The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

GLENN “Nassau” Pratt, one of the youngest Bahamians to turn professional at the age of 20, will become the latest Bahamian to be inducted into the African American Golfers Hall of Fame.

The 20th edition of the Hall of Fame Leadership Conference, Golf Skills Camp & Tournament, Reception, Awards Dinner Celebration, Auction” & “14th African American Collegiate & Youth Golfers Hall of Fame” hosted by Inner City Youth Golfers’, Inc. will be held in Palm Beach County, Florida, May 23-27.

The mission of the event is “to celebrate and honour the history and achievements of African Americans and other significant supporters who have contributed to growing the game of golf since the early 1800s.

But Pratt, who now serves as the president of the Bahamas Professional Golfers Association, hopes to use his induction as an opportunity to further advance the opportunities for more Bahamian professional golfers to become employed at the various golf courses in the country.

“The person who nominated me was a golf pro from Jackson, Mississippi, Jesse Allan, who could be considered the last of the mohegans when it comes to the older guards or professional golfers in the African American Professional Golfers Association in the United States.

“He plays everywhere with Michael Jordan. He goes everywhere with Michael Jordan. He and I were on the road for about 11 years playing together when I was in the United States about 20-30 years ago.

“I forgot about all of the things I did back then until I was told he nominated me to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.”

As an advocate for junior golf during his stay in various communities in the United States, Pratt said he wanted to give back his expertise free of charge because he was one who benefited without paying a fee when he was in The Bahamas.

He recalled being among a list of golfers that includes Vernon Lockhart, Wayde Bethel, Michael Rolle, who were all a part of the public school system, but they went on to excel as some of the top amateur golfers in the country back in the 1970s and eventually went on to earn golf scholarships to colleges and universities in the United States.

“It was because the professional golfers here had a relationship with the professional African American professional golfers in the United States,” Pratt recalled.

“They came here every November for what was considered the start of the professional golf season for a tournament at the South Ocean Golf Course and a lot of us like Greg Maycock, Michael Rolle, Vernon Lockhart, Shane Gibson, Eric Gibson Jr, and Quinton Gray, got opportunities to go to college.”

He commended Georgette Rolle-Harris with her Fourteen Clubs Golf Academy and the Bahamas Golf Federation’s Junior Golf Association, for the tremendous job they are doing to advance the programmes they are operating for the young golfers to improve their game.

But since returning home from the United States about six years ago, Pratt said he’s been advocating for more local golf pros like Chris Lewis and Raquel Riley to get the chance to be employed at the various golf courses as professional pros so that they can further enhance the development of the sport in the country.

“At the professional level, we need to start producing hundreds and hundreds of scholarships to supplement what is being done with the young golfers now playing the sport,” he stated.

“We don’t want to get all of these young golfers all enthusiastic about golf and then when they hit 17 and 18 and there’s nowhere to go. The parents invest all of their time and resources into their kids and the door is shut on them because they can’t afford to pay to play golf and there’s no public golf courses for them to improve their game.”

While the BGF’s Driving Range is a public facility, Pratt noted that a nine-hole golf course is best suited for recreational and amateur golfers to play on, but the more professional golfers need to utilise the other properties to develop their game.

“My intention is not only to be inducted into the African American Professional Golfers Association Hall of Fame, but to become an active member and eventually to sit on the board of that Hall of Fame,” he said.

“I’ve already decided that I’m going to find a way to make that happen because the goal is to create a Professional Golfers Hall of Fame here in The Bahamas, so what better way to do it than to partner with the African American Golfers Association and to create an environment where we start having major golf events here in the Bahamas.”

That would allow the professional golfers to be able to partner with Rolle-Harris and Gina Gonzalez-Rolle, who spearheads the BGF’s junior golf programme, to provide more opportunities for scholarships for the local golfers.

“I was there when the late Sir Clement Maynard hosted the South Ocean Golf Tournament every year when we brought in golfers from Canada and the United States,” he pointed out.

“That was the biggest professional golf tournament in the Caribbean. But those connections opened the doors for many of our amateur golfers to go to college. I didn’t go because I wanted to play professional golf and that was what I did. But the opportunities were there.”

