With the Ryder Cup Golf Competition this weekend, it seemed like a good time to check in on one of the PGA Tour’s preeminent golf legends, Jerry Pate. As he is always on the go, we managed to meet at his office at Jerry Pate Turf & Irrigation in Pensacola. We reminisced about life, his company, his golf playing days, the people he has encountered, and his role in helping build Pensacola into the city it’s become.

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Amateur to Pro

While golf is a big part of Jerry’s story, there is much more. Jerry tells me he wasn’t anything special coming out of high school as a young golfer. Born in Macon, Georgia, he had hoped to be offered a golf scholarship to the University of Georgia, where his father was an alumnus and played on the golf team. When that didn’t materialize, Jerry walked on at the University of Alabama, where he played four years and became a first-team All-SEC and All-American. “It was the best decision of my life to go to Bama,” Pate says.

He recalls playing the final match, a pivotal moment in his career, in the U.S. Amateur, held at Ridgewood Country Club in Ridgewood, New Jersey. It was during the final 36-hole match, while Jerry was one down to John Grace, that he went into the locker room before the final 18 and found a telegram that had been delivered that morning to his locker. It read, “Hope all your putts drop, win one for Alabama.” This was sent from legendary football Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and Mary Harmon Bryant. “I put it in my golf bag for good luck, and I ended up winning,” says Jerry. The next day, the headlines read, Another National Championship for the Bear. 

Jerry was also a key member of the 1975 Walker Cup Team, winning the Cup in St. Andrews, Scotland.  He also won the World Amateur Championship on the Teeth of the Dog course at the Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic.  Winning the U.S. Amateur in 1974 awarded Jerry invitations to participate in the major golf tournaments.  In 1975, Jerry had the low amateur honors in the U.S. Open, tying for 18th place, and he was the amateur  runner-up at the Masters. 

After winning the 1976 US Open, his rookie year on Tour, one month later, he won the Canadian Open by shooting 63 in the final round, beating Jack Nicklaus by four strokes.  Later that year, he won the Japan Masters in October. He became Rookie of the Year and Co-Player on the PGA Tour. 

Jerry won a total of 15 times internationally and made a huge splash by throwing the Commissioner, Dean Beaman, and course designer, Pete Dye, into the water before diving into the lake off the 18th green at the 1982 Player Championship. A month later, he finished 3^rd in The Masters with a chance to tie the eventual winner, Craig Stadler, on the 72^nd hole. He won 8 PGA Tour events until a shoulder injury tore his cartilage and rotator cuff, which sidelined his professional golf career in 1982.

Coming strongly out of the gate as a PGA Tour rookie in 1976, Jerry was fortunate to have many branding opportunities, including the introduction of the orange golf ball by Wilson Sporting Goods. “It made no difference to me what color the ball was; I was happy to help Wilson promote their products. It was something new and different,” states Jerry.  He won the Players Memphis Open and the Pensacola Open with an orange ball, along with playing with that ball on the winning 1981 Ryder Cup Team with Lee Trevino.

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Injury changes direction

When persistent shoulder injuries hampered his ability to compete, he worked with Orthopaedic Surgeon, Dr. Jim Andrews, to repair his shoulder at the renowned Hughston Clinic.. Dr. Andrews, a pioneer in arthroscopic surgery, led sports medicine to where it is today. When Jerry could no longer play competitively, he joined ABC Sports and CBS Sports for five years each and BBC Sports for three years as a golf broadcast analyst. He left broadcasting to spend more time with his family.

Although his PGA career ended at a young age, he never gave up on golf. With a strong competitive spirit, Jerry wanted to prove he could still win. “Dr. Andrews worked on me through six surgeries, and we became good friends”, he says. When Dr. Andrews relocated his practice from Columbus, Georgia, to Birmingham, Jerry and his wife, Soozi, moved there for two years. During that time, Jerry built Old Overton Golf Course while maintaining their home in Pensacola.

Medicine has changed. Technology and rehab have made a huge difference in professional athletic recovery. Dr. Andrews was always at the forefront. Later in Dr. Andrews' career, Jerry introduced him to the folks at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola. They built the famous Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine in Gulf Breeze, Florida. Jerry has remained close friends with Dr. Andrews and has served on several of his boards since 1982. One of the real secrets to Jerry’s successful comebacks with his shoulder injury was the extensive rehabilitation with Dr. Kevin Wilk in Birmingham and his efforts to work closely with Jerry to get back on the course.  

