Love attended high school in Brunswick, Georgia, and graduated from its Glynn Academy in 1982. He played college golf at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he was a three-time All-American and all-Atlantic Coast Conference. He won six titles during his collegiate career, including the ACC tournament championship as a sophomore in 1984.

Love turned professional in 1985, earning his PGA Tour card in the autumn of 1985, on his first attempt. He quickly established himself on the PGA Tour, winning his first tour event in 1987 at the MCI Heritage Golf Classic, at Harbour Town Golf Links. He would later win this event four more times, setting a record for the most victories in the tournament. Love and Fred Couples won four straight times from 1992 to 1995 for the United States in the World Cup of Golf, a record for this event.

Love was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Davis Love Jr. and his wife, Helen, a day after his father competed in the final round at the 1964 Masters Tournament. His father, who was a former pro and nationally recognized golf instructor, introduced him to the game. His mother is also an avid low-handicap golfer. His father was killed in a 1988 plane crash.

In 1994, Love founded Love Golf Design, a golf course architecture company, with his younger brother and caddie, Mark Love. The company has been responsible for the design of several courses throughout the southeast United States. Completed in 1997, Ocean Creek is his first signature course and is located on Fripp Island, South Carolina. Love also designed the Dunes course at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, which is ranked among Golf Magazine’s Top 100 courses in the world.

In 1997, Love published the book Every Shot I Take, which honors his father’s lessons on life and golf, and it received the United States Golf Association’s International Book Award. That year, he developed and designed his own golf course in Harnett County, North Carolina. The course, Anderson Creek Club, won an award for “Best New Course in North Carolina” in 2001. He and his wife Robin have two children.

On November 9, 2008, Love earned his 20th PGA Tour win at the Children’s Miracle Network Classic, which gave him a lifetime exemption on Tour.

In 2012, Love captained the U.S. Team that lost the 2012 Ryder Cup.

After failing to qualify for the FedEx Cup in 2014, Love made his Champions Tour debut at the Pacific Links Hawaii Championship.

His victory in the 2015 Wyndham Championship—at age 51—made him the third oldest winner in PGA Tour history, trailing only Sam Snead and Art Wall Jr. The win made Love the oldest PGA Tour winner in the PGA Tour Champions era (since 1980). It also brought Love into select company in another PGA Tour distinction: he became only the third player to win on the tour in four different decades, joining Snead and Raymond Floyd.

Love is the tournament host of the RSM Classic. In 2015, son Davis IV (better known as Dru) earned a sponsor exemption into the event, but missed the cut.

In 2016, Love captained the winning U.S. Team at the 2016 Ryder Cup.

On December 16, 2018, Love and his son Dru won the Father/Son Challenge at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.

For the 2020 PGA Tour season, Love joined CBS as a full time analyst.

On March 27, 2020, Love’s home in St. Simons Island, Georgia, was destroyed in a fire. Love and his wife escaped without injury.