“So here is the challenge if you want to play better golf: forget about trying to play better and concentrate on enjoying the game more. For in the long run this is the surest way to play better golf. I love this game.” These words were spoken by one of Louisville’s greatest golf personalities, Elmore Just. And, it’s hard to disagree with his sentiments- perhaps it can even be existed to life as a whole.
In any case the founder of the Louisville Golf organization, began his illustrious career locally at Flaget high school, where he consistently was the most valuable player on the course.
He went on to Bellarmine, where he most notably led the team as its captain to an undefeated season.
Later in his life he founded Persimmon Ridge Golf Course, a course named after the wood that Just called, “nature’s gift to the game of golf.” Just loved persimmon so much and was such a golf craftsman that he made clubs from that wood.
Just made his love of crafting golf accessories a very successful business following that, crafting accessories for the likes of MacGregor, and being used by legends like Jack Nicklaus, the beloved golfer passed away in 2001, a result of a heart attack but his legacy lives on.
A 2009 Kentucky Athletic Hall of Famer, Just has been the reason for Persimmon’s annual Memorial golf tournament.
More than that, Just’s legacy is not just in his near perfect play on the course but with his craftsmanship and class; his artistic integrity for a sport he loved and quite frankly, I can think of no better reason to call somebody a legend.
Image courtesy of the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame
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