![]() He worked on the course during the day, growing grass and clearing the land by hand while at night, he worked at Timken. He completed the first nine holes by 1948. The club opened in April that same year, with Powell's wife, Marcella, helping out. His young daughter, Renee Powell, began playing golf on the course shortly after it first opened at the age of 3. Renee would go on to become the second black woman to play on the LPGA tour. Once the club was open, it welcomed everyone, regardless of race. The club did experience some problems with vandalism and community hostility, but these did not impair the club's success. A member of the Ku Klux Klan golfed his course, but Powell only told his daughter, Renee, about the incident. He said, "I wanted this to be a place where race didn't matter where the only thing that matters is the game of golf." Racists called the club the " nigger nine." But Powell didn't care. Powell expanded the club to eighteen holes in 1978. ![]() In 1995, Renee took over as head golf professional at Clearview. Her father, Bill, never saw a profit while running the course. Like her father and her brother, Larry, Renee didn't draw a salary for working at the club.
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