Born in Atlanta, Ga., Wayne Curtis (Yates) and his younger sister, Shirley, grew up in a children’s home – the Southern Christian Orphanage. Up until the age of 13, his social life consisted of spending time playing outside with the other children in the home, what he would call his 60 brothers and sisters.
In 1955 at age 13, one of those brothers told Curtis about a job he had making a little money as a caddie at Candler Park Golf Course in Atlanta. Once it was explained what caddying was, he was interested and joined his friend the next morning at the course. Curtis made $7.50 that first day as a caddie and couldn’t wait to tell his sister that they no longer had money problems.
The golf professional at Candler Park was Jim Yates. He noticed the teenager was working hard and seemed to have an interest in learning more. The golf pro began teaching him the game, loaned him clubs and offered lessons. The relationship between the two continued to grow, and learning his childhood was spent at a children’s home, Yates and his wife adopted Curtis, officially changing his name to Wayne Yates.
The next few years Yates continued learning the game and started playing more and more. In 1962 he won his first Atlanta Open. From there he quickly made a name for himself on the golf scene in Georgia. He added two more Atlanta Open titles in 1966 and 1968. Yates joined the PGA of America in the 1960s, and in 1969 he was hired as the head golf professional at Indian Hills Country Club in Marietta. While working he continued playing competitively, which included a nine-year stint on the PGA TOUR (1970-78), four U.S. Opens (1968-71) and four PGA Championships (1966, 1968, 1970, 1972).
Though his days playing professionally were relatively short-lived, Yates made the most of them. He totaled five Atlanta Open titles (1962, 1966, 1968, 1973, 1974) and two Georgia PGA Championships (1972, 1977). For his efforts, Yates was awarded multiple Georgia PGA Player of the Year honors.
Once his time on the professional tour ended, Yates returned to work as golf professional at Mystery Valley Golf Club in Atlanta (1980-89). In 1985 he suffered a stroke which ultimately ended his playing career.
Yates passed away in December of 2019.
