History is usually written by the people who owned the land, but at the Shady Rest Golf and Country Club, the land tells a much louder story than any textbook. If you drive through Scotch Plains, New Jersey, today, you might see the John H. Stamler Police Academy or the Scotch Hills Municipal Golf Course. It looks like a standard, well-kept suburban recreational spot. But under that grass is the soul of the first African American golf and country club in the United States.
It wasn't just a place to swing a club. It was a sanctuary.
Back in the 1920s, if you were Black and successful, the world was still a incredibly small and dangerous place. You couldn't just walk into a country club and order a drink, let alone tee off. So, a group of visionary investors known as the Progressive Realty Company Inc. decided to stop waiting for an invitation and bought the old Ephraim Tucker farmhouse in 1921. They created something that shouldn't have been able to exist in that era. Honestly, it’s a miracle the place survived as long as it did, considering the racial tensions of the time.
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The Birth of the Shady Rest Golf and Country Club
The timing was everything. The "Roaring Twenties" were in full swing, and the Harlem Renaissance was pumping out art, music, and a new sense of identity. But even the biggest stars of that movement needed a place to hide out. Shady Rest Golf and Country Club became that spot. It was basically the "Green Book" come to life in the form of a 31-acre estate.
When the Progressive Realty Company took over the property from the Westfield Golf Club (which was an all-white club that moved to a different location), they didn't just keep the nine-hole course. They expanded the vision. They added tennis courts, a locker room, and a dining hall that would eventually host the greatest names in jazz history. You've got to imagine the scene: Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Count Basie weren't just names on a marquee here. They were guests. They were hanging out on the porch.
The club provided a rare sense of normalcy. It was a space where Black families could have a picnic or play a round of golf without the constant, looming threat of harassment. It was a bubble of excellence.
John Shippen: The Legend You Probably Haven't Heard Of
If we’re talking about Shady Rest, we have to talk about John Shippen Jr. Seriously. The man was a pioneer who got largely erased from the mainstream narrative for decades. Shippen was the first American-born golf professional. Let that sink in. Before him, the game was dominated by Scots and Brits.
Shippen was of African American and Native American descent. He played in the 1896 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills when he was only 16 years old. Some of the white pros actually threatened to boycott the tournament if he played. The USGA president at the time, Theodore Havemeyer, told them to go home if they didn't like it, saying the tournament would proceed with Shippen even if he was the only one playing.
Shippen finished fifth.
Later in his life, he became the head professional and greenskeeper at Shady Rest Golf and Country Club. He lived on the grounds. He worked there from 1924 until he retired in 1960. Think about that longevity. He wasn't just a coach; he was the literal steward of the land. He lived in a small room in the clubhouse, dedicated entirely to the game that often tried to shut him out. Today, his contribution is finally being recognized, but for a long time, he was just the guy at Shady Rest who knew everything about a five-iron.
More Than Just Fairways and Greens
Shady Rest wasn't a one-note organization. While golf was the primary draw, the club functioned as a massive social hub for the Black elite and middle class from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. It hosted the American Tennis Association (ATA) championships. The ATA was the Black counterpart to the USLTA (now the USTA), and it’s where legends like Althea Gibson got their start.
The clubhouse was the heart of the operation. It wasn’t some stiff, quiet building. On weekends, it was electric.
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- Cab Calloway would perform sets that lasted into the night.
- The dining room served as a high-society meeting point for the NAACP and other civil rights organizers.
- Horseback riding and skeet shooting were actually offered on the grounds for a time.
It’s easy to look back and think of these places as quaint, but they were acts of defiance. Owning land, maintaining a pristine golf course, and hosting international jazz stars was a way of saying, "We are here, and we aren't going anywhere."
The Decline and the Fight for Preservation
Nothing stays the same forever. By the time the 1960s rolled around, the landscape of America was shifting. The Civil Rights Act and the integration of public spaces meant that younger generations of Black golfers could—at least theoretically—play elsewhere. The private club model became harder to sustain financially.
In 1964, the township of Scotch Plains acquired the property through tax foreclosure. They changed the name to Scotch Hills Municipal Golf Course. For a long time, the "Shady Rest" identity was buried. The farmhouse, which dated back to the 1700s and served as the clubhouse, started to fall into disrepair. It was almost lost.
