Tensions quickly escalated at a Pennsylvania golf course over the weekend when police were called to escort two black female golfers off the course for alleged slow play.
According to a story posted by the York Daily Record, five black women in their fifties were playing a round at Grandview Golf Club in Dover Township, Pa., on Saturday.
The group received permission to play as a fivesome when their tee time was delayed almost an hour by frost.
On the second hole, the group says they were approached by Steve Chronister, who said he was an owner of the course and to keep up with the pace of play. The women pointed out that they were in position, and the group ahead was still on the green.
The women then decided to skip the third hole, but had to wait for another group to tee off on No. 4 before continuing.
At the turn, three of the group’s five members left. The remaining two, Sandra Thompson and Myneca Ojo, were then told that the police has been called, and they had five minutes to leave the course because they had exceeded the 20-minute time limit between nines.
When the women argued that the group behind them was still enjoying a break at the turn, they were told their club membership money would be refunded.
“He said, ‘You’re going too slow, I’ll give you a refund,’ as if he didn’t want us as members,” Thompson told the York Daily Record. “I said, ‘Do you realize we’re the only black women on this course, and you’re only coming up to us? We paid, we want to play.’ He walked off in a huff.”
Police arrived and conducted interviews, but no charges were filed.
The women believe they were victims of gender and racial discrimination.
After initially issuing an apology to the women over the weekend, Grandview issued this statement on Monday:
“Grandview currently has 2400 members. In the past players who have not followed the rules, specifically pace of play, have voluntarily left at our request as our scorecard states. In this instance, the members refused to leave so we called police to ensure an amicable result. The members did skip holes and took an extended break after the 9th hole. We spoke with them once about pace of play and then spoke with them a second time. During the second conversation we asked members to leave as per our policy noted on the scorecard, voices escalated, and police were called to ensure an amicable resolution.”
You can watch a video of the confrontation below.
