Renee Powell is the second of only three African American women to ever play on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour. The LPGA has been in existence since 1950.
Renee picked up her first club at the age of three, a small club her father William, purchased to fit her tiny hands. She got her first taste of the game at Clearview Golf Club in East Canton, Ohio. The course was designed and built by her father following his return from serving in World War II. It is the only course in the world designed, built, owned, and operated by an African American.
At the age of 12, Renee entered her first tournament, the women’s division of the Forest City Tournament at Seneca Golf Course in Broadview Heights, Ohio. She won her division. Seneca would later become a familiar course for Renee, as she returned in 1988 to become its head golf professional.
Three years later, Renee had already collected thirty trophies. She was featured in Ebony Magazine.
Following her graduation from Central Catholic High School in Canton, Ohio, Renee attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio her freshman and sophomore years and was named captain of the Women’s Golf Team. She transferred to Ohio State University after her golf coach at OU decided she shouldn’t go to the tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, due to the potential for racial tension. It was in the 1960’s. She was also named captain of the Women’s Golf Team at OSU and recognized as the top female amateur golfer in Ohio.
During her time as an amateur golfer, Renee participated in more than 100 amateur tournaments. She won the United Golfer’s Association (USG) National Tournament Women’s Division, the same year Lee Elder won the pro division. Her first United States Golf Association (USGA) national amateur event was the USGA Girls’ Junior Championship in 1962 Buffalo Country Club, in Buffalo, New York. Renee set history as the first African American to ever compete in the event, and she advanced to the Quarterfinal of the Championship.
Renee turned pro in 1967. During her 13 years on the tour, she participated in more than 250 tournaments. She won the Kelly Springfield Open in Brisbane, Australia, shooting a 67 in the final round to set a new course record. The LPGA Tour gave Renee the opportunity to visit and play golf in numerous countries aside from the United States. Among the countries where Renee competed are England, Japan. Spain, Canada, Mexico, and Greece. She also toured extensively on the African continent, including stops in Morocco, The Gambia, Senegal, Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
She was chosen to represent the United States in the U S vs. Japan Team Matches on four separate occasions during the 1970’s. Team members include other notables such as Kathy Whitworth, Carol Mann, Pat Bradley, Sandra Post, Donna Caponi and Susie Berning. In each of Renee’s four matches, her team won.
Renee was invited to participate in King Hassan’s Tournament in Morocco and was the only American golf professional to play in President Jawara’s Tournament in The Gambia. President Kaunda of Zambia personally invited Renee to play with him at the State House Golf Course, the first woman golfer to do so.
During the 1970’s Renee was part of the USO Tour to Vietnam. She along with friend Mary Lou Daniel and one arm trick-shot artist, Jimmy Nichols, gave golf clinics in hopes of bringing a little bit of home to our troops abroad.
She made history in the golf world in 1979 by becoming the first woman to be named Head Professional at a golf course in the United Kingdom. The course was Silvermere, near London, England. At that same time she made history by playing from the same tees in a men’s professional tournament in that country.
While in England, Renee began designing and promoting golf, tennis, and jogging clothes for McCarthy Sports of London. Harrod’s of London was the first store to purchase the line and did a front window display of Renee’s design. She also wrote instructional articles for Par Golf Magazine.
Though she left the LPGA Tour in 1980, she did not leave the world of golf. Renee continued to travel extensively around the globe, conducting golf clinics and lecturing. Many of her stops were at predominantly black colleges. Throughout her career, Renee has tried to bring the sport of golf closer to those who might otherwise be unable to enjoy its challenges and benefits.
In 1985, Renee hosted the first of what has become an annual event, The Renee
Powell / Anheuser Busch Golf Tournament to benefit the United Negro College Fund. It is held each year at Clearview Golf Club, with teams of amateurs getting the opportunity to play with both past and present stars from the world of sports and entertainment. This year as we celebrate the 22nd event – the proceeds will go to benefit the Clearview Legacy Foundation for education, preservation and research.
The following year, Renee established a Pro-Am Tournament at Clearview, benefiting The Special Olympics and The Ronald McDonald House Charities. It features women from the LPGA partnered with foursomes made up of amateurs.
