Background

Robert Tyre Jones, Jr., named for his grandfather, was born on March 17, 1902, in the Grant Park neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. He was the second son of Robert Purmedus Jones, an attorney who had played baseball at the University of Georgia, and Clara Merrick (Thomas) Jones.

Education

Jones was raised in Atlanta, where he excelled in school. Following a successful career at Tech High School, where he graduated in 1918, Jones enrolled at the Georgia School of Technology (now Georgia Institute of Technology). In 1922, he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. Jones then attended Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in English literature in 1924. After working for two years in real estate, Jones entered Emory University's law program in Atlanta. In his third semester, he took the bar exam and passed.

Jones may have been the most intellectually well-rounded athlete ever, but despite all of his academic achievements, his primary arena was competitive golf. Although he was not born into a wealthy family, Jones had a relatively privileged upbringing, which was made possible by the social standing of his grandfather Robert Tyre Jones. That man's lasting influence meant his grandson and namesake was allowed access to the Atlanta Athletic Club (AAC) and its exclusive East Lake Country Club golf course. Jones was a sickly toddler and, from the age of five, he was taken each summer to East Lake in the hope that fresh air and exercise would help him to gain strength. From the beginning, he was fascinated with the sport of golf and learned to play on the country club's course.

By the time he was nine, "Little Bob" was competing in local junior tournaments, even winning the 1911 AAC Junior Championship by defeating a sixteen-year-old opponent in the final match. Spurred on by the AAC's other talented youngsters, such as Perry Adair and Alexa Stirling, Jones continued to develop his competitive skill.

Jones's father determined his fourteen-year-old son was ready to taste national competition. In the fall of 1916, an overconfident Bobby Jones traveled to Philadelphia's Merion Cricket Club, the site of the U.S. Amateur Championship. After an exciting performance in the medal-qualifying rounds, Jones defeated the 1906 champion in the first round and the reigning Pennsylvania state champion in the second round. Those victories set up a third-round match with the defending national champion, Robert Gardner. Jones fought hard but eventually succumbed to Gardner's experience. Still, until he was eliminated, Jones was the biggest story of the week. Within a few days, he gained international fame and became the nation's number-one golf prodigy.

Career

The 1916 United States Amateur Championship began a fifteen-year golf career for Jones. Although he failed to win a major tournament, the first seven years of Jones's competitive record were not too lean. From 1916 to 1922, Jones steadily gained experience, physical strength, and emotional maturity. He particularly needed the latter, having developed a reputation as a club-throwing hothead. In 1919, he was the runner-up in the national amateur. Jones entered his first United States Open in 1920, finishing a solid eighth, and within two years, he had improved to runner-up in that event.

By 1923, Jones was ready to break through. He finally won his first major title, claiming the United States Open in an exciting play-off with Bobby Cruickshank. This major victory was the first of thirteen overall; Jones won four United States Opens (1923, 1926, 1929, 1930), five U.S. Amateurs (1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1930), three British Opens (1926, 1927, 1930), and one British Amateur (1930). Jones also played on the first United States Walker Cup teams, serving as the captain in 1928 and 1930. Having accomplished the unprecedented feat of winning the Grand Slam - all four major crowns in one season - Jones retired from competitive golf late in 1930.

The 1930 Grand Slam win was often heralded as Jones's finest achievement, but his career United States Open record was equally impressive. In eleven starts between 1920 and 1930, Jones compiled four wins and four runners-up, losing twice in a play-off; he finished out of the top ten only once (eleventh in 1927). For a decade, Jones dominated the world's toughest medal tournament. Following the 1926 season, in which he won both the United States and British Opens, Jones was unquestionably the world's number-one golfer, a designation he held until his retirement.

After retirement, Jones concentrated on his Atlanta law practice. He also traded on his spotless image and unprecedented golf record in a handful of commercial projects. The day he retired, Jones also revealed that he had signed a motion-picture contract with Warner Brothers to star in a series of golf instructional shorts entitled How I Play Golf (1931). They were so successful that Warner Brothers exercised its option to have Jones do another series, How to Break Ninety (1933). The movie deal brought Jones an estimated $250,000. Beyond that, Jones signed with A. G. Spalding and Brothers to design a new line of golf equipment bearing his name. Finally, Jones pursued a lifelong dream of building his own golf course. Joining forces with the New York financier Clifford Roberts and the renowned architect Alister MacKenzie, Jones created the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. In 1934, Jones and Roberts organized the Augusta National Invitational, soon renamed the Masters Tournament.

The years of the Great Depression were probably the best of Jones's life. Out of the limelight, he had more time to spend with his wife and three children, while reaping the benefits of his golf career. Although he was past the draft age when World War II erupted, Jones felt a duty to serve his country. Stationed by the United States Army in Europe in 1942, he worked as an intelligence officer, first helping to plan the invasion of Normandy and then taking part in it himself, landing in France on D-Day plus two. By the time he was discharged late in 1944, Jones had been promoted from captain to lieutenant colonel.

