Brookline’s Elder Internship A Diversity Infusion

Macey Russell (right) was on hand when Lee Elder won the USGA’s Bob Jones Award in 2019. Photo: Courtesy Macey Russell

At Pebble Beach in 2019, Lee Elder received the Bob Jones Award – the USGA’s highest honor bestowed on individuals who demonstrate the spirit, personal character and respect for the game exemplified by Jones. It was a crowning moment for someone who had thrived in the game despite all the obstacles presented to him as a Black man born in 1934.

Photo: Jason Miczek, USGA

As that lifetime achievement settled in on the eve of the 2019 US Open at Pebble Beach, Macey Russell, Elder’s longtime friend, asked the honoree a simple question.

“What do you want to do next?”

Elder’s response was emphatic: “We have to make golf more diverse.”

Two years later, in November 2021, The Country Club in partnership with the USGA announced the establishment of the Lee Elder Internship – an immersive one-week program that will bring 25 diverse youths from under-represented communities to Brookline during the 2022 US Ope. ..