Bob Jones Southern Sportsman

Southern Sports Legend Bob Jones

“He was Robert Tyre Jones, Jr., a weekend golfer but the best golfer of his time, some people think the best of all time. But he had a grace and charm on and off the course that, curiously, made him the idol of two continents in a very brash time, and that to people who didn’t know a putter from a shovel. His universal appeal was not as a golfer. What then? The word that comes to mind is an extinct word: a gentleman, a combination of goodness and grace, an unwavering courtesy, self-deprecation, and consideration for other people. This fetching combination, allied to his world supremacy in one sport, was what made him a hero in Scotland and England as much as in the Midwest and his native Georgia”, Alistair Cooke in his history ‘America’.

The Sportsman
Bobby Jones was born in Atlanta, Georgia on March 17, 1902 . He took up the game of golf at the historic East Lake Golf Club and was quickly identified as a child prodigy. He burst onto the national scene at the age of 14 when he qualified for the U.S. Amateur at Merion Cricket Club and the stage was set for his short but legendary career.

During The Golden Age of Sports, Bob Jones dominated the game of Golf. He held off Bobby Cruickshank in a playoff to win his first major, the U.S. Open in 1923. From then through 1930 Jones won 13 of 21 major championships he entered. At age 28, already a golfing legend famous not only for his remarkable command of the game, but also for his charisma and grace, Jones retired from competitive golf. It was 1930 and he had captured the U.S. and British Amateurs as well as the U.S. and British Opens, becoming the only golfer to ever claim title to the Grand Slam of golf.

His Game
Bob Jones excelled at every shot and every club with a graceful combination of power, accuracy and touch. One of the most admired traits was his uncanny ability to vary the distance on his shots with relative ease by merely lengthening his backswing. With a relaxed stance that allowed for free hip rotation, each drive always came through with the same fluid motion and tremendous power. Jones used an overlapping grip that he learned from British champion Harry Vardon.

On the green Jones was able to translate the characteristics of his full swing into an unmatched putting stroke. He also adopted his own philosophy of putting. Rather than the conventional “never up, never in” he played his putts to “die” at the hole, saying, “we never know but that the ball which is on line and stops short would have holed out ... but we do know that the ball that ran past did not hole out.” Jones' putts always had a chance of falling in the hole and, when they didn't, rarely came to rest far from it.

The Man
Given his success it is remarkable that Bob Jones was essentially a part-time player. He picked up his clubs only a few months a year, spending the rest of the time first as a student, then as a lawyer and writer. Whatever his pursuits, Jones was driven to be the best.

Academically Jones was prolific. He earned a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech, a BS degree in English Literature from Harvard. He later entered Emory University to pursue a degree in law, passing the bar exam after his first year of school. Off the golf course he designed golf clubs, wrote books, both autobiographical and instructional, made instructional movies, wrote newspaper columns, and spread the gospel of golf over the radio.

The Legacy
Bob Jones’ most enduring gift to the world of Golf is Augusta National Golf Course and The Masters. In 1933 he and Scottish architect Alister Mackenzie designed the course, which incorporated all the components that Jones felt would make a layout strategically perfect. In 1934, he invited some friends to play his creation in a friendly tournament. This intimate get-together became The Masters, Golf’s annual rite of spring. Jones played in his tournament every year until 1947.

Bob Jones’ Championships

U.S. Open
1923, 1926, 1929, and 1930

British Open
1926, 1927, and 1930

U.S. Amateur
1924, 1925, 1927, 1928 and 1930

British Amateur
1930