Pontypool Golf Club

Founded in 1903, Pontypool Golf Club sits on the hillside at Trevethin above the town in South Wales: a members-owned club that welcomes visitors any day, playing a compact par-69 layout of just under 6,000 yards. Its place in golf history belongs to Jim Howard, the PGA's first Black member, who arrived as head professional in June 1970 and stayed 35 years until retiring in 2005. Having learned the game on a municipal course because he could never have afforded to join a club, Howard visited local schools and brought in juniors from the surrounding housing estates; by his own account the club grew from about 200 members, mostly professional people, to 800 "of all walks of life," and its juniors twice won the Welsh Team Championship. He also helped found the PGA of Wales, and at his retirement dinner he received a letter of thanks from Tiger Woods.