But history has a way of resurfacing when people care enough.
The Preserve Shady Rest Committee, led by dedicated locals and historians like Sylvia Hicks, fought tooth and nail to make sure the town didn't just bulldoze the clubhouse or turn it into a generic snack bar. They understood that this wasn't just a building; it was a monument to Black resilience.
In 2011, their hard work paid off. The clubhouse was restored, and the site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. They even brought back the name—sort of. The facility is often referred to as the Shady Rest Clubhouse at Scotch Hills. It’s a compromise, but a vital one. It ensures that when a kid walks up to the first tee today, they might ask, "What's Shady Rest?" and get a real answer.
Why You Should Care About the Course Layout
The course itself is a nine-hole par 33. It’s not a championship-length monster that will take you five hours to play. It’s tight. It’s technical. It’s exactly the kind of "neighborhood" course that is disappearing across America.
What's fascinating is how the layout still mirrors much of what Shippen maintained. When you play there, you're playing through history. The elevation changes are subtle but tricky. The greens are small. It requires a "ground game" that many modern golfers, used to 7,000-yard bombers, don't really understand.
Most people think of golf as this exclusionary, wealthy sport. And look, often it is. But Shady Rest represents the counter-narrative. It represents golf as a community asset. It reminds us that the game belongs to whoever is willing to put the work into the turf.
Visiting Shady Rest Today: What to Expect
If you're planning to head out to Scotch Plains, don't expect a gated, snobby entrance. This is a public course now. It’s accessible. It’s friendly.
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- The Museum Factor: The clubhouse now functions as a sort of living museum. There are exhibits dedicated to John Shippen and the Progressive Realty Company. It’s worth going just to see the photos of the old jazz galas.
- The Golf: It’s affordable. You can walk nine holes for a fraction of what a private club would charge. It's great for beginners but also challenging for low handicappers because of the narrow fairways.
- The Vibe: There’s a sense of quiet reverence. You’ll see a very diverse group of people playing there now, which is exactly what the founders would have wanted, even if they were forced into exclusivity by the laws of their own time.
It's sorta crazy to think that a century ago, this was the only place for miles where a Black man could hold a golf club without being questioned. Now, it's just a part of the Jersey suburbs. But we can't let it become just another course.
The Misconception of "Just a Golf Course"
A lot of people dismiss Shady Rest as a footnote. They think, "Oh, it was just a place for rich Black people to play golf." That misses the point entirely.
In the 1920s, being a "rich" Black person didn't protect you from Jim Crow. It didn't protect you from the KKK, which was active in New Jersey at the time. Building a country club was a radical economic and social statement. It provided jobs. It provided a safe haven for travelers who couldn't stay in white hotels. It was a community center disguised as a sports complex.
The legendary Althea Gibson practiced her tennis game here. Think about that. The woman who broke the color barrier in international tennis honed her skills on these courts. The DNA of greatness is in the soil.
Actionable Steps for History and Golf Fans
If this history resonates with you, don't just read about it. The best way to keep these landmarks alive is through active participation.
- Play a Round: If you're in the Tri-State area, book a tee time at Scotch Hills. Every greens fee paid helps justify the maintenance of the site.
- Visit the Clubhouse: Check the local Scotch Plains calendar for tours of the Shady Rest Clubhouse. They often have events specifically focused on John Shippen’s legacy.
- Support the John Shippen Memorial Golf Foundation: This organization works to keep Shippen's name alive and promotes golf in underserved communities.
- Research the "Green Book" Sites in Your Own State: Shady Rest was one of many. Many are gone, but some are still standing, waiting for someone to notice them before they're replaced by a strip mall.
Shady Rest Golf and Country Club isn't just a relic of the past. It's a reminder that even when the world says "no," people find a way to build their own "yes." It's a story of perseverance, jazz, and the perfect swing.
The next time you're looking for a place to play, skip the fancy resort for once. Go to the place where the ghosts of Duke Ellington and John Shippen are still hanging out by the eighteenth green. You’ll find the game feels a lot heavier—and a lot more meaningful—there.