a tee time,” he said with a laugh. “And then we’d show up Saturday with five groups of black players.
“Once we got there, they wouldn’t throw us off the course. I’m talking courses within 30 minutes of Cleveland.”
From the beginning, Match Limited put a premium on following the rules of golf and each member was required to carry a copy of the rules in their golf bag.
To eliminate controversy, the group codified their own Golf Guide which still is in use today, Kelly wrote.
During the winter months, when golf courses would be closed, club members would bowl.
In fact, the first insignia for the club featured a bowling ball as well as golf club on a maroon and black patch, the colors coming from the bowling shirts the members wore, Kelly’s history said.
Currently, Match Limited has about 35 members including basketball legend Austin Carr, according to current president Ken Bailey, 58, of Broadview Heights.
Bailey said Match Limited donates to various charities to give something back to their communities.
“It’s not just always about golf, it’s about giving back,” he said. “It’s important because when we leave this earth, we want to make sure our organization is still moving forward and flourishing and is in good hands.
“You want to make sure that you do reach back and give something. So, it’s more than just a tee time every Saturday.”
For Morales, Match Limited has given him a chance to make friends and celebrate the diversity in this world.
“I think it’s great for all people to be together one way or another,” he said. “There’s no reason to have disputes over race or whatever.
“Golf is such a great way to meet people and understand people.”
Bailey sees Match Limited more as a brotherhood than a club.
“I look forward to seeing every member, from the new ones to the ones who have been there every week,” he said.
“It’s just a good group of guys that all get together, for what I think is a good cause, and that’s golf and fellowship and togetherness.”