A Tough Course : Local Black Partnership Loses Bid to Manage Chester L. Washington Facility

They had this crazy dream, Eugene Hardy, Alton Duhon and Charles Amos. A dream that three African-Americans who are passionate about golf might win the contract to manage Chester L. Washington Golf Course, one of the first in Los Angeles County to allow blacks as members.

Sure, Hardy and his partners knew there would be competition to run the course, a busy place just outside Hawthorne whose regulars over the years have included boxer Joe Louis, Dodger great Maury Wills and football’s Jim Brown. But Hardy, Duhon and Amos were determined.

After all, they know golf. Hardy is a professional who runs Victoria Park in Carson. Duhon, also a pro, was the first black to win the U.S. senior amateur men’s title. Amos is a well-known course superintendent who has worked at such links as Poppy Hills in Monterey.

They also know the Washington course--Hardy and Duhon learned to play there.

And if that weren’t enough, the trio figured that with the Washington course’s place in local black culture and the post-riot talk about giving people of color a stake in rebuilding Los Angeles, they could have the inside track on the county contract, even against a big firm like American Golf Assn., a Santa Monica-based company that manages 155 courses nationwide.

But what the three men did not know was that American Golf brought its own black partners to the table. Or that the black partners would be no less prominent than Los Angeles Raiders quarterback Vince Evans and the husband and son of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles).

Now, the dream of Hardy, Duhon and Amos has given way to despair--almost disgust--over what they say was unfair competition.

“I think it’s a political thing, I really do,” Duhon said.

Added Hardy: “As far as (county officials) talking about minority participation, I think that’s a crock of bull because they made it quite difficult. . . . I think our offer was reasonable.”

The notion that politics decided the contract is rejected by Steve Duron, who supervises the county’s 18 golf courses. Duron and American Golf officials note that the winning proposal not only came from the nation’s biggest golf course operator, but offers more in improvements and rent for the county.

Duron further disputes the idea that, in post-riot Los Angeles, awarding the contract to Hardy, Duhon and Amos should have been the all-important factor.

“All things being equal, that argument may have quite a bit of merit,” Duron said. “But in this case, all things were not equal. The American Golf proposal was much better. So it was not a matter of splitting hairs.”

While Evans and the other minority partners could not be reached for comment, American Golf officials disputed that the contract was decided by politics.

“I would recommend that (skeptics) look at all the proposals because that’s what the county staff did,” said Kevin Roberts, president of the company’s resort and public golf division.

Added Craig Price, the company’s executive vice president: “If we had an inferior proposal, then certainly there would be questions. But we didn’t. We had a far superior proposal in terms of investment, in terms of ability to provide that investment and in terms of involvement of the community. It’s a solid deal.”

Still, the partnership arrangement has raised some eyebrows.

“American Golf is the largest of the companies that do this business, and the notion that they need partners to run a Los Angeles golf course does not hold water,” said Craig Kessler, public affairs chairman of Southern California Public Links Golf Assn. The 22,000-member group is a nonprofit association of golfers who are members of clubs attached to public courses.

The history of the contract began in April when the county Department of Recreation and Parks invited 105 companies to submit proposals for managing the course and improving its grounds and facilities. (The contract also encompasses the nearby nine-hole Jack Thompson golf course, one that county officials describe as much less popular.)

By the mid-June deadline, four companies submitted proposals for the county contract. After a review, county officials opened exclusive negotiations on a 20-year lease with CW Golf Partners, in which American Golf serves as general partner and Evans, Sidney Williams and Edward K. Waters are limited partners. The latter two are Maxine Waters’ husband and son, respectively.

Under the partnership agreement, Evans, Williams (recently named U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas) and Edward K. Waters can increase their interest to 50% from the current 25% after the first five years of the lease.

American Golf’s Price said the company was approached about a partnership by the three minority members and that Evans had previously bid with the company on a Chicago contract.

County officials said the decision to select CW Golf is defensible both in terms of the partnership’s proposal and American Golf’s experience as the nation’s largest operator of courses--four of them in Los Angeles County.

While Hardy and his partners promised to spend $590,000 on improvements and pay the county $576,000 in first-year rent, CW’s proposal calls for $870,000 in capital projects and $700,000 in rent.

Hardy and other critics of the contract question whether CW’s numbers can be believed. “I have no doubt that they promised more, but whether they will pay it remains to be seen,” said one critic who is not a partner in any of the bids.

Still, CW officials and the county’s Duron insist that the contract will not only be financially lucrative for the county, but beneficial to the community surrounding the Washington course, named for a former publisher of a local newspaper chain.

Officials note that in addition to such course improvements as a new lake, cart paths and fencing, the partnership will give 1% of its gross revenues every year to two local charities to support youth programs.

“I think what they are acknowledging is that they were not a local group, not from around the corner,” said Duron.

American Golf’s Roberts concedes that he has been disturbed by the criticism directed at the contract. “It bothers me because everywhere we have a contract throughout the country . . . we perform above and beyond the requirements . . . and we have done that for years.”

But Hardy, among others, says that other places are not like Chester Washington. And that this time, the edge should have gone to the company with local roots.

“No black has ever owned such a (contract) and it was the perfect situation,” Hardy said. “It would have said, ‘If you work hard, keep your nose clean, play by the rules, you have a chance to succeed.’ You could go out and preach that to the young people.

“But at this particular point, I can’t preach that . . . because it didn’t happen.”