Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, John Gerring moved to North Carolina as a junior and attended High Point High School. After winning a North Carolina High School State Championship and competing in events such as the U.S. Junior Amateur and the National Jaycee Junior, Gerring was recruited to Wake Forest University.
While a young freshman playing golf at Wake Forest, Gerring was nurtured by an older teammate named Arnold Palmer. As the top golfer for the Demon Deacons in 1955, 1956 and 1957, Gerring led the team to two Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championships (1955, 1957). He also claimed an individual conference title in 1957 while earning medalist honors in five of seven home matches the team played.
After graduating from Wake Forest with a degree in social science, he served time on the Rifle Company of the United States Army, and at the conclusion of his service, Gerring turned pro in 1958 and started playing again.
Realizing that a career competing on the PGA TOUR wasn’t likely, Gerring went to work at Biltmore Forest Golf Club in Asheville, N.C., as an apprentice professional after joining the PGA of America in the early 1960’s. Not long after that he moved to Georgia for an assistant professional’s job at Atlanta Athletic Club, and ultimately would become the head golf professional at Atlanta Country Club in 1978 and stay for 15 years. From there Gerring moved to the coast as head golf professional at Sea Island Golf Club in 1993, before returning to Atlanta to be head golf professional at Peachtree Golf Club in 2004.
Over the years Gerring made a name for himself as an outstanding teacher of the game, working with many touring pros as well as high handicap players. In 1977 he became the 13th member of the PGA of America to earn Master Professional status. During his time at Atlanta Country Club, he was the recipient of the PGA of America’s PGA Golf Professional of the Year award in 1981 – the highest honor bestowed on a PGA professional.
Within the Georgia Section PGA, Gerring has been honored as professional of the year, teacher of the year, and recipient of the Horton Smith Award and Bill Strausbaugh Award.
Gerring is a current member of three Halls of Fame, including the PGA of America National Hall of Fame (2005), Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame (2017) and Wake Forest University Sports Hall of Fame (2018).
Born just outside Albany in Guilderland, New York, Bob Royak competed in junior golf events and found success early as the 1979 New York State Boys’ Junior Amateur champion.
Royak eventually made the decision to move South, specifically to the University of Tampa, where he competed on the golf team. In 1982, he earned All-America third team honors.
Royak competes regularly in GSGA-sanctioned events, seemingly always in contention. Once he became eligible for senior golf, his game elevated to another level.
Among his many high finishes, his victories include one Georgia Four-Ball Championship (2006; with partner and Georgia Golf Hall of Fame member Doug Hanzel), two Georgia Senior Championships (2017, 2019), one Georgia Senior Match Play Championship (2019), four Georgia Senior Four-Ball Championships (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022; with partner Hanzel), one Georgia Mid-Amateur Championship (2021). In addition, Royak has represented the GSGA and Georgia on multiple challenge match teams.
On the national level, Royak has qualified for and competed in 16 USGA national championships, including five U.S. Amateurs, five U.S. Mid-Amateurs and six U.S. Senior Amateurs. His highlight came in 2019 when he won the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship at Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, North Carolina. He also competed in the 2013, 2019 and 2021 U.S. Senior Open.
Other notable championship victories Royak has achieved include the 2017 and 2019 Gasparilla Senior Invitational, the 2020 and 2023 Jones Cup Senior Invitational, 2022 Coleman Senior Invitational, 2023 Lumpkin Memorial Senior. He was on the winning team of the 2022 Concession Cup and has competed in three R&A Senior Amateurs. In Georgia, he also has captured titles at the Georgia Senior Open (2018) and the Atlanta Open (2007).
Royak has received many recognitions for his success on the golf course. Among them include earning the GSGA Tommy Barnes Award in 2018 and 2019, signifying the association’s overall player of the year. He also was the recipient of the GSGA Men’s Player of the Year in 2021, and the GSGA Senior Men’s Player of the Year in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. Earlier in 2023, he was inducted into the National Senior Amateur Hall of Fame.
Royak has been a longtime member of St. Ives Country Club in Johns Creek, where he gives back his time on the golf and grounds committee, offering his perspective on course set up, conditions and tournaments.
Born in Forest Park, Ga., Cindy Schreyer was introduced to golf at an early age. She started playing at age 15 with credit going to her father and brother. The game came naturally to Schreyer, as she quickly started playing in competitive events around the state.