The Ohio Woman’s Hall of Fame chose Renee as an inductee in 1989. She was one of only 16 women selected out of 168 candidates. The following year, The Stark County (Ohio) Women’s Hall of Fame followed suit.
In 1991, Renee received the Dr. Martin Luther King Drum Major for Justice Award, in the world of sports. She was also appointed to the USGA Girl’s Junior Championship Committee. Her affiliation with the Junior Championship Committee was a natural since it was the junior competitions that served as a springboard for her career. As the USGA Girls’ junior representative for Ohio, she is the official in charge of one of thirty qualifying sites in the United States.
Renee and her family were honored in 1992. They were recipients of the National Golf Foundation’s Jack Nicklaus Golf Family of the Year Award. It recognized the contribution the entire family has given to the world of golf; from the work her father Bill did in starting and operating the course, to the work her mother Marcella, who until her death in 1996, served as office manager of Clearview; to her brother Larry, who is the course superintendent. Renee joined the rest of the family at Clearview in 1995, taking over as Head Professional.
Clearview has served as the host for the Canton Chapter of the Executive Women’s Golf Association. Renee started the local chapter in 1993.
In 1996, Renee initiated the Renee Powell Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame Golf Tournament. The tournament was established to provide scholarships to young women pursuing a career in any non-traditional field.
Renee became the first and, so far, the only African American female Class A member of the PGA of America in 1996. She is also the only African American professional Class A member of both the LPGA and the PGA of America.
At various points in her career, Renee has worked as a commentator for ABC and CBS with such announcers as Frank Gifford, Pat Summerall, and Ken Venturi. Her career has been chronicled in Golf Digest, Black Sports, Jet, Ebony, and Golf for Women magazines, among others. She has received coverage in a number of major newspapers, including the New York Times, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, and the London Times.
She and fellow LPGA Tour Professional, Murle Breer, conduct the Renee Powell Golf Schools at Clearview..
Renee has served as a member of the Board of the National Minority Scholarship Fund, the Amputee Opportunities Unlimited Foundation, The National Minority Golf Foundation, and currently serves on an Ad Hoc Committee on Racial Diversity with the Women’s Sports Foundation.
In 1995, Renee was one of 24 LPGA Tour Professionals invited to compete in the historic Volvo Legends Series. The first tournament took place in Arizona, another followed several months later in Georgia. It was actually a prelude to the establishment of the LPGA Senior Ladies Tour.
She also played and won the celebrity portion of the Black Enterprise Golf Tournament in Florida.
Renee was an Advisory Staff Member of Wilson Sporting Goods Company for 30 years and is a member of the instruction panel for both Golf Digest and Golf for Women.
After many years of preparation, Renee established The Renee Powell Youth Golf Camp Cadre Program, which was supported by the PGA of America. The program was designed to give inner city youth an opportunity to learn and play the game of golf. It also focused on making the youth well-rounded members of society, with emphases on education and the arts. The program was conducted with the help of Baldwin- Wallace College, Cleveland City Schools, and the City of Cleveland.
In 1998, Renee received the Woodholme Foundation Legend of Golf Award and also The Card Walker Award from the PGA Tour for significant contribution to junior golf. Renee believes that the game of golf should be inclusive for everybody and that it should be accessible and affordable, particularly for young people. She was named by First Tee to head the national development of curriculum and programming. The First Tee Program is a program of the World Golf Foundation and has been endorsed by the PGA Tour, the USGA, the PGA of America, the LPGA and Augusta National Golf Club. One of the primary goals of the First Tee Program is to teach youth the joy of golf and its lessons in integrity and other positive behavior skills. By learning the basic athletic and social skills associated with golf, young people who otherwise may not be able to afford or be exposed to the lessons it can teach, now have the opportunity to reap benefits that will prove useful throughout their lives. The Life Skill Program of the First Tee was initially created to honor Renee’s father William. There is also a week long camp established in which each participant receives a William Powell Scholarship. Each year a male student is presented an award in honor of William and a female receives one in honor of Renee.
In January of 2000 Renee received the 1999 LPGA Service Award for her contributions and dedication to junior golf. The Service Award is sponsored each year by Budget Rent a Car.
