Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, John Gerring moved to North Carolina as a junior and attended High Point High School. After winning a North Carolina High School State Championship and competing in events such as the U.S. Junior Amateur and the National Jaycee Junior, Gerring was recruited to Wake Forest University.
While a young freshman playing golf at Wake Forest, Gerring was nurtured by an older teammate named Arnold Palmer. As the top golfer for the Demon Deacons in 1955, 1956 and 1957, Gerring led the team to two Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championships (1955, 1957). He also claimed an individual conference title in 1957 while earning medalist honors in five of seven home matches the team played.
After graduating from Wake Forest with a degree in social science, he served time on the Rifle Company of the United States Army, and at the conclusion of his service, Gerring turned pro in 1958 and started playing again.
Realizing that a career competing on the PGA TOUR wasn’t likely, Gerring went to work at Biltmore Forest Golf Club in Asheville, N.C., as an apprentice professional after joining the PGA of America in the early 1960’s.
Not long after that he moved to Georgia for an assistant professional’s job at Atlanta Athletic Club, and ultimately would become the head golf professional at Atlanta Country Club in 1978 and stay for 15 years. From there Gerring moved to the coast as head golf professional at Sea Island Golf Club in 1993, before returning to Atlanta to be head golf professional at Peachtree Golf Club in 2004.
Over the years Gerring made a name for himself as an outstanding teacher of the game, working with many touring pros as well as high handicap players. In 1977 he became the 13th member of the PGA of America to earn Master Professional status. During his time at Atlanta Country Club, he was the recipient of the PGA of America’s PGA Golf Professional of the Year award in 1981 – the highest honor bestowed on a PGA professional.
Within the Georgia Section PGA, Gerring has been honored as professional of the year, teacher of the year, and recipient of the Horton Smith Award and Bill Strausbaugh Award.
Gerring is a current member of three Halls of Fame, including the PGA of America National Hall of Fame (2005), Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame (2017) and Wake Forest University Sports Hall of Fame (2018).