Gardner Dickinson

{{Short description|American professional golfer (1927–1998)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}

{{Infobox golfer

| name = Gardner Dickinson

| image = Gardner Dickinson 1955.jpg

| image_size = 255px

| caption =

| fullname = Gardner Edward Dickinson, Jr.

| nickname =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1927|9|14}}

| birth_place = Dothan, Alabama

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1998|4|19|1927|9|14}}

| death_place = Tequesta, Florida

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=10}}

| weight = {{convert|144|lb|kg st|abbr=on}}

| nationality = {{USA}}

| spouse = Judy Clark Dickinson

| children = 5 {{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/22/sports/gardner-dickinson-70-golfer-and-a-founder-of-senior-tour.html|newspaper=New York Times |last=Brown |first=Clifton |title=Gardner Dickinson, 70, Golfer And a Founder of Senior Tour |date=April 22, 1998 |access-date=July 16, 2013}}

| college = Louisiana State{{cite web|url=http://www.lasportshall.com/inductees/golf/jay-hebert/?back=inductee|publisher=Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame|title=Jay Hebert|access-date=February 11, 2013}}

| yearpro = 1952

| retired =

| extour = PGA Tour
Champions Tour

| prowins = 11

| pgawins = 7

| otherwins = 4

| majorwins =

| masters = T10: 1973

| usopen = T6: 1967

| open = CUT: 1969

| pga = 5th: 1965

| wghofid =

| wghofyear =

| award1 =

| year1 =

| award2 =

| year2 =

| awardssection =

}}

Gardner Edward Dickinson, Jr. (September 14, 1927 – April 19, 1998) was an American professional golfer.

Born in Dothan, Alabama, Dickinson was a student of Ben Hogan and crafted his swing in the Hogan tradition. He played college golf at Louisiana State, where he and teammate Jay Hebert led the Tigers to the national title in 1947. In a long PGA Tour career, he won seven times between 1956 and 1971. In his last win, the 1971 Atlanta Classic, he beat Jack Nicklaus in a sudden-death playoff.{{cite magazine |title=A Big Victory For Little Ben |date=May 26, 1969 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1082443/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104031451/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1082443/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |access-date=March 22, 2011}}

During his PGA Tour career, Dickinson competed in 12 Masters Championships. His best finish came in 1973, when he tied for tenth. He played on the 1967 and 1971 Ryder Cup teams. With a 9–1–0 match record, Dickinson holds the record for best winning percentage (minimum of seven matches). In team Ryder Cup play, he never lost a match with partner Arnold Palmer (5–0).

Dickinson was one of the founders of the Senior PGA Tour (now Champions Tour). He authored the book Let 'er Rip — a lengthy, bitey rant in which he opines on everything from golf officials and his fellow players to topical issues such as how young people dress.{{cite magazine |title=No Holds Barred |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=February 27, 1995 |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1006281/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100822021903/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1006281/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 22, 2010 |access-date=March 22, 2011}} He also designed the 36-hole Frenchman's Creek Club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Dickinson later taught the game to players such as LPGA great JoAnne Carner and his future wife Judy Clark, who is a former player and president of the LPGA Tour.

After a long illness, he died at age 70 in Tequesta, Florida in 1998. Dickinson was voted into the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

A well-known quote by Dickinson is: "They say golf is like life, but don't believe them. Golf is more complicated than that."{{cite web|title=Gardener Dickinson quotes |publisher=Think exist.com |url=http://thinkexist.com/quotation/they_say_golf_is_like_life-but_don-t_believe_them/206697.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120719211101/http://thinkexist.com/quotation/they_say_golf_is_like_life-but_don-t_believe_them/206697.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 19, 2012 |access-date=March 22, 2011 }}