Growing up in Augusta, Georgia, Jim Dent found work as a teenager caddying at a local golf course not far from his home. Augusta National Golf Club put Dent to work, and he merely followed his older brother Paul as a caddie at the local club. While Paul Dent had the privilege of caddying on occasion for U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, Jim worked for some pretty impressive players, as well, including TOUR pros Bob Goalby, Marty Furgol, Frank Stranahan and Bob Rosburg. Dent also stayed busy, picking up bags at Augusta Country Club for the members there.

But it was at Augusta Municipal Golf Course where Dent, under the watchful eye of Lawson “Red” Douglas, learned to play. Dent honed his game at "The Patch," so named primarily for a vegetable garden Douglas planted near the course’s 14th green. For those who saw Dent hit a golf ball, they immediately knew that at 6-foot-2 and right around 225 pounds, he could do one thing extremely well: He could outdrive them.

Remembered Douglas of his student’s prodigious length: “He would drive it 312 yards uphill, pin-high at the eighth and then 360 yards downhill at the 12th.”

Dent, who died May 2 in Augusta, at age 85, eventually put his entire game together, leading to a combined 40-year PGA TOUR-PGA TOUR Champions career.

“A lot of people will remember Jim Dent for how far he hit the ball, and he really did. Yet his long-term success, especially on our Tour, proved Jim was more than just long off the tee,” said PGA TOUR Champions President Miller Brady. “Jim was as easy going as he was competitive, and he added so much during his time as a PGA TOUR Champions player. We offer our sincere condolences to his entire family.”

Born May 9, 1939, Dent attended Laney High School and played football alongside future pro and eventual Super Bowl champion Emerson Boozer. Dent wasn’t at that level, but he was good enough for Paine College, a Methodist-owned, historically black college in his hometown, to offer him a football scholarship. Dent attended Paine for a year but dropped out to pursue professional golf.

Dent moved to New Jersey, picking up work busing and waiting tables at the Smithville Inn in the Atlantic City suburb of Galloway. He worked at night and played golf during the day, improving enough that he began entering tournaments, some of them conducted by the United Golfers Association, the circuit established for African Americans.

With a dream of moving to California, Dent eventually relocated to Los Angeles, where he rapidly improved his game as a year-round player. A wealthy real estate developer and businessman, Mose Stevens, took an interest in Dent and agreed to sponsor him. Stevens also paid for Dent to receive instruction from Johnny Goodman, a winner of both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur.

By 1966, Dent was ready to turn pro. Two years later, he attended the PGA TOUR’s Qualifying Tournament. Dent didn’t come close to earning his card as a third-round 87 derailed him. He tried—and failed—again in 1969 but finally broke through in 1970, tying for 10th at Tucson Country Club.

That began a streak of 16 consecutive years of full time TOUR play, with Dent never appearing in less than 22 tournaments a season.

In his second full year as a touring professional, Dent established a name for himself beyond being one of the TOUR’s longest hitters. At the final tournament of the season, in Orlando, Dent tied for second at the Walt Disney World Open Invitational. That finish came with an asterisk, though. Dent was never particularly close to winning, falling to Jack Nicklaus by nine strokes.

The runner-up performance was Dent’s career-best PGA TOUR performance among his 450 career starts. His top money-list performance came in 1974, when he finished 53rd, with $46,587 in earnings. He amassed 25 top-10s, with his best chance at victory coming at the 1988 Provident Classic in Tennessee. Dent opened with rounds of 66-66-67 to take a share of the lead with Payne Stewart, Bill Britton and Phil Blackmar. On a par-70 course that only measured 6,516 yards, Dent, who had overpowered the short course, had a middling final day, fashioning an even-par 70 to finish five strokes out of the Blackmar-Stewart playoff.

Another disappointment? The Augusta native never played in the Masters, failing to reach any of the tournament’s qualifying thresholds. Dent did play in five U.S. Opens, he saw action in the PGA Championship six times and made all 11 of his PLAYERS Championship appearances between 1975 and 1985.

Dent did pick up wins at the prestigious Florida PGA Championship, winning the event three consecutive times, starting in 1976. He also won on the TOUR’s Tournament Players Series, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1983, and, not surprisingly, Dent won the first two World Long Drive Championships conducted, in 1974 and 1975, respectively.

Even as an established TOUR player, it wasn’t until after Dent turned 50 that things really began clicking. He was able to build on his big-hitting reputation while leaving his journeyman status behind. Dent turned 50 in the middle of the 1989 season and wasted little time after tidying up his short game with two instructors, fellow Tour pro Homero Blancas and Jimmy Ballard. Dent tied for fourth in his debut tournament, added another top-five and then broke through with a win at the MONY Syracuse Senior Classic, coming from five shots back on the final day, shooting a 64 to edge Al Geiberger by a shot. Following the victory, a resigned Geiberger joked, “Jim Dent ought to be outlawed (for) the way he can hit the ball.”

A month after his PGA TOUR Champions’ breakthrough victory, Dent won for a second time, at the Newport Cup in Rhode Island, surprising the field and—especially—himself as he came from behind on the final day.

“I was just trying to finish in the top 10,” Dent admitted. He changed his thinking when an official on the 17th hole told him he was only a shot behind leader Harold Henning, information that propelled him to victory. With two wins in his first season, Dent walked away with several publications’ Rookie of the Year honors.

A year later, Dent was even better, winning four times and recording the same number of second-place finishes. One of those wins was a successful defense of his Syracuse title. He also tied a PGA TOUR Champions record—since broken—when he came from six strokes back on the final day to win the Crestar Classic.

Dent finished his career playing in 545 Champions events during a 21-year run. He ended with 12 victories, retiring following the 2010 campaign. Not surprisingly, he led the Tour’s Driving Distance category in each of his first five seasons.

In 2020, the city of Augusta renamed the road leading into The Patch as Jim Dent Way as a tribute to one of the city’s favorite sons. The Caddie Hall of Fame inducted him in 2022, and he is also a member of the African-American Golfers Hall of Fame.

Three weeks before his death, Dent, who was recovering from the effects of a stroke, attended the Masters, to participate in the observance of the 50th anniversary of Lee Elder becoming the first black player to play in the Masters. He also learned that Augusta National had plans to continue its renovation of "The Patch," a long-term plan that includes a redesign of the main 18-hole course. In addition, the club will partner with Tiger Woods’ design company, TGR, with Woods designing a new nine-hole, par-3 course on the property. Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley made the announcement. The following day, Dent suffered another stroke that ultimately led to his death.

Funeral services are pending.