In 1948, Jones was diagnosed with the rare, congenital spinal disorder syringomyelia. He played his last round of golf that year and soon went from walking with crutches to sitting in a wheelchair. It was a cruel fate for anyone, much less a former top athlete. Yet Jones remained as active as possible throughout the next two decades. He also watched as Eisenhower, Roberts, and the exploits of Arnold Palmer helped to make his Masters Tournament a "major" event, the fourth leg of a modern professional Grand Slam.

Jones authored hundreds of articles and instructional works. His two autobiographies are Down the Fairway (1927) and Golf Is My Game (1960).

Achievements

• 

  Bobby Jones is widely regarded as the greatest golfer of all time. In 1930, he achieved the golfing "Grand Slam." He won the United States Amateur five times (1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, and 1930), the United States Open four times (1923, 1926, 1929, and 1930), the British Open three times (1926, 1927, and 1930; he was the first amateur to win), and the British Amateur in 1930. In five Walker Cup tournaments between the United States and British amateur teams, he won 9 of 10 matches. In 1958, he became the first American since Benjamin Franklin (in 1759) to receive the freedom of the burgh of St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, home of the premier golf club of the world.
  
  Jones was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, Georgia Tech Athletic Hall of Fame, and Georgia Tech Engineering Hall of Fame. He was also a recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award.
  
  It's also worth mentioning, that Jones helped design Augusta National Golf Club and co-founded the Masters Tournament.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Bobby Jones on Golf

    (Bobby Jones on Golf is a distillation of all that he lear...)

    1966
  • Down the Fairway

    (Originally published in 1927, Bobby Jones's Down the Fair...)

    1927
  • Rights and Wrongs of Golf 1933
  • Golf Is My Game 1959
  • Bobby Jones on the Basic Golf Swing 1968

Religion

Three days before his death, Bobby converted to Catholicism. He was baptized on his deathbed by Monsignor John D. Stapleton, rector of the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta.

Politics

Jones campaigned for Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1952 and 1956 presidential campaigns, developing a deep friendship with the general.

Views

Quotations: "If I had ever been set down in any one place and told I was to play there, and nowhere else, for the rest of my life, I should have chosen the Old Course at St. Andrews."

"Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course... the space between your ears."

"I get as much fun as the next man from whaling the ball as hard as I can and catching it squarely on the button. But from sad experience I learned not to try this in a round that meant anything."

"The toughest opponent of all is Old Man Par. He's a patient soul who never shoots a birdie and never incurs a bogey. And if you would travel the long road with him, you must be patient, too."

"The best exercise for golfers is golfing."

"Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots; you get good breaks from bad shots - but you have to play the ball where it lies."

"Golf is the only game I know of that actually becomes harder the longer you play it."

"The difference between a sand trap and water hazard is the difference between a car crash and an airplane crash. You have a chance of recovering from a car crash."

"The secret of golf is to turn three shots into two."

"Golf is assuredly a mystifying game. It would seem that if a person has hit a golf ball correctly a thousand times, he should be able to duplicate the performance at will. But such is certainly not the case."

"You swing your best when you have the fewest things to think about."

"No one will ever have golf under his thumb. No round ever will be so good it could not have been better. Perhaps this is why golf is the greatest of games. You are not playing a human adversary; you playing a game. You are playing old man par."

"The moment the average golfer attempts to play from long grass or a bunker or from a difficult lie of any kind, he becomes a digger instead of a swinger."

"Nobody has ever swung a club too slowly."

"Many shots are spoiled at the last instant by efforts to add a few more yards."

"A leading difficulty with the average player is that he totally misunderstands what is meant by concentration. He may think he is concentrating hard when he is merely worrying."

"It is nevertheless a game of considerable passion, either of the explosive type or that which burns inwardly and sears the soul."

"One reason golf is such an exasperating game is that a thing we learned is so easily forgotten, and we find ourselves struggling year after year with faults we had discovered and corrected time and again."

"In order to win, you must play your best golf when you need it most, and play your sloppy stuff when you can afford it. I shall not attempt to explain how you achieve this happy timing."

"I never learned anything from a match that I won."

"Nobody ever wins the National Open. Somebody loses it."

"I always like to see a person stand up to a golf ball as though he were perfectly at home in its presence."

"It is nothing new or original to say that golf is played one stroke at a time. But it took me many years to realize it."

"You might as well praise a man for not robbing a bank as to praise him for playing by the rules."

"Rhythm and timing are the two things which we all must have, yet no one knows how to teach either."

"Golf is like eating peanuts. You can play too much or play too little."

"Golf is recognized as one of the more difficult games to play or teach. One reason for this is that each person necessarily plays by feel, and a feel is almost impossible to describe."

"The main idea in golf as in life, I suppose is to learn to accept what cannot be altered and to keep on doing one's own reasoned and resolute best whether the prospect be bleak or rosy."

"Well, I'm glad we don't have to play in the shade."

