Calvin Peete was a man in his 20’s with a permanently bent left elbow when he first took up the game of golf. He would go on to become one of the PGA’s most accurate ball strikers and win 12 times on Tour.
Calvin Peete passed away April 29, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia after a long battle with lung cancer. He was 71 years old.
Born in Detroit, Michigan July 18, 1943, Peete was one of 19 children. At the age of 12, he fell out of a tree and broke his elbow. The doctor failed to set the broken bone correctly which resulted in Peete never again being able to fully extend his left arm.
At the urging of friends, Calvin Peete played golf for the very first time when he was 23 years old. He knew right away it was something he could learn to do well.
Peete drew inspiration from Charlie Sifford and Lee Elder. Watching Elder play with Jack Nicklaus on television, Peete recalled to the Washington Times in 2006,
“There’s a black man playing with the best golfer in the world. If I practice just a little bit more, I could be doing the same thing.”
So he taught himself how to play the game. Within a year, he was a scratch golfer. By the age of 31 in 1975, Calvin Peete was a member of the PGA Tour.
Peete broke through with his first win at the Greater Milwaukee Open in 1979. He would win four times in 1982 on his way to a total of 12 career wins on the PGA Tour.
Mr. Accuracy
Despite having never taken a golf lesson and despite his crooked elbow, Peete would lead the Tour in driving accuracy an astonishing 10 straight years (1981-1990). He also lead the Tour in greens in regulation three different times.
In 1983, as he hit 84.55% of his fairways, he won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average. Jack Nicklaus finished second. Peete would represent the United States in the 1983 and 1985 Ryder Cups.
He is survived by his wife, Pepper Peete, and seven children.
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