From Early Promise to Oakmont
Ferrari didn’t even pick up a golf club until age 11. By 14, he had already won his first tournament — shooting 72–69, winning by seven strokes, and recording a hole-in-one along the way. From the start, his competitive drive was obvious. Within just a few years, Ferrari had become one of Northern California’s most promising young players, equal parts competitor and showman.
At Chico State University, though, golf began to fade into the background. Chico was one of the country’s top party schools at the time, and Ferrari quickly got swept up in that world. “It was just one big party,” he recalled on No Laying Up. “That was a whole new world to me.” He eventually quit the golf team altogether — a decision he now admits “just showed my maturity level at the time.”
After leaving college, Ferrari returned home to Stockton and began working for his high school girlfriend’s toy company. He soon bought the business, expanded into arcade and video games, and opened pizza and burrito shops around town. By his late 20s, he was thriving in both business and golf — finishing runner-up in the California State Amateur, Northern California Amateur, and U.S. Mid-Amateur. In 1994, he reached the pinnacle of amateur golf: qualifying for the U.S. Open at Oakmont.
Practice round pairing: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Joey Ferrari.
Palmer was playing his final U.S. Open — in his home state of Pennsylvania.
On the first tee, when Palmer told Ferrari it was his turn to hit, nerves got the best of him. “I picked up my ball and said, ‘I’m gonna go play with Tom Watson,’” he said. “I was too nervous — I thought I was going to kill somebody with my tee shot in front of Arnie and Nicklaus.”
Ferrari even tried to film the week for a pizza commercial — likely one of the first amateur golf “vlogs” — but due to a recording mix-up, none of it was ever captured.
Descent and Redemption
After Oakmont, Ferrari’s life accelerated — and unraveled. His businesses flourished, his golf game peaked, but behind the scenes, pressure and excess began to take their toll. “I was taking meth every day like it was coffee,” he said. “It pulled me out of the hectic world I’d built for myself.”
Even during those years, his talent remained. Representing Northern California at the South American Championship in Peru, he won by seven shots. But at home, his marriage was crumbling, and his partners were stealing from him. “I trusted people and got taken advantage of,” he said. Within two years, he had lost everything — his family, his home, and his businesses.
Homeless and broken, Ferrari lived in a storage unit, riding a bike around Stockton. To survive, he turned to the drug trade — a world he had once refused. “Within eight months, I was doing a million a month in business,” he said. But the fast money came with consequences. Caught in a DEA sting, Ferrari was arrested and sentenced to 12 years in federal prison — just six years after standing on the first tee at Oakmont. “I never recognized the severity of what I was doing,” he said.
In prison, Ferrari suffered a heart attack and briefly flatlined. When he woke up, everything changed. He credits that moment for saving his life — the start of what he calls “Joey 2.0.” He’s now been sober for 25 years.
The Road Back
From 1998 to 2013, Ferrari didn’t play competitive golf at all. But he never lost his connection to the game. “Golf opens up so many doors,” he said. And when he returned, the spark was still there — even if the body had changed.
Three decades after his first NCGA Player of the Year title in 1992, Ferrari climbed back to the top. In 2023, at age 67, he earned the NCGA Super Senior Player of the Year honor, finishing the season with 1,593 points. Along the way, he won the Antioch City Best-Ball, Stockton City Four-Ball, and NCGA Senior Four-Ball, and posted top-three finishes in Sacramento and NCGA championships.
“Hallelujah! It feels so good to finally be a Player of the Year again. The old Joey is back. I am so grateful.”
The season came down to one putt — a six-footer on the 18th hole at Poppy Hills — which gave him a narrow win over close friend and NCGA Hall of Famer Casey Boyns. “I was trying to keep Casey in my sights,” Ferrari said. “While I ended up winning it, I was pulling for Casey. He’s one of my dearest friends.”
After so many years away, the triumph felt like more than a trophy. “I worked hard to get my game back,” he said. “I had something to prove to not only myself, but also my friends and family. It’s so nice to be back on top.”
Full Circle
Now 69, Ferrari still practices every day and has shot his age since 62. He continues to compete locally — including a win at the NCGA Senior Valley Amateur in Stockton — and says he now plays simply for the joy of it. “No one can take that from you,” he said.
After everything, Ferrari’s story stands as a testament to perseverance, perspective, and the healing power of the game.
🏆 Explore Joey Ferrari’s player profile
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