During the 50th LPGA Anniversary Celebration the LPGA also honored Renee by nominating and selecting her to receive an honorary membership into the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Division. Among those included in this prestigious list with Renee Powell are some “Founding Members” and “Hall of Fame Members”, Patty Berg, Helen Dettweiler, Sandra Haynie, Betty Hicks, Opal Hill, Carol Mann, Paula Marafino, Pia Nilsson, Marilynn Smith, Shirley Spork, Louise Suggs and Kathy Whitworth.
Renee was named one of the 50 top teachers by Golf for Woman magazine in the year 2000 and also recognized by Golf Digest as one of the top 10 teachers in the state of Ohio.
The Congressional Black Caucus Spouses awarded Renee the 2001 Unsung Hero Award, an honor, which, her father had received the previous year.
In 2002, Renee was the recipient of the Executive women’s Golf Association (EWGA) Leadership Award, and in that same year the Black Women’s Sports Foundation presented her with the Legend Award. She was also once again named one of the top 50 teachers by Golf for Women Magazine.
In June of 2003, Renee became the first and only woman inducted into the Northern Ohio PGA Hall of Fame. She joins such legends as, Byron Nelson and Tommy Armour.
One of her greatest honors in the world of golf is being named the 2003 recipient of the First Lady of Golf Award by the PGA of America, previous recipients have been Barbara Nicklaus, Judy Bell, Judy Rankin, and in 2002 Nancy Lopez.
With the Bicentennial celebration of Ohio in 2003, Renee was named along with her father as one of 200 outstanding people from Stark County over the 200 year, history of Ohio. In addition, Renee was also named one of the 200 outstanding women in the 200 year history of the State of Ohio.
At the end of 2003, Renee was named the recipient of the Mercedes-Benz Legends of Women’s Golf Award at the University of Tennessee, the Recognition Award in conjunction with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame Trailblazer Award.
In 2004 she was again named one of the Top 50 Teachers by Golf for Women Magazine, and in the top 10 Best in Ohio teachers by Golf Digest Magazine, and the only female teacher included in that list. The “ Breaking 100, 90, 80 “ section of the March issue of Golf Digest features some tips by Renee.
Golf Channel has featured Renee in “Profile of the Pro” and “Academy Live”.
In February of 2005, Renee appeared on Golf Channel’s – “Your Game Day “. She and her father were also honored by the Orange County Regional History Center in Orlando, Fl.
In 2005 she was named the assistant golf coach for both women & men at Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio.
In 2006, Clearview Golf Course, the course her father designed and built celebrated a major milestone, 60 years. Clearview was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. Events highlighting the 60 years of Clearview began in February and concluded in October.
Renee continues to add to her golf activities in 2007. This year she has joined with The PGA Tour Superstores as an advisory consultant. Once again she has also been chosen by Golf For Women Magazine as a Top 50 Teacher for 2007.,
In March of 2007, Renee received another great honor – she became the first recipient of the Rolex For the Love of the Game Award, which was presented at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. The award was created to recognize the major contributions of an individual in promoting and popularizing women’s golf through a commitment in various ways. Renee’s incredible career as an amateur and professional player, service in providing opportunities for all to play the game, mentoring of future generations of golfers and lifelong enthusiasm for the game of golf were instrumental in her being the unanimous choice by the LPGA, Kraft Nabisco and Rolex.
August 1, 2007, she delivered the keynote address at the University of St Andrews prior to the historic British Women’s Open (the first time the lady pros had ever played the Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland).
In August 2007, Renee & her father were inducted into the Ohio Golf Hall of Fame. This marked the first time that two people from the same family have ever been inducted into the Ohio Hall of Fame. The Powell’s are also the only African Americans in this Hall of Fame.
This October Renee was part of a delegation that traveled to the central African country of Rwanda to assist in projects working with the people of the country. Other LPGA members included Betsy King (2007 Solheim Cup Captain), Julie Inkster, Reilley Rankin and Katherine Hull.
Clearview Golf Course and the Legacy that has been established by her family continues to be her main passion and mission and she helps to raise funds for the Clearview Legacy Foundation.