Shady Rest Golf and Country Club, Historic golf course in Scotch Plains, United States.
Shady Rest Golf and Country Club is a nine-hole golf course in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The grounds include a clubhouse and a pavilion that serve both members and visitors.
The club was founded in 1921 as the first golf facility in the United States owned and operated by African Americans. It came to life at a time when Black Americans were largely shut out of most other golf clubs across the country.
The club has long been known not only for golf but also for the music that filled its grounds, with performers like Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington taking the stage here. Walking around today, visitors can still sense how this place brought people together across sport and music in a way that few venues ever did.
The course has a pro shop on site where players can rent golf carts before heading out. Soft-soled shoes or golf shoes without metal spikes are recommended when walking the fairways.
John Matthew Shippen Jr., the first American-born Black golf professional, spent much of his career here, working as a golf instructor on this very course for decades. He remained active well into old age and was not widely recognized for his role in the sport until long after his death in 1968.
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