Two racist incidents that occurred at Frisco Lakes Golf Club on Memorial Day weekend are under investigation by the Frisco Police Department.
Update May 31, 12:15 p.m.: PGA of America, whose headquarters are located in Frisco, told Local Profile in an official statement "The PGA of America condemns all acts of racism and has reached out to the club to see if we can assist them as they investigate."
Our original story continues below.
As reported by WFAA, while playing the par 4, 13th hole at Frisco Lakes, a Black golfer spotted two people running away from a sand bunker nearby. When he approached the place, he discovered a racial slur had been written on the sand.
“I got a text message with a photo of the bunker,” Frisco Lakes Golf Club general manager Linroy Costly told WFAA. Linroy, a Black man himself, said he was shocked by the incident. “I was in disbelief to be quite honest.”
Then on Monday, May 29, Linroy said the club received a call to book a tee time and when the caller was asked to give a name, the same racial slur was said four times. According to WFAA, the club is working with Frisco police to pull their phone records.
A Frisco police spokesperson told Local Profile they are aware of both incidents and an investigation is ongoing, but no updates are available at the moment.
This is not the first time Frisco golfers deal with this kind of behavior. In 2021, an almost identical incident happened at the Trails of Frisco Golf Club, just two miles Northeast of Frisco Lakes. As reported by NBCDFW at the time, Darius Jones, a Black golfer, had a conversation with an attendant in the pro shop about a friend who would join him later for a round of golf.
“And he mentioned something about, what time the other ‘boy’ was going to show up,” Jones told NBCDFW. “And I was kind of taken aback by it, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt.”
Later that day, he found a sand trap with the N-word written on it. “It's really unacceptable in this day and age, in any age really,” Jones said.
Regarding the latest incident at Frisco Lakes, Costly said that in the 20 years he’s been in the sport, he never had to personally deal with racism but that it’s been an issue for decades. However, he’s hopeful the increasing diversity in the Frisco community will help close the gap.
“Hopefully someone will come forward. The biggest goal for me is to catch the perpetrators,” he said. “I didn’t think that would ever happen, but it did.”
