Dave Stockton was a major championship-winning player on the PGA Tour and on the senior circuit before he became a golf instructor known by most golfers around the world.

Stockton didn’t play golf until his late teens…he grew up surfing and playing basketball and baseball. When Stockton was 15, suffered from a broken back in a surfing accident, which led him to play golf more than surfing.

He graduated from the University of Southern California in 1964, turned pro and joined the PGA Tour. In 1967, Stockton earned his first PGA Tour victory.

Known as one of the best putters in the game, Stockton won his first major at the 1970 PGA Championship, competing against Arnold Palmer and many other well known golfers. His best tour season was in 1974, when he won three times and posted his only Top 10 finish on the money list.

Stockton was runner-up at the 1974 Masters, then won the PGA Championship again in 1976. That was his 10th win on the PGA Tour, and his last.

He then played in the Champions tour as a senior golfer and won 14 more times, including the 1996 U.S. Senior Open.

Stockton’s final Champions Tour win was in 1997. Soon after, he started gaining a reputation as a great putting instructor, thanks to his work with Annika Sorenstam which brought his teaching skills into the spotlight. Stockton has released several putting instructionals, including the DVD Putt to Win and the book Dave Stockton’s Putt to Win: Secrets for Mastering the Other Game of Golf.

My father had the opportunity to participate in a group lesson and he will be posting very soon!