Prartt, the only Bahamian to be inducted this year, joins the Class of 2024 that includes Arthur L. Johnson, Jacksonville, Fla; Brandon Johnson, ASGCA, Sanford, Fla; Craig Kirby, Washington, DC; Major Robert McNeil, Cincinnati, Ohio; Marsha G. Oliver, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla; Madeline A. Quintyne-McConney, North Babylon, NY; Jeffrey T. Sammons, Ph.D., Monmouth Beach, New Jersey; Vernell E. Williams, Madison, Fla and Tracy & Philip Raoul, Chicago, Illinois.

Additionally, the Par Four Golf Club, Inc., Pensacola, Fla; Pitch & Putt Golf Club of Baltimore, Md Sisters Across America, Inc., Orlando, Fla and Southern Association of Amateur Golfers, Jackson, Mississippi will be inducted as well for the role they played in the contribution to golf.

In the past, a number of persons, including Agatha Delancy, the first female president of the BGF, along with the Poop Deck Eagles organisation that included Fred Lighbourne and Fred Sturrup were recognised for their philanthropic contributions in The Bahamas.

“When you are recognised for the challenges that you face to help people, it is quite rewarding, especially when you are doing it from your heart,” said Lightbourne, the proprietor of Poop Deck Sandyport.

“I don’t ever do it for name recognition. That is why you don’t see it blasted all over the newspapers. It would be nice if my own house recognises me and not a house across the pond.”

Pratt said it would be nice for The Bahamas to create its own professional Hall of Fame induction because there are so many persons who have made their contribution to the sport over the years and not been recognised.

He mentioned the fact that persons like Roy Bowe have not been given the recognition that he deserves as one of the most accomplished professional golfers in the country.

But for him to be inducted into the African American Hall of Fame is special.

“I’ve spent all of my days as a professional golfer in the United States when I left here at the age of 20,” Pratt stated.

“So it represents all of the great things the other Bahamians are doing all around the world. It puts you in a class with Bahamians who are being hailed as pioneers and setting the tone for future generations. So that is important for me to be an example for future generations to want to follow.”

Pratt is calling on the Bahamas Government to intervene to ensure that the professional golfers in the country like Lewis and Riley get the opportunity to become employed with the local golf courses.

“It was mandated under the late Sir Lynden Pindling that every golf course shall have a resident Bahamian professional golfer employed at every golf course,” he said.

“I was a young man who advocated for this, but I feel guilty because I left the country at an early age and I’m just coming back to fight for it. Most of the guys here are not as proactive as I am. So I’m going to fight to see that we get it done.”

He applauded Rolle- Harris, who is a head pro at Baha Mar and Keno Turnquest is an assistant at Albany, but he said there are so many more jobs that should be available for the other local pro golfers.

While the golf courses have made significant contributions to junior golf in the country, Pratt said they appreciated the support they got from the Ocean Golf Club in providing their course free of charge for the hosting of the professional golf tournament last year.

“I’m not fighting for myself. I’m trying to put things in place so that the next generation of golfers who aspire to become golf directors are not faced with the same challenges that we are experiencing now,” he said.

In 1982, Pratt turned pro at the age of 20. He was the national amatuer golf champion and he was the youngest Bahamian at age of 17 to shoot a record 6-under-par 66 on Paradise Island.

As a master golf instructor with more than 40 years of experience, now employed at Triton Global Petroleum, his accomplishments are well-documented and include the following:

2009 President/CEO, International PGA, Ltd.; 2009 Member, Board of Directors for the United States Golfers Teaching Federation; 2006-2009 President, Bahamas Professional Golfers Association and 1995 Founding President, Minority Professional Golf Development Association (MPGDA) – based in Chicago, Illinois.

He established the AJAG, LLC, Chicago, Illinois in 2000 and he served on the Professional Golf Circuit, United States of America from 1982-1993.

Pratt was also the Bahamas professional champion of the Shell Bahamas Open; champion of the The Bahamas Professional Golfers Association Championship in 1993; champion of the JC Goosie Mini Golf Tour, Orlando from 1982-1984; champion of the Bahamas National Golf Championship in 1982 and the champion of the Bahamas Junior National Golf Championship in 1978.

At the present time, he heads the BPGA along with Marcus Pratt as vice-president and Riley as the secretary, Kethen Stuart as treasurer and Georgette Rolle-Harris and Keno Turnquest as captains in charge of any of the BPGA events.