South Gleason Park Golf Course (Gary, Indiana)

 golf course, draw only border

 Upload a photo

3400 Jefferson St
Gary, IN 46408-1102
P: (219) 980-1089

The 18-hole "South Gleason Park" course at the South Gleason Park Golf Course facility in Gary, Indiana features 6,312 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 71. The course rating is 68.5 and it has a slope rating of 108. South Gleason Park golf course opened in 1928.

According to the Gary Parks and Recreation Master Plan:

"The history of Gleason Park Golf Course dates back to the early 1930’s at the prime of segregation in the United States. Gary was one of the only cities in the nation that actually built two separate, segregated golf courses for white and black golfers using federal funds from New Deal programs. The whites-only course, South Gleason Park, was 310 acres with an 18-hole golf course, multiple recreation areas and a pool. The neighboring North Gleason Park was built specifically for black golfers and was a mere 47 acres with a small swimming pool and playground, clearly demonstrating a deliberate action by the administration of the City of Gary to provide an inferior golfing facility for its African American citizens. Despite the obvious segregation, in other locations across the country, black golfers were still not permitted to play on either public or private courses.

Beginning in the 1940s, the upper-middle class and elite members of the African American society began to develop golf clubs of their own. One such association was developed in Gary, forming an elite social group providing entertainment and networking for the black community.

The clubhouse at the Gleason Golf Course is also noteworthy. Formerly known as the Golf Clubhouse at Riverside Park, the building was designed by prominent regional architect George W. Maher in 1921. Maher was a significant contributor to the Prairie School style of architecture. The Gleason Park Clubhouse, built in 1926, is a Tudor Revival style featuring locker rooms, showers and restroom facilities, a restaurant and a golf shop. These features were fairly advanced for golf clubhouses in the 1920’s. Aside from a few structural improvements, the building still retains much of its original architectural character."