For John Gerring, golf is a “calling.”
The son of a municipal course pro, Gerring played in his first tournament at the age of 8. He played with his three brothers-all taught by their father-and all three earned golf scholarships to college.
John was the ACC Champion his senior year at Wake Forest in l957 and has enjoyed a 55-year career as a club professional. He was the 13th pro to become a PGA Master Professional and was the PGA Professional of the Year in 1981. He was inducted into the PGA Hall of Fame in 2005.
Back in the l960s, he’d come home after a day of teaching and write a thought about the golf swing. In the l970s, he began writing for the club newsletter. In the l980s, members began urging him to write a golf instruction book.
Gerring got serious about a book in 2010 as the senior instructor at the Eagle Zone Golf Improvement Center in Greenville, SC. He’d write a page or so using a No. 2 lead pencil on a legal pad and then another page in a few days. “I’m old school,” he admits.
After six years, there is the book. Simple Enough is published by AuthorHouse. “My premise is that most golf instruction is a lot of macaroni,” he says.
His book is a compilation of those thoughts that began back in the 60s. Simple Enough is a series of insights and lessons about the golf swing.
The book is endorsed by his friend, Arnold Palmer, with whom Gerring played at Wake Forest. “John Gerring has put his keen knowledge of the game into an easily-understood form…it’s well worth a read,” said Palmer.
“Over the years, I’ve learned the simpler, the better,” Gerring says. In his book, he recounts a contest between “simple” and “high tech,” and “simple” wins every match.
“Golf is not as complicated as most people think,” Gerring maintains. “Don’t think too much or you will weaken your swing. The challenge is not in technique but in synchronizing all the parts.”
His bottom line is to give students the knowledge and skills to make any adjustment they need. “The ball flight will tell you what you need to correct,” he adds.
After a career including head pro jobs at Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta, Atlanta Country Club, Sea Island Golf Club, Bloomfield Hills Country Club outside Detroit, and Greenville Country Club, Gerring continues to teach five days a week at the Eagle Zone.
“There’s nothing I’d rather do,” he says
Contact:
Eagle Zone
864 288-0001
