Up until 1990, Shoal Creek had no African-American members. A firestorm began when club founder Hall Thompson commented that the club would not be pressured to accept African-American members, stating "this is our home, and we pick and choose who we want." These comments, made prior to the 1990 PGA Championship, made the tournament front-page news as civil rights groups such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference threatened to protest the event and sponsors pulled advertising from the tournament. The PGA considered moving the tournament away from Shoal Creek, but in the end reached a compromise with the club: local insurance executive Louis J. Willie was invited by the mayor of Birmingham to become an honorary member with full membership to come after the waiting-list period of any membership application. Willie was also the first black member of the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham, The Downtown Club and The Club, all civic and social clubs.