Faces of Georgia Golf: Honoring Black Leaders in Golf

As we celebrate Black History Month, we honor the trailblazers whose courage, talent, and perseverance helped shape the game of golf in Georgia and opened doors for generations to follow. Their stories remind us that the game is richer, stronger, and more inclusive because of those who challenged barriers and changed history. We are proud to recognize their lasting impact on Georgia golf, this month and always.

Alfred “Tup” Holmes | GGHOF Class of 2012

• Holmes was born in 1917 in East Point, Georgia and graduated from Tuskegee (Ala.) Institute in 1939 and excelled as a young amateur golfer in college and beyond.
  
  
• After having been denied the opportunity to play a round at Bobby Jones Golf Course in 1951, Holmes and his family were instrumental in obtaining the right for blacks to play golf on City of Atlanta public golf courses.
  
  
• They subsequently brought suit against the city and the case wound its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, whose final ruling would end segregation of the City's courses and eventually lead to the desegregation of all City of Atlanta public places.
  
  
• On December 24, 1955, "Tup" Holmes, his brother, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and friends Charles T. Bell, T.D. Hawkins and E.J. Peterson played a round of golf at North Fulton Golf Course, thus legally breaking the color barrier on Atlanta's public golf courses.
  
  
• Holmes was inducted into the National Black Golf Hall of Fame in 2006.
  
  
• Holmes passed away in 1967, but his family anthem City of Atlanta joined together to dedicate a golf course in his honor –the Alfred “Tup” Holmes Memorial Golf Course in Adams Park.
  
  

Jim Dent | GGHOF Class of 1994

• Jim Dent was born in Augusta, Ga., on May 9, 1939 and began his golf career as a caddie, participating in his first Masters when he was just 15.
  
  
• In 1970, Dent earned his PGA TOUR card and would go on to make 450 starts in his career, which included 16-straight years of full-timeme play.
  
  
• Dent joined the PGA Champions Tour in 1989 and won a total of 12 tournaments during his career. His 14 top 10 finishes during the 1992 season set a new tour record for most money won in a single season without a victory.
  
  
• Dent also set a Champions Tour record of finishing in the exempt top 31 money-winners for 12 consecutive years.
  
  
• Dent won the first two World Long Drive Championships conducted in 1974 and 1975.
  
  
• The road leading into Augusta Municipal Golf Course was renamed “Jim Dent Way” in 2020 as a tribute to his impact on the game.
  
  
• Dent was inducted into the National Black Golf Hall of Fame in 1992. Dent passed away in May of 2025.
  
  

William Lewis, PGA | GGHOF Class of 2022

• A native of Huntsville, Alabama, William Lewis was the oldest of seven children and was born May 1, 1951.
  
  
• Lewis won over 28 tournaments during his collegiate career at Alabama A&M University, earning him Small College All-America honors each year (1970-74).
  
  
• His first job after college moved him to Georgia as the assistant golf professional at John A. White Golf Course in Atlanta. He would later serve as the head professional at Alfred “Tup” Holmes Golf Course for 15 years and general manager of Brown’s Mill Golf Course. He earned Class A status with the Georgia PGA of America.
  
  
• He won the Atlanta Open in 1978 and the Greensboro Open in 1979 and 1981, before making the finals at Qualifying School in 1981 and competed in multiple PGA TOUR events.
  
  
• Lewis made a major impact on the youth of Atlanta as he gave nearly 20 years of his life to First Tee of Metro Atlanta from 1999-2017 serving as a head instructor.
  
  
• Lewis also served as head golf coach at Morehouse College for 16 years helping the team in 2010 become the first all African-American member team to win the National Minority Golf Championship.
  
  
• Lewis was inducted into the National Black Golf Hall of Fame in 2000. Lewis passed away in February of 2022.

Carl Seldon, PGA | GGHOF Class of 2024

• Carl Seldon was born on June 19, 1940 in Atlanta and attended Henry McNeal Turner High School serving as captain on both the varsity golf and basketball teams.
  
  
• After graduating high school, he stayed home and enrolled at Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University), where he continued with golf and basketball. He would serve as captain of the golf team all four years, leading his team to victory at the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) four-straight years.
  
  
• He earned a degree in economics in 1963, and then enlisted in the United States Army. During his two-year enlistment, Seldon was a member of the 3rd United Army golf and basketball teams. He completed his military service with an honorable discharge in 1965.
  
  
• Upon returning to Atlanta, Seldon quickly returnedreturned to competitive golf by playing on African American golf tours. Success on the golf course continued as he won two Southern Open Championships, as well as the 1969 Lee Elder Tournament.
  
  
• In 1974, he joined the PGA of America as the first African American to do so in the state of Georgia, where he would later become a Life Member.
  
  
• Seldon joined the City of Atlanta golf courses as its head golf professional in 1979. As a way of giving back to the game, he served as a volunteer instructor at John A. White Golf Course in Atlanta with the First Tee Program, and for the Atlanta Pro-Duffers Golf Club.
  
  
• Seldon was inducted into the National Black Golf Hall of Fame in 1990. He passed away in July 2020.