Back to Main Page When plans for a professional golfing career were derailed by injury, country songwriter Jake Owen picked up a guitar and never looked back. A native of Vero Beach, Florida, Jake and his fraternal twin, Jarrod, grew up in the Florida sun playing sports like baseball and football before Jake turned to golf and Jarrod to tennis. They continued their respective sports together as students at Florida State University, until a waterskiing accident resulted in reconstructive surgery for Jake. Off the golf team and struggling with depression, he borrowed a neighbor's guitar and passed time teaching himself to play by listening to childhood favorites like Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Vern Gosdin, and Keith Whitley.