Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Sports Hall of Famer John Gerring Passes Away
9/16/2026 11:37:00 AM | Men's Golf
Gerring was a contributor on the Men’s Golf ACC Championship Teams and was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame member and men's golf alumni John Gerring '57, a giant among Wake Forest golfers, has passed away at the age of 91.
Gerring won the ACC Golf Championship in 1957, becoming the first of a long line of Wake Forest students on the Winston-Salem campus to win the title. He was a strong contributor on the team that won ACC titles in 1955 and 1957.
Gerring played with Arnold Palmer at the old campus in Wake Forest and their friendship lasted decades. Gerring and Palmer would play outstanding amateur golfers in Raleigh on Sundays to earn spending money. During a 60-year teaching career, Gerring taught thousands of golfers, professionals and amateurs alike. He counts Larry Nelson, winner of the PGA and US Open, and Betsy King, winner of 39 LPGA tournaments, as two of his students who enjoyed outstanding professional careers.
His career included head pro positions at Peachtree Country Club in Atlanta, Sea Island Club and Bloomfield Hills Country Club outside Detroit.
Gerring was inducted into the National PGA Hall of Fame in 2005. He also is a member of the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame, the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame and the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame. Gerring was chosen as the National PGA Professional of the Year in 1981.
A loyal supporter of Wake Forest athletics, Gerring was humbled when members of the Peachtree Club raised $100,000 in his name for the Jesse Haddock Golf House. The lobby of the building is named for Gerring.
Gerring wrote Simple Enough, a golf insurrection book. In a note to a Wake Forest friend to whom he gave the book, he inscribed "The golf swing is a lifelong chase with no end in sight. The solution is not to give up-keep pounding the rock!"
Gerring retired in Greenville, S.C. and taught at a golf range until he was 88. He and Jay Haas '87 led other investors in buying the range, now named the Haas Family Golf Center.
Gerring was a native of High Point. He is survived by his wife, Jo, son, John, and four grandchildren.
Gerring won the ACC Golf Championship in 1957, becoming the first of a long line of Wake Forest students on the Winston-Salem campus to win the title. He was a strong contributor on the team that won ACC titles in 1955 and 1957.
Gerring played with Arnold Palmer at the old campus in Wake Forest and their friendship lasted decades. Gerring and Palmer would play outstanding amateur golfers in Raleigh on Sundays to earn spending money. During a 60-year teaching career, Gerring taught thousands of golfers, professionals and amateurs alike. He counts Larry Nelson, winner of the PGA and US Open, and Betsy King, winner of 39 LPGA tournaments, as two of his students who enjoyed outstanding professional careers.
His career included head pro positions at Peachtree Country Club in Atlanta, Sea Island Club and Bloomfield Hills Country Club outside Detroit.
Gerring was inducted into the National PGA Hall of Fame in 2005. He also is a member of the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame, the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame and the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame. Gerring was chosen as the National PGA Professional of the Year in 1981.
A loyal supporter of Wake Forest athletics, Gerring was humbled when members of the Peachtree Club raised $100,000 in his name for the Jesse Haddock Golf House. The lobby of the building is named for Gerring.
Gerring wrote Simple Enough, a golf insurrection book. In a note to a Wake Forest friend to whom he gave the book, he inscribed "The golf swing is a lifelong chase with no end in sight. The solution is not to give up-keep pounding the rock!"
Gerring retired in Greenville, S.C. and taught at a golf range until he was 88. He and Jay Haas '87 led other investors in buying the range, now named the Haas Family Golf Center.
Gerring was a native of High Point. He is survived by his wife, Jo, son, John, and four grandchildren.
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