A Tribute to Calvin Peete: A Diamond in the Rough

(From The Traits of Champions by Andrew Wood)

Sometimes champions have their origins in places you would least expect, but the traits and qualities that enable them to convert their talents from raw coal to fine diamonds remain the same.

Calvin Peete (July 18, 1943 – April 29, 2015) was born in Detroit and moved as a child to Pahokee, Florida, one of the poorest, least attractive, beat-up little towns on the planet. Surrounded by swampland, Pahokee is the reason that the State bird of Florida is the mosquito. There were no less than, count them, 19 children in the Peete household. With very few options, Calvin dropped out of school in the 8th grade to pick fruit to bring in a little extra money to help the family survive.

At 18 he bought an old station wagon and went into business for himself. He drove up and down the rural areas of the East Coast selling clothes and a variety of other goods to migrant farm workers. In an effort to express his individuality, Peete had diamonds inserted into his front teeth. The people with whom he traded knew him simply as “the diamond man.”

At the age of 23, never having played or caddied in his life, and with no desire to learn, a couple of friends coerced him into playing a round of golf with them. He was instantly hooked on the game and although he seemed initially to have no real aptitude, he decided he was going to become a golf pro. For the next five years he practiced every spare minute he could find, and hit practice shots each night on floodlit baseball fields.

It took Peete less than two years to become a scratch golfer, and he turned pro three years later. Not content with teaching others or looking for a club job, he decided he wanted to play on the PGA Tour. It took him three attempts to make it, but eventually, at 32 years of age, he graduated from Q-school and received his player’s card.

For three more difficult and discouraging years, Peete didn’t win enough money to meet his travel expenses. His wife, a teacher, supported both of them and their family of four children. Finally, in 1979, he entered the ranks of tournament champions by winning the Milwaukee Open. He followed with three straight years of earnings in excess of $100,000.

Although he was never renowned for his power, he led the PGA Tour in driving accuracy, and, in 1984, won the Vardon Trophy, which is awarded to the player with the lowest stroke average for the season. Before long he had joined the elite group of players with over two million dollars in career earnings and at least 10 Tour victories – a field of 12 to be exact.

This notable level of success was achieved by a man born into abject poverty. As if this weren’t enough of a roadblock, Peete broke his left elbow in a fall as a boy and was partially crippled as a result of poor corrective surgery that caused his left elbow to be permanently locked in one position.

Can you imagine the remarks he had to listen to when he told people he wanted to become a golf pro?

  • “You want to be a what, son?…. A golf pro?…. I see.”
  • “Say, have you been smoking some of that funny stuff?”
  • “You say you’ve learned the secret?…. Well don’t keep us all in suspense. Let us in on it!”
  • “Is that a fact?…. All you have to do is start with a big dream, then add mental discipline and countless hours of practice until you can do it every time, automatically. Just keep it simple, you say.”
  • “OK; if you say so, Calvin.”

Follow your dreams; they may come true!

RIP, Mr. Peete – RESPECT!

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