2021 Golf Nut of the Year!

Dave Wells (#2803)

Dave Wells, Certified Golf Nut #2803, was named 2021 Golf Nut of the Year by the Golf Nut Society.  Wells, a resident of Memphis, Tennessee, is the quintessential golf nut in every sense of the word. An excellent golfer who has played golf with numerous tour players, Dave is still an autograph hound and inveterate golf memorabilia collector. Nicknamed “Iron Byron” by none other than Julius “Dr. J” Irving for his uncanny accuracy off the tee, Dave has shot his age over 200 times, and every time he tees it up he is a threat to do it again.

He lives on the first tee of TPC Southwind, the home of the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Classic and can literally sit in his backyard and watch players tee off in the event.

He has played golf all across America and has attended numerous world-class PGA Tour events and Ryder Cups.

And then there’s his golf museum which takes up a large room in his home…

In winning the title, “Iron Byron” had an Entrance Exam score of 11,614 Nut Points, and 37,207 Bonus Points for a total of 48,821 Nut Points, placing him fourth on the All-Time Leading Scorers list.

An 84-year-old 10.6 handicap golfer, his lowest Index was 1.0, Wells is a long-time member of the Golf Nut Society and one of our favorites for his active involvement, great sense of humor, and unmatched passion for the game. Here are some of his more impressive feats:

BONUS POINTS SUMMARY

• Was given the nickname “Iron Byron” by none other than Julius Erving (“Dr. J”} after they were paired together in a pro-am and Dave hit every single fairway. 1,000 Points
• Dave and Nancy Wells live adjacent to the tennis courts, with a backyard overlooking the first hole at TPC Southwind. 1,000 Points
• On the first day at the first fan-less World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, Dave Wells was one of the few Memphians doing exactly what he would have been doing if the tournament hadn’t been completely altered by the coronavirus pandemic. He was watching the players tee off from his back yard. 500 Points
• Has a spectacular golf museum on the second floor of his home. 5,000 Points

• Has 65 trophies and 150 golf books in his home’s golf museum. 1,150 Points
• Retired almost 30 years ago from his job at Schering-Plough. And even then, when someone would ask what he did for a living, Wells would joke, “I play golf.” 500 Points
• Almost every inch of almost every wall of his “museum” is filled with golf memorabilia from seemingly every significant golfer of the past century. Sam Snead. Ben Hogan. Arnold Palmer. Jack Nicklaus. Lee Trevino. Seve Ballesteros. Tom Watson. You name it, aside from Tiger Woods, Wells probably has an autograph up somewhere. 1,000 Points

• There’s a Ben Hogan signature which prompts Wells to tell the story of how he once met Hogan at Old Cherokee Golf Course at the corner of Lamar and Prescott. 1,500 Points
• There’s also an autographed picture from Al Geiberger with this note: “You were here that great day,” when Geiberger shot the first 59 in tour history. 1,059 Points
• Dave was also there in 1965 when Nicklaus won the Memphis Classic. 165 Points
• “Iron Byron” would always bring a chair to the events to stand on so he could see over the people in front of him. 100 Points
• He has a faded program from the 1979 Danny Thomas Classic that his son used to get autographs. When they came home, Dave asked how many he managed to get. “Three,” his son said. A few years later, Dave was leafing through the program in his son’s room and noticed the three autographs were Gerald Ford, Bear Bryant and Danny Thomas. 503 Points
• On another shelf in his museum sits a photo of Patrick Reed from when he won an American Junior Golf Association event at TPC Southwind as a 14-year-old. 114 Points
• Another prized possession is a signed picture from Cary Middlecoff, the greatest Memphis golf product. It’s the first piece of memorabilia Wells ever got. It’s from 1948. 948 Points (See top photo)
• Also has a Scrapbook given to him by Cary Middlecoff. It is one given to Middlecoff one year as a Masters participant, honoring the winner of the Masters the prior year. Cary received the scrapbook in 1965. It was entitled ‘Arnold Palmer’s Scrap Book’ honoring Arnie’s win in 1964…..many photos, scorecards, history of the Masters, newspaper headlines and articles written during the 1964 tournament and many other photos of the golfers playing in the 1964 Masters (See bottom of photo below.)

