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Glenville
Pratt
USGTF Level III Member, Nassau, Bahamas
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Bahamian-born
Glenville Pratt is 48 years old and has been playing golf for 41
years. At the tender age of 10, he won his first golf trophy,
which was presented to him by two of his favorite golf pros -
the legendary Lee Elder (the first black golf professional to
play in the Masters), and Roy Bowe (the first Bahamian golf
professional). The date was 10 July 1973, the day of
Independence for the Bahamas.
At the age of 20,
Glenn became the youngest Bahamian Amateur Golf Champion in
1982. It was in November of the same year that he turned pro,
and left his country to play golf with the Space Coast Mini Tour
in Florida, operated by J.C. Goosie. Glenn returned home to the
Bahamas in 1984 to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming the
head professional at his home course at Paradise Island Golf
Club, renamed the Ocean Club Golf Course.
After only one
year at the helm, he decided at age 24 that he still had some
play left in him, and once again returned to the professional
golf tour until 1993. It was during this time that it became
very clear to him that, being a black professional golfer in the
United States, under the prejudice and discrimination of the
leading professional golf organization, someone needed to do
something to develop opportunities for young black professional
golfers.
On his quest, in
1995 Glenn moved to Chicago, where he founded the Minority
Professional Golf Development Association. Right away, he began
recognizing black pros of the past at the Annual Salute to the
Legends Golfer’s Ball, which he hosted every year, along with
the MPGDA Championship. Champions received sponsorship to PGA,
LPGA, and Senior Tour Q-schools. Today, the MPGD is functioning
in 12 states.
After 23 years in
the United States, Glenn moved back home to the Bahamas, and
became the director of golf instruction at the Paradise Island
Golf Course until January 2009. He is currently the president of
the Bahamas Professional Golfer’s Association; president of the
International PGA Ltd., and the newest member of the Board of
Directors for the USGTF. In his 27-year professional golf
career, one highlight has been meeting Geoff Bryant, president
and CEO of the USGTF.
“I thank God for
allowing me the opportunity to meet a leader in the world of
golf who does not see color or creed,” said Glenn. “Instead, his
focus is on making the golf industry a fair playing field for
the best and the brightest. At this point in my life, I know
with certainty that I am able to make significant strides in the
game I love so dearly.”
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