Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame: Carter Mize excels at the game he loves

Asked to look back at his early years of golf, including stellar high school and collegiate experiences, Carter Mize says those days filled with practice and constant competition were never a chore.

"All I ever did was go play a game I loved," said Mize, now 53.

Mize has won the Georgia Amateur championship twice (1993 and 1994) and was runner-up in 1995 and 1999. Of the 93 Georgia Amateur events played, Mize is one of only seven to win back to back and one of nine Columbus golfers to capture that title.

Teaming with fellow Hardaway alumnus Wright Waddell, Mize won four Georgia Four-Ball Championships (1992, 1995, 2003 and 2004). Only three other teams have had back-to-back victories in the 42-year history of that competition.

Mize also won the Southeastern Amateur Championship twice (1991, 2003) and was three times the junior champion and five times the club champion at the Columbus Country Club, where he set the course record with a round of 62.

Mize will be inducted into the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday along with Waddell, former football players Eddie Lowe and John Flournoy, and minor league baseball manager Dennis Holmberg.

Mize's golf exploits in the years after his Auburn University graduation in 1985 last year landed him an honored place among many legendary players in the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.

But the successful Columbus businessman -- president of Miller-Mize Precast, a concrete products manufacturer owned since 2008 by Carter and his brother, David -- has never regretted his decision not to yield to the temptation of a professional golf career.

His golf successes included four consecutive state high school golf titles as a member of the Hardaway High team (1977-80). The team was so talented that its six-deep field of players each landed scholarships at major colleges and universities.

Mize headed to Auburn University, where he was a scholarship player for four years, including being named Auburn Player of the Year in 1983.

During his tenure at AU, coach Sonny Dragoin took the talent he and others on the team had and provided them with the opportunity and the resources needed to be successful, Mize said.

"It was interesting to me that, although my love of the game never diminished, as we played collegiately I began to realize that, personally, golf was not going to be my avocation or my career," he said. "I realized that golf was more of a privilege than a right, an entitlement or a job.

"I learned that I could continue to love it, but it would never be the most important thing in my life," Mize said.

"I didn't quit trying to be as good as I could be, or as successful as I could be, but it became less of a grind and more of an enjoyment."

As he walked away after the final round of the NCAA tournament in 1985, he said the thought came to him, "I don't have to do this again if I don't want to."

For about a year, he didn't pick up his clubs to venture onto the familiar turf.

When he did tee it up once again, he discovered to his surprise that his time away from the sport had not been detrimental to his game.

"My performance got better. I was having more fun with it," Mize said. "It was a treat. I couldn't wait to play."

He became an even better competitor, qualifying for the U.S. Amateur in 1986.

But when Mize looks back at what has molded him as a successful amateur golfer, and as a businessman, he points with pride to his mother, Joan.

When his father, George W. Mize, died at the age of 40, Carter was one of four boys ages 2 to 12 for whom Joan Mize undertook to provide a good home and future, he said.

"She educated all four of us," he said. "She's our hero."

When it came to golf, there was one man who stands out in Mize's history as an exceptional influence on his game and his growth as a successful amateur golfer.

"Charlie Harper," Mize said, referring to the longtime professional at Columbus Country Club. "I miss him every day. He was like a father and was a tremendous influence on my life. After my dad died, he was the figure I came into contact with the most. He sacrificed so much of his time for me," he said.

Without the family resources to pay for golf lessons, Mize said he would go on his own to the driving range, only to have Harper "walk up and just stay" as he practiced. He'd give tips and guidance on the golf swing, but also gave advice on "understanding what's important and what's not important."

"There were plenty of Mondays -- his day off -- that he would throw me and some other kids into the car and take us around the state to play in competitions," Mize said. "When he went to pro-am events, he would fill his three amateur spots with junior players.

"I could never thank him enough for what he did for me and other young players. He was an amazing guy."

His Hardaway High School golf coach, Larry Gaither -- already a Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame member -- also helped hone the competitive instinct that has been so much a characteristic of Mize's amateur successes.

"He took us beyond the traditional 9-hole matches with other Columbus area high schools," Mize recalled. "He took us out to major Southeastern tournaments in South Carolina, in Marietta and other places. He exposed us to competition as good as it could possibly be in this part of the country.

"He helped me love this game even more - and I'm better because of it."

Fred Miller, who sold his company to Mize and his brother in 2008, also saw first-hand the rise of Carter Mize from teenager to a Hall of Fame golfer. Miller's son, Mike, was a contemporary of Carter's and a member of that vaunted Hardaway team.

"As a golfer, Carter worked hard at his game," Miller recalled. "He was a very competitive person on the golf course but had a great personality. He played with the very elite golfers in the state of Georgia -- and he could play on the same level with any of them."

-- Jim Houston is an independent correspondent. You can write to him at sports@ledger-enquirer.com

This story was originally published February 15, 2015 at 10:59 PM with the headline "Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame: Carter Mize excels at the game he loves."