• When Dave had the opportunity to play a round with Arnie in 1989, he carried the “Arnold Palmer Scrapbook” with him, and Palmer honored him by immediately signing it upon meeting him. So, you could say, it all started with the gift of this famous book from Cary Middlecoff…and Arnold’s autograph makes it a keeper for life. 2,500 Points
• Has a photo of Arnold Palmer and himself walking together up the 18^th hole as they finished their round together. 1,018 Points

• “Arnold Palmer told me the most important thing about the game of golf is who you meet on the golf course,” Wells said. 500 Points
• After his round with Palmer, he asked Wells, “Dave, what do you do for a living?” When he returned home, he told his boss what Palmer asked and his boss replied, “I would like to have been there to hear your answer!” 500 Points
• Has played every golf course on the West Coast Swing (Pebble Beach, Hawaii, Palm Springs, and San Diego). 500 Points
• Won “Low Gross” in the CEO Open Gross at TPC Sawgrass which earned him a spot in the 1990 AT&T Pro-Am. 1,000 Points
• Won two Father-Son championships (‘77/’78), proving that he has his priorities in order. 200 Points
• Has made 4 holes-in-one. 4,000 Points
• Has shot his age over 200 times. 2,000 Points
• “Retired” the first 50 golf balls with which he shot his age, and still has them. 500 Points
• Made a Double-Eagle – the shot of his life – on the 10^th hole at Nairn GC in Scotland. 200 Points
• Has over 200 golfer autographs dating back to 1946 including Hogan, Snead, Palmer Middlecoff and many others. 2,000 Points
• Has played golf with tour pros Arnold Palmer, Sandy Lyle, Tom Kite, Neal Lancaster, Ted Purdy, David Frost, Hubert Green, Doug Barron, Clark Dennis, Dale Douglass, John Inman, and Jeff Hart. 1,300 Points
• Has autographed photos of Padraig Harrington and Steve Stricker. 500 Points

• Got Bob Hope’s autograph while attending the 1990 Bob Hope Desert Classic. 500 Points
• Has autographed photos of LPGA founder Marilyn Smith, Woody Austin, Boo Weekley, and David Toms. 400 Points
• Witnessed Justin Leonard’s winning Ryder Cup putt in person and got Leonard’s autograph. 1,000 Points
• In the “International Section” of his golf museum he has autographs from Louis Oosthuizen, Seve Ballesteros, Rory McIlroy, Ernie Els, Darren Clarke, Jon Rahm, Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood and KJ Choi, and also has Justin Rose’s glove from the 2021 Memphis Classic. 1,200 Points
• Got an autograph from Gene Sarazen when he was 95 years old and still playing golf at Marco Island. 950 Points
• Has Lee Trevino’s autograph. 500 Points
• Has autographs from Ken Venturi, Jerry Pate, Ted Purdy (his Scottsdale neighbor), Billy Casper, and Johnny Miller. 600 Points
• Has a birthday card from David Feherty. 500 Points
• Has a golf book about Payne Stewart, autographed by Stewart. 300 Points
• Has several autographed golf balls including from Greg Norman, Tom Kite, John Daly, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Andrew Magee and Dan Quayle. 600 Points
• Has written 26 golf articles over the last 10 years for two local magazines. Quite an achievement for a non-golf writer! 2,600 Points

Last, but not least, Dave has his wife’s grandfather’s golf clubs from 1924 proudly displayed in his golf museum. They include six clubs (Jackson Park Driver not shown because shaft/clubhead were broken), five Irons (Mashie Iron, Mid Iron, 1-Iron, and two putters (one a Champion brand hand-made putter). Also in the bag were two Spalding golf balls and three short tees from that era. 600 Points

Dave Wells, Certified Golf Nut #2803, embodies everything that makes the Golf Nut Society what it is…a society for golfers who will never win a major, but who love the game with a passion that surpasses all understanding. We proudly celebrate Dave “Iron Byron” Wells’ victory! He is a worthy recipient of the title 2021 Golf Nut of the Year.

The Head Nut

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