RIP: Calvin Peete 1942-2015

Today at the Tournament Player's Championship, the great Calvin Peete who died on April 2, 2015 was honored with a moment of silence and a view of his locker in the Champions Locker Room. Peete won the TPC in 1985. He had twelve tour wins, including winning the Greater Milwaukee Open (GMO) in 1979 and 1982. The PGA Tour Career Summary (here), shows his professional career starting in 1976. My remembrance is that I saw him play in the GMO earlier than 1976, but I must be wrong. Peete had an unusual looking golf swing, possibly the result of a broken left arm that never set properly and would not straighten (I also have a left arm that will not straighten and Peete's swing always interested me). Regardless, he led the PGA tour in driving accuracy for 10 straight years, 1981-1990. His win at the TPC capped a career that probably cannot be duplicated today: he was a Public Links golfer who grew up poor playing the Genesee Valley Park course in Rochester, NY while peddling goods to migrant workers.



The analysis of Calvin Peete's golf swing above by professional instructor Jim McLean shows a solid swing with very few unusual components.

Jim McLean points out a couple of differences with the modern swing: (1) Peete's head does not stay centered but moves both downward and forward during the swing and (2) Peete's leg drive (the solid yellow lines are his original leg locations at address) and forward motion are stronger than the modern player. Peete also did not maintain club head lag deep into the downswing. Typically, instructors want to see the club at the dashed yellow line halfway into the downswing. Peete's club has released to the solid red line. Peete was playing with persimmon woods and balata-covered golf balls which may have required a different swing. My remembrance is that Peete did not have a lot of length off the tee. What he lacked in distance, he made up for in accuracy and obviously he was able to hit the ball long enough to compete on the PGA Tour at the time. 

Calvin Peete was one of the great, unique, self-taught golfers on the early PGA Tour. It was honor for me to have seen him play in his prime.