Hiawatha was one of the best public courses in the Upper Midwest when it opened in 1934, and the only one of its five courses inside the city limits. Hiawatha, near the southside African American community of Minneapolis, welcomed Black players to its fairways and greens. The Upper Midwest Memorial Bronze Tournament, the longest-running, black-owned-and-operated golf tournament in Minnesota, started in 1939. One of the best Black professional golfers of his day, Solomon Hughes, moved his family from the Jim Crow South in 1943 to play and teach golf at Hiawatha. Hughes led the effort to desegregate the clubhouse in 1952. He invited his friend and golf student, Joe Louis, to play in the Bronze Tournament, which Louis won in 1957. Despite that legacy, decades of under-investment have left the course needing renovation, with water issues. It is far from the jewel in the crown of the Chain of Lakes that it deserves to be. 

The Bronze Foundation’s public-private partnership will renovate the course using its original design and reopen it for play while strengthening ties with the community through programming and educational opportunities for Minneapolis’ youth at the Hiawatha Golf & Play Education Center.

The revitalized Hiawatha Golf Course will support the local economy, create permanent jobs, and return this landmark to its status as one of the city’s crown jewels. More importantly, it will be a place by and for the community.