She competed in GSGA-sanctioned events as a junior, winning the inaugural Georgia Girls’ Championship in 1980 at Houston Lake Country Club in Perry. Each year from 1981 to 1985, Schreyer won the Greater Atlanta Women’s Amateur Championship.
When it came time for college, Schreyer stayed in-state and enrolled at the University of Georgia to play golf for head coach Liz Murphy. While at UGA she made a name for herself, setting records for lowest stroke average in a season, most individual titles in a season and most individual titles in a career.
Her most notable year in Athens came in 1984. That year she won six times, including the NCAA individual championship in a three-hole playoff, earned All-America and All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) honors, as well as being named the Broderick Award winner for the best female collegiate golfer. UGA has won three individual NCAA titles in women’s golf in the school’s history. The other two belong to fellow Georgia Golf Hall of Fame members – Terri Moody Hancock in 1981 and Vicki Goetze-Ackerman in 1992. Schreyer helped the Bulldogs win SEC titles in 1983 and 1985.
On the national circuit, Schreyer qualified for many USGA national championships, including the U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur, U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, and U.S. Women’s Amateur. The year 1986 proved special. She won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at SentryWorld Golf Course in Stevens Point, WI., defeating Goetze-Ackerman in the finals, and competed on the U.S. Curtis Cup team.
Following her USGA championship Schreyer turned to professional golf, picking up a pair of victories on the developmental tour (1987 Ravines Classic; 1988 Lagrange Honda Classic). In 1988, she tied for third at LPGA Final Qualifying to earn exempt status in 1989. She would compete on the LPGA Tour for 16 years (1989-2004). Schreyer has 23 top-10 finishes, including one win at the 1993 Sun Times Challenge. She served on the LPGA Executive Committee from 1997 to 2001 and was president of the professional tour from 1999-2000.
Schreyer was inducted into the University of Georgia’s Circle of Honor in 2003, recognizing and paying tribute to extraordinary student-athletes who have brought honor to the university and themselves.
Born in Atlanta, Ga., Carl Seldon excelled in the classroom and in athletics as he started at Henry McNeal Turner High School in Atlanta as an eighth grader. While at Turner High, he played on the varsity golf and basketball teams, serving as captain of both squads and was named most valuable player. After graduating high school, he stayed home and enrolled at Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University), where he continued with golf and basketball. He would serve as captain of the golf team all four years, leading his team to victory at the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) four-straight years. He was also captain of the basketball team his senior year.
Once he earned a degree in economics in 1963, and then enlisted in the United States Army. During his two-year enlistment, Seldon was a member of the 3rd United Army golf and basketball teams. He completed his military service with an honorable discharge in 1965.
Upon returning to Atlanta, Seldon quickly returned to competitive golf by playing on African American golf tours. Success on the golf course continued as he won two Southern Opener Championships, as well as the 1969 Lee Elder Tournament. In 1974, he joined the PGA of America as the first African American to do so in the state of Georgia, where he would later become a Life Member.
Seldon joined the City of Atlanta golf courses as its head golf professional in 1979. As a way of giving back to the game, he served as a volunteer instructor at John A. White Golf Course in Atlanta with the First Tee Program, and for the Atlanta Pro-Duffers Golf Club. There he was involved with the Hook-A-Kid Summer Program, which stands for the promotion of junior minority golf programs enabling interested youth to receive a high level of exposure to the fundamentals and character-building principles of the game of golf.
Seldon was an active member of both the Turner High and Clark Atlanta alumni programs. He was also a strong supporter and community service advocate for the Dixie Hills community in Atlanta.
In recognition of his service and success in the game, Seldon was inducted into the National Black Golf Hall of Fame in 1990. He is also a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame and the Clark Atlanta Athletic Boosters Association Hall of Fame.
Seldon passed away on July 1, 2020.
The Georgia State Golf Association (GSGA) is the governing body of golf in Georgia and serves as an Allied Golf Association to the United States Golf Association (USGA). Membership in the GSGA is open to all golfers, facilities and golf clubs throughout the state. Golfers that join the GSGA have access to invaluable resources that allow them to advance their knowledge of the game and numerous opportunities to play in both competitive and fun, casual events. By becoming a member of the GSGA, you will be joining a community that includes more than 350 clubs and 80,000 golfers who all have one thing in common: a passion for the game of golf.