I had the pleasure today of visiting Uly Grisette and his wife – Tonya – in their beautiful home overlooking one of Bermuda Run’s most scenic holes. Tonya is a teacher at Ellis Elementary and Uly is in the IT business.  They have two adult children, Ulysses IV and Athena.  Ulysses IV is a Citadel grad and Athena graduated from East Carolina.

 

Uly was inducted into the Davie High Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018, a well-deserved honor.

 

 Uly’s connection to Bermuda Run began when Uly’s family moved there in1973.  He had several friends with whom he played golf, tennis, basketball, football and swam, but when it came to golf, Uly was something special. He could hit the ball 40-50 yards as a child… He said, ”I knew I had the skill.  I had ability at an early age.”

 

Uly was also a good basketball player, a self-described “sneaky” point guard and may have been the only player to ever have made an eight-point play.  He made a shot, and the opposing coach got three technical fouls, Uly made all six penalty shots to complete his eight-point play.

 

In high school Uly’s golf game continued to improve.  There were multiple all-conference honors and a North Piedmont Conference Player of the Year award.  He received scholarship orders from N.C. State, Virginia Tech and many other small schools.  He chose to attend N.C. State where one of his high school teammates – Jeffrey Lankford – was playing well.  Uly made the starting lineup as a freshman.  While at State he was named an Academic All-American twice.

 

Uly soon followed Lankford’s success; he won the North Carolina Amateur Championship at Mimosa Hills. He went on to finish second in the North & South Amateur in 1987 and won the event on Pinehurst #2 in 1988, joining past champions like Jack Nicklaus, Curtis Strange, Corey Pavin and Davis Love III.

 

After college Uly turned pro.  He was a member of the European PGA Tour and the Nike Tour.   He said, “People you never heard of can beat you every day. It was a great experience.  I chased it pretty hard for six years.”  Uly played in five PGA Tour events; he tied for 15th in the Chattanooga Classic and had his best round as a pro – 63 – in Branson, MO.   After breaking his wrist, he quit playing for a while.  In a few years he got his amateur status back and began to play competitive amateur golf.

 

Uly’s return to amateur golf made things tough for other golfers.  He won the N.C. Mid-Amateur title in 2008 and again in 2010.  He is one of only a handful of golfers to win the Forsyth Invitational three times.