Billy Martindale (born September 10, 1938) is an American professional golfer who has also had career interests as a

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

breeder,

golf course designer A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

, and

oil & gas A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels may ...

entrepreneur.

Life and career

Martindale was born in

Jacksonville, Texas Jacksonville is a city located in Cherokee County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,997 at the 2020 U.S. census. It is the principal city of the Jacksonville micropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Cherokee County, and p ...

, the son of Margaret ( Pruitt) and William Everett Martindale. He is the older brother of Emmy Award-winning stage, television, and film actress

Margo Martindale Margo Martindale (born July 18, 1951) is an American character actress who has appeared on television, film, and stage. In 2011, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for her recurring role as Mags Bennett on '' ...

. He graduated from Jacksonville High School in 1957, where he was an All-State

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and All-State golfer. He was also the National Junior Skeet Shooting Champion in 1948-1950 at the ages of 10, 11, and 12. Prior to his professional golf career, Martindale was an accomplished amateur player. After transferring from

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , ...

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

in the middle of his freshman year, he went on to captain the golf team and become an NCAA All-American his junior and senior years, graduating in 1961. After graduation, he served in the Army from 1962 to 1963. After playing a partial season in 1963, Martindale played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1964 to 1968, and was recognized as the PGA's "Sophomore of the Year" in 1965. In his five years on tour, he had three 2nd-place finishes, five 3rd-place finishes, and 35 top-25 finishes. His best finish in a major was a tie for 15th at the 1966

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

Firestone Country Club Firestone Country Club is a private golf club in the United States, located in Akron, Ohio. It was a regular stop on the PGA Tour and has hosted the PGA Championship three times. It is the current home of the Bridgestone Senior Players Championshi ...

. After the 1968 season, Martindale left the PGA Tour to partner with

Don January Donald Ray January (born November 20, 1929) is an American retired professional golfer, best known for winning the 1967 PGA Championship. Early life Born in Plainview, Texas, January graduated from Sunset High School in Dallas. He was a member ...

to form JanMart Enterprises, a golf course development and design company. Their business partnership would last until 1979, when January left to join the Senior PGA Tour upon reaching age 50. In their 10 years together, Martindale and January developed some 23 courses together, mostly around their home state of Texas. Their most notable course development is Royal Oaks Country Club in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, home to notable golfers Harrison Frazar,

Justin Leonard Justin Charles Garrett Leonard (born June 15, 1972) is an American professional golfer. He has twelve career wins on the PGA Tour, including one major, the 1997 Open Championship. Early years Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Leonard graduated ...

, D. A. Weibring, Lee Trevino, and

Colt Knost Colt Knost (born June 26, 1985) is a retired American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour. Beginning in January 2022, he became a regular analyst and on-course commentator for PGA Tour events televised by CBS Sports. Amateur career Kn ...

. During that time Martindale also served as the head coach of the

golf team from 1970-73. Since 1980, Martindale has ventured into several other successful businesses including casinos,

breeding, real estate, and oil & gas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martindale, Billy American male golfers Texas A&M Aggies men's golfers PGA Tour golfers College golf coaches in the United States Golf course architects Golfers from Texas Southern Methodist University alumni People from Jacksonville, Texas 1938 births Living people