Ben Davis' Love of the Game
Reported by Erik Smith
Web produced by Christiana Ciolac

Ben Davis still gives golf lessons at the age of 86.

Ben Davis is simply a legend in a very special game, a legend that perhaps has been overlooked.

Sixty-two years ago, a young man named Ben Davis saw Rackham Golf Course, fell in love and stayed. Long before that game was forced to open its exclusive doors to non-Caucasians, Ben Davis was already a pro.

Ben Davis

"The old pro said that 'as well as you hit the ball, you could teach people how to play,'" Ben says. "I said OK, and that's how I started. For 50 cents a lesson, but I could only teach black people."

In the era of Tiger Woods, it's probably difficult for the young to understand what it once was like for a man like Ben Davis. What it was like to a talent denied, an opportunity missed simply because of color and time. Ben couldn't play a lot of courses in the metro area, but he says he didn't resent that.

"I just said 'to each his own,'" he says. "I've never been the type that pushed for anything. I don't push for nothing. If you don't want me, I don't want you. That's the way I am. I've always been that way."

Rackham Golf Course

Officially, Ben Davis retired from teaching golf back in 1972, so why is he still taking on students at the age of 86? It doesn't hurt to make a few bucks, and yes, he still loves the game and helping people play it.

Ben's passion for golf has not gone unrecognized nor unrewarded. He never saw the kind of money he might have, but he's got a lot of friends and admirers and even a place in the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame.

Soon the winds of a new season will carpet the greens with the rusty colors of fallen leaves and Ben will seek shelter for a time. Not hibernate, just rest up a little before the flowers and the greening carpet calls him back to the practice tee for still another lesson, a lesson in the love of a place called Rackham and the game called his life.

Click for more on Rackham Golf Course.

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