BARTOW, Fla. (WFLA) — “Most of the holes on this golf course I had a par or birdie,” said Herbert Dixon from behind the wheel of a golf cart.
At 104 years old, he uses a walker to get around and can no longer play golf.
Still, he enjoys riding his cart around the Bartow Golf Course and remembers every hole.
“Number 14 is a par 5 hole. I had an eagle on this,” he said.
Dixon is now a lifetime member of the Bartow Golf Course.
“It’s amazing how time has changed,” he said.
As a young Black man, he was not allowed to play on the course or spend time in the clubhouse.
Eventually, Black people were allowed to caddy, so he did.
One day, a golfer gifted Dixon a club.
“After that, it was all over,” said Dixon. “From then on, I started trying to play golf. I wanted to play golf.”
He recalls that Black people were only allowed to play one day a week back then, on Mondays.
Dixon said playing golf as a Black man at the time took focus.
“Golf is a concentration game. If you can’t concentrate on what you need to do, that will throw you way off. There was a whole lot of stuff going on, this and that and the other thing,” he said.
Dixon picked fruit and worked in the phosphate mines. He could not afford golf lessons. He learned by watching.
“I played a whole lot with some of the best Black golfers in the world at that particular time,” said Dixon.
In 1951, he signed up for a tournament in Jacksonville, the largest one for Black golfers at the time.
“Myself, I was the dark horse,” he said.
Charlie Sifford, who would go on to become the first Black golfer in the PGA, also played in that tournament.
On that course in Jacksonville, in a head-to-head battle, Dixon came out on top.
“I chopped him up,” he said with a laugh.
In the decades since, Dixon has won more than 50 tournaments and is a four-time Hall-of-Famer.
His love for the game has never wavered.
While Dixon stopped playing golf a few years ago, he is still a regular at the Bartow Golf Course, sharing his wisdom and his wit.
“Mr. Dixon had paved the pathway for a lot of young African-American Blacks to get on the golf course and play,” said Carver Young, president of the Bartow Deacons and Stewards Alliance, LLC.
Every year, Dixon’s Celebrity Golf Tournament raises money for the Alliance’s scholarship, which benefits young students in need.
“I’m so happy to be in that position because I know what it’s about,” said Dixon.
The upcoming tournament is April 6 at the Bartow Golf Course.
You can learn more and register on this page.
At 104 years old, Dixon is enjoying the quiet peace of a transformative life.
His ability to push through adversity he repeatedly credits to will power.
“You got to have will power to get out and face the struggle that you have to face in our society and move on,” he said.
His advice to young golfers, especially those of color, involves perseverance.
“The door is open,” he said. “It’s open now. It’s not shut anymore. But you got to have determination. You got to work hard at it and just try to enjoy it.”
You can learn more about Dixon by watching WFLA’s special Black History Month presentation, “Rooted in Progress,” which airs Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. on News Channel 8, and again on Feb. 25 at 11 p.m. on The CW Tampa Bay.
