There is a lot that most people don’t know about Tommy Aaron. For instance, he’s basically a self-taught golfer. His father played golf, but when his family moved to Gainesville, no one else golfed.
He would read everything he could find about the sport. At the time Gainesville did not have all the nice golf courses it does now, so Mr. Aaron would go to an old 9 hole course that was in terrible condition (it’s now under Lake Lanier) and play. Tommy Aaron is an athlete’s athlete, playing football and basketball in high school and golfing in the summer.
In fact, a lot of people didn’t even know he was a golfer. When it was time to start looking at colleges, Mr. Aaron started writing SEC universities’ golf coaches about golf scholarships. Most “grant-in-aid” went to football, but the University of Florida agreed to give one spot to Tommy Aaron.
When home from college, he would go out behind the New Holland Mill and hit balls. Dedicated to his craft, Tommy Aaron hitchhiked to tournaments. There wasn’t much money in golf back then, like there is now. But for Tommy Aaron, it was not about the money. It was about “competing against the best, and winning,” he said.
Tommy Aaron played in The Masters Tournament 38 times, two times as an amateur and 36 times as a professional, winning the tournament in 1973. The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and Georgia Golf Hall of Fame inductee has been married since 1959 and has two children and three grandchildren.
Some of Tommy Aaron’s accomplishments include winning two Georgia Amateur Titles, two Southeastern Amateur events and two Georgia Open Crowns. He was a member of the University of Florida Gators 1956 SEC Championship Team and won the individual SEC Championship Title in 1957 and 1958. His first professional victory was the 1969 Canadian Open and his last professional victory was the 1992 Kaanapali Classic.
Gainesville graduate and golfer Reeves Bell said Tommy Aaron was always gracious on the golf course while he was growing up and playing golf as a Red Elephant.
“Whenever I would ask, Tommy Aaron was gracious enough to go out of his way to help me on the range or the putting green. Through observing him, I learned the value of humility and playing your own game. Additionally, with his generous scholarship fund, I was afforded the opportunity to attend and play golf at my top school choice, Young Harris College,” said Reeves, who is currently a senior golfer at Young Harris.
A true Gainesville treasure, it was an honor to speak with Mr. Aaron about his life as a professional golfer.
Question: What inspired you or led you to your career?
Answer: “I guess I was self-inspired. When we moved here in 1950, no one else golfed.”
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met in Hall County?
A: “What I did was so different. I was always traveling playing in 31 or 32 tournaments a year. Jesse Jewell. He was very forward thinking.”
Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?
A: “Find something you love to do and spend your life perfecting it. I heard an old golf pro say, ‘If a swing works, spend time perfecting it, not changing it.’”
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Hall County?
A: “I thought Recess was pretty good.”
Q: What former local business makes you the most nostalgic about Hall County?
A: “The old Gainesville Golf Course.” (When Mr. Aaron was a junior at Gainesville High School, he broke his ankle running down a hill at this golf course.)
Q:  Who are some of the interesting people you have met during your life?
A: “I met a lot of presidents. President Eisenhower was an avid golfer. I met Condeleeza Rice at The Masters and she knew who I was. She said she knew all of the Masters winners.”
Q: Choosing anyone, non-relative: with whom would you love to have lunch?
A: “President Donald Trump. I saw Marla Maples and she asked me if I would take Donald to play at Augusta National. I said I would and gave him a call. Augusta National is a winter course. Donald wanted to play in the summer. We never got to play together.”
Q: What are three words or phrases that come to mind when you think of the word “HOME”?
A: “Loving family, a place that is comfortable and secure, and a place you always look forward to going.”
The Faces of Hall County is a project to showcase the amazing people that live or work in our community. If you would like to nominate an interesting person to be featured please email babernathy@gonorton.com.