Dennis Walters

(Class of 2019)

The inspirational Dennis Walters, a native of Neptune, N.J., has become one of golf’s most well-known celebrities. He has turned the tragedy of being paralyzed from the waist down at age 24 from a golf-cart accident into a personal mission to teach golf and life lessons to a worldwide audience. The USGA bestowed its highest honor, the Bob Jones Award, on Walters -- now a resident of Jupiter, Fla. -- last June. This summer, he will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

In 1967, at the age of 17, Walters won the NJSGA Junior Championship, the NJSGA Caddie Championship and the New Jersey Public Links Junior Championship, an unprecedented triple crown. He attended North Texas State on a golf scholarship and finished 11th in the 1971 U.S. Amateur Championship. In 1972, he was co-runner-up to Art Silvestrone Sr. at the NJSGA State Open. He had just reached the final stage of the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School in 1973 when the golf-cart accident changed his life.

Accomplishments:

NJSGA Junior Champion 1967
NJ Public Links Junior Champion 1967
NJ Caddie Champion 1967
1971 USGA Amateur, 11th place
1972 NJSGA State Open, co-runner-up, lost in playoff to Art Silvestrone Jr.
1973, reached final state of PGA Tour Q-School
1977 PGA Merchandise Show - began career as trick shot artist from his custom golf cart
2018 USGA’s Bob Jones Award
2019 World Golf Hall of Fame Inductee