Named for his paternal grandfather,
Bobby Jones was born Robert Tyre Jones Jr. on St. Patrick's Day, March 17,
1902 in Atlanta, Georgia. The only son of Colonel Robert P. Jones, a prominent
Atlanta lawyer, he was such a sickly child that he was unable to eat solid
food until he was five years old. When he was six years old, his family moved
to a summer home near the East Lake Country Club where young Bobby grew stronger
and began playing sports, particularly baseball and golf.
It was at this young age that Jones developed a love for golf, showing unusual
natural ability from the beginning. His first golf club was a cut-down cleek,
an early version of a one-iron, given to him by a neighbor. Although he started
playing at such a young age, Jones never had any formal lessons. Instead,
he learned the golf swing by mimicking East Lake's Scottish professional,
Stewart Maiden. Following Maiden around the course during 18-hole rounds with
club members, Jones developed the natural, fluid swing that would become his
trademark. Encouraged by his father to try competitive golf, Jones immediately displayed
skill beyond his years. At age six, he won his first tournament against
three other children at East Lake. At nine, he won the Atlanta Athletic
Club junior title, defeating a 16-year-old opponent. When he was 13, he
won an invitational tournament in Birmingham, Alabama. As a pudgy 14-year-old,
Jones won the East Lake Invitational and the Georgia Amateur, defeating
his good friend Perry Adair in the 36-hole final. Adair's father had already
made plans to take his son to the 1916 U.S. Amateur to be held at the Merion
Cricket Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. With the Jones family's permission,
he took Bobby along too, making him the youngest player ever to qualify
for and play in a U.S. Amateur Championship. Although he didn't win, Jones
stunned 1906 U.S. Amateur champion Eben Byers and Pennsylvania Amateur champion
Frank Dyer before losing in the third round to defending champion Bob Gardner.
The "new kid from Dixie" had become an overnight sensation. Unfortunately, Jones' rapid rise to stardom and the public expectations
that came with it would initially prove to be more of a burden than a blessing.
The public placed tremendous pressure on Jones to win-a pressure he would
have to live with throughout his playing days. But, even though he played
with as much skill as any man, the young Jones was still a boy who would
first have to conquer himself before turning his efforts on the golfing
world. Jones was an inwardly driven perfectionist and placed tremendous
pressure on himself, often losing up to fifteen pounds during a tournament
as a result of the stress. He also struggled early on with a volatile temper.
Legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice once said Jones had the "face of an
angel and the temper of a timber wolf." It was this reputation that brought
Jones to perhaps his lowest point as a player, during the 1921 British Open
at the Old Course in St. Andrews.
Bobby Jones made his first visit to Great Britain in 1921 at the age of 19.
He traveled as part of an informal team of Americans who would compete against
their British counterparts in what would become the Walker Cup matches the
following year. The trip also gave the Americans a chance to participate in
the two British major tournaments-the Amateur and Open Championships. After
losing in the fourth round of the British Amateur at Royal Liverpool, Jones
came to St. Andrews where he initially disliked the Old Course. Despite not
playing particularly well, Jones led all amateurs after the first two rounds.
But, in the third round he covered the first nine holes in a dismal 46 shots.
At the par-four 10th, he took a double bogey six. Then, on the par-three 11th
hole, he hit his ball into Strath bunker and eventually picked it up without
completing the hole. Jones would withdraw from the tournament and forever
view the event as his "most inglorious failure" in golf. The British press
was openly critical of Jones' conduct at St. Andrews, yet this seemingly bitter
disappointment would ultimately prove to be a significant turning point for
a young Bobby Jones on his way to becoming the greatest champion golf had
ever seen. O.B. Keeler, an Atlanta newspaperman and close personal friend, traveled
with Jones to tournaments and covered his career from start to finish. He
would later describe Jones' career in two parts, "The Seven Lean Years and
The Seven Fat Years." From 1916 until 1923 Jones failed to win a major championship,
losing in 10 straight before recording his first win. Following his disappointing
showing at St. Andrews, while traveling to the 1921 U.S. Open later that
year, Jones confided in Keeler, "I wonder if I'll ever win a championship?"
Keeler responded, "Bobby, if you ever get it through your head that whenever
you step out on the first tee of any competition, you are the best golfer
in it, then you'll win this championship and a lot of others." Over the next two years, Jones continued to mature both personally and
as a player, developing the character he would need to win his first championship.
In the 1923 U.S. Open at Inwood Country Club in New York, Jones had a three
shot lead going into the final 18 holes. However, his lead vanished when
he ended his round bogey-bogey-double bogey. Leaving the 18th green, Jones
remarked disgustedly, "I didn't finish like a champion…I finished like a
yellow dog." When Bobby Cruickshank made birdie on the last hole to tie,
Jones found himself needing to win an 18-hole playoff to secure his first
championship. The next day, Jones and Cruickshank played the first 17 holes
all-square. On the 18th, Jones hit his drive about 200 yards from the green
in the right rough. Calmly executing what would prove to be one of the finest
shots of his career, Jones drilled a two-iron to within eight feet of the
pin. Bobby Jones had finally won his first major championship. His victory at Inwood opened the floodgates. Between 1923 and 1930, Jones
dominated the game of golf, winning at least one national championship every
year and 13 of 21 major championships he entered. He was so completely dominant
during that period that his two primary rivals-Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen-never
won any U.S. or British Open in which Jones played. In 1926, Jones became
the only amateur to win both the U.S. and British Open championships in
the same year, receiving a ticker tape parade down Broadway in New York
City. In 1927, he returned to St. Andrews to defend his Open title and in
the process erased the bitter disappointment he had suffered six years earlier.
