The grand slam

When Bobby Jones won all four majors in 1930, the sports world searched for ways to capture the magnitude of his accomplishment. The Atlanta Journal’s O.B. Keeler dubbed it the “Grand Slam,” borrowing a bridge term. George Trevor of the New York Sun wrote that Jones had “stormed the impregnable quadrilateral of golf.” Keeler would later write: This victory, the fourth major title in the same season and in the space of four months, had now and for all time entrenched Bobby Jones safely within the “Impregnable Quadrilateral of Golf”, that granite fortress that he alone could take by escalade, and that others may attack in vain, forever.

Keeler was prescient: No golfer has since equaled this achievement.

“In my mind today the accomplishment of the Grand Slam assumes more importance as an example of the value of perseverance in the abstract than as a monument to skill in the playing of a game. I am certain that in those moments when the success of the project was most in doubt, the decisive factor in each case had been my ability, summoned from somewhere, to keep control of myself and to keep trying as hard as I could, even when there was no clear indication of the direction in which hope of victory might lie.”

– Bobby Jones, Golf is My Game

By the time the U.S. Amateur began, the entire country was caught up in the drama. The pressure on Jones was immense as he returned to a familiar course just outside Philadelphia. Jones’ career came full circle at the Merion Cricket Club, the site where he had played in his first national tournament at the age of 14 and had also won his first U.S. Amateur in 1924. When Jones returned in 1930, he was back for his last attempt at a national title and the conclusion of the Grand Slam.

Once play began at Merion, it became apparent that Bobby Jones was focused on the task at hand and simply would not be denied. He began by winning the medal with rounds of 69 and 73, equaling the 36–hole course record. From that point on he was never down to an opponent in any match and was never in any serious danger of being beaten. Jones won his first two 18–hole matches 5 and 4. In the 36–hole matches, which he personally preferred, he defeated Fay Coleman 6 and 5, and Jess Sweetser 9 and 8.

Jones’ opponent in the finals, Gene Homans, played poorly the first 18 holes and Jones himself struggled on the front nine. But after a 33 on the back, Jones went into the clubhouse leading by seven. Back on the course, Jones hit two perfect shots on the 11th hole, leaving himself with a ten–inch putt. Homans faced an 18–foot putt to keep the match alive. Before his ball stopped rolling, Homans walked over to Jones, shook his hand, and conceded the match. Jones never putted.

“The most triumphant journey that any man ever travelled in sport.”

The largest gallery in USGA history––some 18,000 strong––erupted instantly, storming the green in an effort to get close to the greatest champion golf had ever seen. Although the clubhouse was just six hundred yards away, it took a cordon of fifty marines to escort Jones that short distance. The New York Times would call it, “the most triumphant journey that any man ever traveled in sport.”

Bobby Jones had accomplished a feat that had seemed unthinkable, unimaginable, and which has never again been duplicated––he had captured the Open and Amateur Championships of the United States and Great Britain all in the same year.

– William Richardson in the New York Times, describing Bobby Jones’ marine–escorted walk to the Merion clubhouse after winning the Grand Slam.