Bermuda Black Golfers Week to Launch in October

The Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) is partnering with the APGA Tour and PGA Magazine to celebrate the territory's initial Black Golfers Week, scheduled for October 24 to 31, 2022. The fall event will celebrate Bermuda's Black golf legacy with a celebrity pro-am tournament, free golf play and lessons, panel discussions, awards dinners, island excursions and parties, said officials.

The week-long series of events will begin with an APGA tournament event that will follow the PGA Tour's Butterfield Bermuda Championship, BTA officials said Thursday. APGA is a non-profit organization that works to prepare African Americans and other minority golfers to compete and win at professional golf's highest levels.

Bermuda's Black Golfers Week will also include a screening of "Rafael Louis 'Kid' Corbin: Breaking Golf's Color Line in America, Canada and Bermuda," a documentary by Dr. Jeffrey Sammons highlighting Black Bermudian golfer Rafael Corbin's role in opening golf to African Americans and Afro Canadians through his activism against segregated golf clubs across North America.

Black Golfer's Week in Bermuda will close with the Kid Corbin Classic golf tourney at the Port Royal Golf Course, said Charles Jeffers III, BTA's CEO.

"We are committed to taking on a leadership role in broadening access to the sport of golf worldwide. Black Golfers Week will position Bermuda as a leading light elevating diversity, equity, and inclusion in sport," said Jeffers.

Jeffers added, "These conversations can enlighten and inspire golf communities of all backgrounds. Ultimately, our goal is to drive visitation and develop a framework for the sport that will deepen the talent pool, foster opportunity, and underscore Bermuda's pioneering role in Black golf history."

This initiative will incorporate significant local engagement elements, including a kids' golf clinic hosted by international golfing phenom Troy Mullins," said Hazel Clark, BTA's director of business development. "We are excited by the potential of this event and look forward to welcoming both golf enthusiasts and golf-curious travelers."

"The tournament staff is committed to delivering a premier golfing experience to professionals in Bermuda," said Sean Sovacool, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship's executive director. "Equally important is the knowledge that removing barriers to entry and supporting diversity in the sport is a crucial next step to growing the game of golf worldwide."