"I have never felt so lonely as on a golf course in the midst of a championship with thousands of people around, especially when things began to go wrong and the crowds started wandering away."

"There isn't a hole out there [Augusta] that can't be birdied if you just think. But there isn't one that can't be double-bogeyed if you stop thinking."

"Some emotions cannot be endured with a golf club in your hands."

"Addressing a golf ball would seem to be a simple matter; that is, to the uninitiated who cannot appreciate that a golf ball can hold more terrors than a spacious auditorium packed with people."

"Golf is said to be a humbling game, but it is surprising how many people are either not aware of their weaknesses or else reckless of consequences."

"If I needed advice from my caddie, he'd be hitting the shots and I'd be carrying the bag."

"Too much ambition is a bad thing to have in a bunker."

Membership

Jones was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, Owl Club and Phi Delta Phi.

Personality

Jones had a clean-cut, boyish manner that made him the favorite of golfing fans. He did not like to practice golf and played on average about eighty rounds a year.

Obviously gifted, Jones had superb timing and a long, powerful stroke. He wasted no time on the golf course and averaged about three seconds to address and strike the ball. He played with a set of clubs that were mismatched but chosen for their perfect feel. Jones named his favorite putter Calamity Jane.

Although his record-breaking scores indicated he could be a successful pro golfer, he remained an amateur, probably believing that his nervous temperament made him ill-suited to turning professional. In his youth, Jones had a fiery temper and was known to throw golf clubs when he was dissatisfied with a shot. It is said that he became extremely stressed before and during a competition, sometimes to the point of vomiting, and lost as much as eighteen pounds during a tournament.

Once Jones learned to control his temper, he always appeared calm and focused on the golf course. Considerate of opponents and spectators, he earned a reputation for being the consummate gentleman. He was also a very private and extremely modest person.

Good looking and well educated, Bobby Jones was the personification of the all-American boy.

Physical Characteristics: Bobby Jones was 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) tall and weighed 165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st).

In 1948, Jones was diagnosed with syringomyelia, a fluid-filled cavity in the spinal cord that causes crippling pain, then paralysis. In his last years, he was restricted to a wheelchair.

Quotes from others about the person

• Herbert Warren Wind: "In the opinion of many people, of all the great athletes, Jones came the closest to being what we called a great man."

Interests

• movies

• Sport & Clubs

  golf

• Athletes

  Stewart Maiden

Connections

In 1924, Jones married Mary Rice Malone, whom he met in 1919. They had three children - Clara Malone, Robert Tyre III, and Mary Ellen.

Father:

Robert Purmedus Jones

(1879 -1956)

Mother:

Clara Merrick Jones

(1880 - 1961)

Spouse:

Mary Rice Malone

(July 24, 1902 - May 23, 1975)

Daughter:

Clara Malone

(April 18, 1925 - February 10, 1994)

Son:

Robert Tyre Jones III

(November 30, 1926 - December 20, 1973)

Daughter:

Mary Ellen Jones

(born 1931)

Friend:

Clifford Roberts

(March 6, 1894 - September 29, 1977)

Clifford Roberts was an American investment dealer and golf administrator.

References

• Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius Jim Caviezel stars in the riveting, true story of inspirational golf icon Bobby Jones, who through his intense passion for the game, rose from obscurity to become one of sport's all-time greatest legends.
  2004
• The Grand Slam: Bobby Jones, America, and the Story of Golf In the tradition of The Greatest Game Ever Played, The Grand Slam blends social history with sports biography, captivating the imagination and engaging the reader. The Grand Slam is a biography not to be missed.
  2004
• A Golf Story: Bobby Jones, Augusta National, and the Masters Tournament Soon after its original publication in 1986, A Golf Story was heralded as one of the classics of golf literature. It is a book that intertwines three immortal subjects - Bobby Jones, Augusta National, and the Masters Tournament - into one compelling narrative.
  1986
• The Legend of Bagger Vance A disillusioned war veteran, Capt. Rannulph Junah (Matt Damon), reluctantly agrees to play a game of golf. He finds the game futile until his caddy, Bagger Vance (Will Smith), teaches him the secret of the authentic golf stroke which turns out also to be the secret to mastering any challenge and finding meaning in life.
  2000
• The Greatest of Them All: The Legend of Bobby Jones With more than 275 original photographs, this collection of essays includes a foreword by the late Alistair Cooke and contributions from Pulitzer Prize-winner Dave Anderson, Ben Crenshaw, Peter Dobereiner, Nick Seitz, and Larry Dorman.
  1996
• Making the Masters: Bobby Jones and the Birth of America's Greatest Golf Tournament Contested the second weekend in April each year since 1934, the Masters is the world's most prestigious golf tournament and most-watched tournament on television. Tickets are in such demand that even the waiting list is closed, and players value the title above all others. In Making the Masters, award-winning golf writer David Barrett focuses his attention on how the Masters was conceived, how it got off the ground in 1934, and how it fully established itself in 1935.
  2012