Declaring that the trophy would remain in St. Andrews if he should win,
Jones endeared himself to the people of St. Andrews, forming a kindred spirit
with the birthplace of golf that would flourish for all time. In 1930, Jones accomplished the unthinkable by winning the U.S. and British
Open and Amateur Championships all in the same year. This tremendous feat,
later dubbed the Grand Slam-a term borrowed from the card game bridge-has
never been accomplished before or since. Fourteen years later, the Associated
Press would call Jones' accomplishment the all-time achievement in sports
history. Most of those who followed the game of golf assumed Jones would turn professional
and continue to win championships for years to come. Having already dominated
both professionals and amateurs, there seemed to be no limit to the number
of tournaments Jones would win. But, just over a month after winning the
Grand Slam, Bobby Jones shocked the world by retiring from golf at the age
of 28. Amazingly, Jones amassed his incredible record while playing no more frequently
than the average weekend golfer-about 80 rounds per year. He typically spent
no more than three months out of the year traveling to, and playing in,
tournaments. Consequently, he played almost exclusively in national championships,
viewing mere tournaments as a sideline used only as a tune-up for the majors
after a long lay-off. Although Jones would never again play in a national
championship, he continued to leave his indelible mark on the game through
other endeavors. In retirement, Jones continued to demonstrate his wide range of talents
and interests. Having already contributed immeasurably to the game as a
player, he proved himself to be equally impressive as a teacher, writer
and golf course designer. In 1931, Jones began working on 12 short, educational
golf films for Warner Brothers entitled "How I Play Golf." Hollywood stars
like W.C. Fields clamored to participate in the project. O.B. Keeler wrote
the scripts, which generally consisted of a loose story line with instruction
from Jones mixed in somewhere along the way. Entertaining and insightful,
the films are still considered classics today. Jones also assisted A.G. Spalding & Co. in designing the first set of matched
golf clubs. As a player, Jones had always worked closely with club makers
in the design of his own clubs. He worked with Spalding to create a set
of clubs that would have the superior feel of hand-crafted Scottish clubs,
but could be mass produced in the U.S. and sold as sets. After rejecting
over 200 different clubs, Jones finally arrived at a set that satisfied
him. The clubs were made with steel shafts-a design that was quickly replacing
the hickory shafts Jones had used. Each club was also given a number instead
of the old Scottish names used up until that time, an innovation that quickly
became the industry standard and remains in place today. The clubs appeared
in 1932 bearing Jones' name and sold steadily for over 40 years. Perhaps Bobby Jones' greatest legacy to the game of golf was his design
of Augusta National. Still considered one of the finest golf courses in
the world, Augusta opened in 1933 and is home to the Masters, one of the
four major tournaments played today. In 1942, at the age of 40, Jones was commissioned a captain in the U.S.
Army Air Corps, intent on doing his part to support the war effort. He later
served as an intelligence officer with the U.S. 9th Air Corps, but his unit
was converted to infantry and landed at Normandy on D-Day plus one. After
spending two days under intense enemy fire, Jones spent several months in
Europe before returning from the war as a Lieutenant Colonel. Later in life,
Jones would speak little about his experiences in the war, scoffing at the
subject in much the same way he scoffed when people wanted to speak about
his exploits in golf. In 1948, Jones would come face to face with the greatest challenge of his
life. Suffering from severe back and neck pain, tests showed he had bone
growths on three cervical vertebrae. Eventually, he was diagnosed with syringomyelia,
a rare and degenerative disease of the central nervous system. Paralysis
first required Jones to use a cane, then leg braces, and finally a wheelchair.
At first glance, Jones' fate might appear a cruel irony as the author of
one of golf's most graceful and powerful swings lived out his days crippled
by a deadly disease. But those who knew him would disagree. While known
primarily for his unmatched skill on the golf course, the true measure of
Bobby Jones was his character. One story passed down through the years has
Jones responding to a question about his disease late in life with the statement,
"We all have to play the ball as it lies." And play it he did, enduring
tremendous pain with stoic bravery for some 22 years. On December 18, 1971, golfers on the Old Course at St. Andrews stopped
play as the flag on the clubhouse in front of the 18th hole was lowered
to half-staff. The legendary Bobby Jones was dead at the age of 69. Just how great was Bobby Jones? "Down the years people have wondered whether
Jones was the greatest of all golfers," British golf writer Pat Ward-Thomas
said of Jones. "Comparison is invidious, for no man can do more than win
and Jones won more often within a given period than anyone else has ever
done. In his time, Jones was supreme, at match and medal play, to a greater
extent than Hogan or Nicklaus have been in theirs." For many, Robert Tyre
Jones Jr. of Atlanta, Georgia was, quite simply, the greatest of them all.