Jerry did not play golf competitively for 20 plus years, but at the age of 50, and working with Kevin, he came back and won two PGA Tour Champion events, The Outback Steakhouse Open and Turtle Bay Championships. 

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Early Life

Jerry’s father worked with a four-state Coca-Cola bottling company, eventually landing in Pensacola in 1967. As our conversation shifted from one subject to another, it became apparent that many people in his life are important to him, and he strives to stay involved and connected with the high achievers he has befriended along the way. 

As a student at Alabama, Jerry studied business, thinking he would join his father in the Coca-Cola bottling business. In fact, his father’s boss, Crawford Rainwater, loaned Jerry the money to go on the PGA Tour. The Rainwater family, originally from Atlanta, has been an icon in the Coca-Cola business since 1906. Crawford and Veazey Rainwater were close friends with legendary Bobby Jones.  

Jerry stated, “After injury, life took me in a new direction. I’ve never been driven by money. I have always tried to do something I love. When learning the game of golf, the first thing mentioned in the Rules of Golf book is to treat people fairly and with respect. Golf etiquette can apply to all things in life. To me, G.O.L.F. stands for God, Others, Love, and Friendship.” 

Jerry talks about living in Anniston, Alabama, as a youngster. When his dad’s job took the family there in 1954, he was one year old. “My father was opening Sherwin-Williams Paint Stores in Northwest Georgia and Central Alabama. That is how we landed in Anniston. My mom was an accomplished artist and a costume illustrator, and I was led into art and music through her. I played the organ and sang in a band in junior high school. 

When he moved to Pensacola in 1967, he became more interested in golf through the PGA Tour and Pensacola Open. “I caddied for 3 years at the Pensacola Open as a junior golfer, where I met some of the greatest professional players in the game. I also worked at the Scenic Hills Golf Club as a caddie during the 1969 U.S. Women’s Open. That’s where I met legendary golf announcers Chris Schenkel and Byron Nelson of ABC Sports. Little did I know that I would ultimately work at ABC as one of their on-course commentators,”he says.

When his daughter, Jenni, was heading to the University of Alabama for her freshman year of college, Jerry, who had left college before earning his degree to play on the PGA Tour, decided to go back to school. Determined to finish what he started, he took online courses during Jenni’s tenure and walked with her at Graduation in 2001. 

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Golf Course Design Career

Jerry first met golf course designer Pete Dye at the 1974 World Amateur Championship at the Teeth of the Dog Golf Course, Casa de Campo Resort. Two years later, he became playing partners with Alfy Fanjul at the famed Bing Crosby Pro-Am. This marked the beginning of a golfing journey, and 45 years later, he was hired by Alfy Fanjul, now owner of Casa de Campo to work on all five of Pete Dyes’ famous golf courses.

The first golf course he co-designed was Bluewater Bay, and later, the Dancing Rabbit Courses with Tom Fazio. Shortly thereafter, he co-designed three courses with Ron Garl and three with Bob Cupp. Also, he co-designed the TCP Valley Course with Pete Dye.

In 1981, at the age of 28, he developed (under the tutelage of local  Pensacola businessmen, John Carr and Bob Montgomery,) the Tiger Point Golf and Country Club, a 36-hole golf development. Later, he brought Garry and Larry Drummond into Tiger Point, which was the first of many properties developed for the Drummond’s. Jerry’s first project as a design/build was Kiva Dunes in Gulf Shores, Alabama, for Jim Edgemon and Larry Drummond. It won runner-up for the best new golf course built in America that year. A year later, the Old Overton Club, designed and built with Tom Fazio, won the best  new course of the year. 

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Distributorship Career

In 1997, when he was 44 years old, he purchased Gulf Shores Turf Supply, a Toro distributorship, which later became Jerry Pate Turf & Irrigation.  

