Born in Macon, Ga., Jerry Pate grew up in a big family with a passion for golf. After moving to Alabama at a young age, he learned to play at Anniston Country Club from his father and grandfather. Pate and his five siblings would spend summers in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., where he would learn the game at a par-3 course while his father and grandfather played elsewhere.
Years later in 1967, the family moved to Pensacola, Fla., when Pate was 14. After competing in amateur events in Florida, he would return to Alabama as a walk-on on the University of Alabama golf team. Eventually earning a scholarship, Pate played four years and served as captain and earned First Team All-America honors for the Crimson Tide.
His junior year at Alabama in 1974 proved to be a launching pad for Pate’s career. He played in a qualifier for the U.S. Amateur Championship in Jacksonville at a course where his grandfather was a founding member, then went on to win the national championship at The Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey. Later that summer he helped lead the United States to victory at the World Amateur Team Championship. The following year (1975) Pate was a member of the winning U.S. Walker Cup Team and earned low amateur honors at the U.S. Open, where he tied for 18th at Medinah Country Club in Illinois.
After enjoying quite the year on the amateur golf scene, Pate had a decision to make regarding his future. While never really considering life as a professional golfer, his father offered encouragement to go for it. And he did – earning medalist honors at PGA TOUR Qualifying School in the fall of 1975 to earn his card. That decision to turn pro proved to be the correct one. Pate’s first win as a professional golfer came at the 1976 U.S. Open held at Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek. After picking up a second victory at the Canadian Open a few events later, Pate would be named PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year and Co-Player of the Year (with Jack Nicklaus).
Pate took home six more PGA TOUR victories over the next six years (including the 1982 PLAYERS Championship) after capturing the U.S. Open and Canadian Open titles as a rookie and was part of the victorious U.S. team at the 1981 Ryder Cup. Pate also picked up five other worldwide wins during this stretch.
In 1982, Pate would suffer an injury that prevented him from recapturing his old form. In the meantime, he would stay involved with the game in different ways. The following decade Pate kept busy as he served as a broadcaster on television, started a golf design firm, and opened a turf and irrigation company.
Pate’s company, Jerry Pate Turf and Irrigation, is a premier provider of outdoor beautification products in the Southeast and Midwest. It has been a supporter of the Georgia Golf Course Superintendent Association for many years. Pate also was an advocate of the revamp of Bobby Jones Golf Course in Atlanta. He designed and constructed the Dan Yates Putting Course at BJGC, providing the outline and grade for the Himalayas-style putting green.
Pate joined the PGA TOUR Champions in 2003 and returned to the winner's circle in 2006 and picked up his second victory on the circuit in 2008.
For his accomplishments and service to the game, Pate was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, and the Florida State Golf Association Hall of Fame in 2023.
