Tribute - Bobby Jones The Golf Legend Lives On

Bobby Jones - a Golf Legend Lives On

A very old time golfer but relevant even today - Bobby Jones, was born Robert Tyre Jones, Jr. (March 17, 1902 – December 18, 1971)in Atlanta, Georgia. As a child he fought for his health and his doctor prescribed golf for his health. His father was the corporate attorney for Coca Cola and made many business connections on the golf course that helped in his professional legal career.

Bobby Jones - Golf Inventor Instructor Entrepreneur

Bobby Jones would create 18 videos on golf instruction. He went on to work with A.G. Spalding & Co. to developed the very first set of matched clubs - back in the 1930's!

Bobby Jones went on to become a professional golfer stating that he simply loved the game. He earned his living mainly as an attorney the records say, however, the instructional videos and the invention of the first set of clubs must have overshadowed even his attorney pay. He choose to retire at the young age of 28 but look at the championships Bobby Jones has to his name:

Bobby Jones - Golf Championships

• Masters Tournament - 13 wins to his name

• U. S. Open - won 1923,1926, 1926 ,1930

• The Open Championship 1926, 1927, 1930

• British Amateur - won 1930

Career - Education

• B.S. Mechanical Engineering Georgia Tech 1922
• B.A. in English Literature Harvard College 1924
• Passed the Georgia bar exam
• Served in the U.S. Air Forces reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonial
• Co-designed Peach Tree Golf Course with Robert Trent Jones

Golf Innovations

• Founder and Co-chair of the Masters Tournament with Clifford Roberts, first played March 1934 in Augusta, Georgia
  
• Innovation of gallery ropes to control the flow of the crowds first used in the Masters
  
• Innovation of scoreboards around the course first used in the Masters
  
• Innovation of red/green to denote under / over par scores first used in the Masters
• Co-designed Augusta National course with Alister MacKenzie
  

Bobby Jones Facts - "His Passion Made Him a Legend"

Bobby Jones remains the only golfer ever to win all four major championships in the same year, the famous “Grand Slam of Golf”. As an amateur golfer not a professional, he was not eligible for the PGA.

Golf Legend - Character of the Man - Bobby Jones

In short, you don't know golf unless you understand the innovations that Bobby Jones brought to the game. His championship record alone is the stuff of legends, but the real story is the character of the man. For those details, you must watch the movie 2004 Stroke of Genius. A beautiful and inspiring and real story of a golf legend, a true American hero.

©  2010 Gma Goldie