He has grown his Toro and Club Car business to 14 states and employs 250 team members. Jerry is more of a company visionary these days. “People stay at companies for the culture, not money. They want to feel secure at their workplace,”he says.  “Success is about buying into a culture and a process. Give people opportunities and treat them well, and they will work hard for you.” 

He quotes Nick Saban, “Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people.”  He’s learned to accept his own failures and to forgive others for their shortcomings.  “We create beauty on the outside to live better on the inside. Living a good life is about your heart. You have to get right with yourself before you can get right with other people.  We’ve prioritized our corporate culture with Faith first, then Family, followed by Career Opportunity,” continued Jerry.

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Projects

Beyond Jerry’s golf career and successful businesses is his love of the environment.. “More time and money are spent on recreation in Florida than on any other industry. There is more wildlife around golf courses than people realize. The stepped-up nature of golf courses, from grass to rough to trees, allows the food chain to flourish. We have to protect the environment while working with businesses”.

Appointed by the last four governors, he has served on the State of NW Florida Water Management District Board for over 20 years and has just accepted another four-year term at Governor DeSantis’ request. “Northwest Florida has the largest number of natural springs in our state. Clean air and clean water initiatives are working well in America, thanks to strong, committed governmental public servants. Throughout my travels, I have found there are two kinds of people - givers & takers. I know it has been a battle in America for many to realize that environmental regulators want to protect the environment, and for many government workers, it’s difficult for them to realize that businesses and taxpayers pay for their existence.  It’s also difficult for many businessmen to realize that protecting the environment is a must.  One of my many jobs at NW Florida Water Management is to be a servant leader for the state to protect both parties’ interests. It is certainly a workable solution, and I believe our Governor, the Legislature, and the State workers have done a great job serving the citizens and their guests well. Just like golf, there is always room for improvement,” states Jerry. 

After several years living on Bayou Texar in Pensacola, he was asked if he would be willing to give up his beachfront and restore it by planting native grasses along the shoreline. He did and convinced many of his neighbors to do it, too.  “Now there are dolphins, manatees, stingrays, ospreys, bald eagles, and other wildlife to enjoy that I did not see growing up there as a young man.  As a Boy Scout, I’ve always connected with the environment”. 

Former Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward III asked Jerry to serve as a liaison representing the city in several development projects that were seeking funding. Working with the Community Maritime Park Association, Jerry says, “they had to work together with the city to help figure out how to best utilize the city’s budgets and schedules”.  Steve Dana, the head of Jerry’s design company, and Jerry were able to redesign the storm water retention, change the dynamics, and get it all done with an amphitheater, a stadium, with new hotels and entertainment coming next. They were able to value-engineer at Maritime to create a beautiful new park and save on development costs.

Another project for the city was the new Pensacola Bay Bridge, the largest financially funded project in Northwest Florida by the State of Florida and the US Department of Transportation. “Mayor Hayward wanted our team to look at the design and represent the city on its completion.  For me, the traffic light intersection did not work well for the public because it was cumbersome and dangerous, and the intersection would flood during a small hurricane. I have travelled all over the world and have seen roundabouts which were a perfect solution for exiting the new bridge at 17th Avenue.  Over four years,, we met with Governor Rick Scott and tenaciously demanded that we needed to remove the traffic light and install a roundabout. He graciously agreed to study our concept. The new design was a unanimous hit by all metrics. It helped alleviate entering and exiting the bridge at 17th Avenue in a hurricane situation.”

As the interview came to a close, Jerry states, “God has been good to me.  Early on in my career, I was fortunate to know many people connected to golf through Coca-Cola, like Crawford Rainwater, Coach Bryant, Hall Thompson, Garry & Larry Drummond in Birmingham, and Jim Walter in Tampa. My advice to any young person in business is to hang around with older and smarter people than yourself. That was one of my keys to success. When my dad finished his management studies at Harvard Business School, he told me a story that his professor told him.  ‘There are two people in a business deal, one with a big-time degree and the other one with experience. When the business deal was over, the one with the education got some experience, and the one with experience got the money. Education is paramount in today’s world, but hanging around older and experienced people and listening to them can lead you to a winning career,” continued Jerry.

Jerry only plays golf about once a month now, but he’s not slowing down, and his competitive spirit is still evident. Whatever endeavor he takes on, I wouldn’t bet against him!