Short was born, raised and has lived his entire life in Austin, Texas. He attended the University of Texas. He is married to Gail Elizabeth Hardy. They have one daughter together, Elizabeth Ann Short.
Short became a professional golfer in 1987. He worked as a club pro in the Austin area before becoming a touring pro in 1997. He started out on the mini-tours and eventually qualified for the Nationwide Tour for the 1998 season. He was a member of the Nationwide Tour again in 2002–03. His best finish on the Nationwide Tour was a T-2 at The Reese's Cup Classic in 2003.
Short finally earned the opportunity to play on the PGA Tour in 2004 as a 40-year-old rookie. His only PGA Tour win came in 2005 at the Michelin Championship at Las Vegas, when he defeated Jim Furyk at the second hole in a sudden-death playoff. At the beginning of the week, Short had been fourth alternate to get into the field.[2] Lingering back problems kept Short from competing for three years and he attempted to restart his PGA Tour career in 2013. Short made the cut at the 2013 Shell Houston Open, his first on the PGA since 2007. Short was unable to satisfy his medical extension, making five cuts in fifteen events.
Short earned medalist honors at the 2013 Champions Tour qualifying school. He earned his first Champions Tour win at the 2014 Quebec Championship.
In 2016, Short qualified for his first U.S. Open.[3]
