GREENSBORO, N.C. — A group of men from North Carolina paved the way for golf and changed the sport forever.

T.J. Warren has lived in Greensboro his whole life and has been playing golf since the mid-1970s. He's retired and plays at Gillespie Golf Course once a week.

What You Need To Know

  • These men's actions influenced the Greensboro Four

  • They integrated the game of golf

  • The Greensboro Six paved the way for golf and changed the sport forever

"It's a very challenging course. There's a hazard on every hole. If you play Gillespie well, you can play anywhere well," Warren emphasized.

Warren loves Gillespie, but if it weren't for the "Greensboro Six" he would not be able to play there today. In 1955, a group of six Black men were arrested and charged with trespassing after they played at what used to be the whites-only Gillespie Park, which was a city-owned course operated as a private facility by a group of white residents.

They posted bail, and it moved to the courts. Judges decided Gillespie was to be integrated, and on December 7, 1962 Gillespie Golf Course was open to everyone.

"Obviously, learned to appreciate the work that they have done, which allowed me to play golf here today,” Warren said.

Warren knew one of the "Greensboro Six," Dr. George Simkins.

"I knew him as a dentist as well as president of the NAACP, but he was a fun person to be around and a very nice person," Warren said.

As Warren enjoys his outings on the golf course, he acknowledges the group of men who made this possible.

"I would first of all thank them for their courage. It has been a blessing to many African-American golfers for the efforts that they put in in the '60s, and we thank them for it," Warren emphasized.

He says golf has become pretty inclusive, but he says there's always room for improvement.

“I've played on many different courses and on some of them you get the stares, and the 'I wonder why you're here,' but for the most part I've enjoyed golf and have not had any issues with others," Warren explained.

He says he's thankful to play this amazing sport, and he never takes it for granted. The "Greensboro Six's" actions in 1955 influenced the Greensboro lunch counter sit-in by N.C. A&T students nicknamed the “Greensboro Four” at the segregated F.W. Woolworth's store in February of 1960.