By Carla Paschke

Greatness. This word encapsulates Bobby Jones as a golfer, a scholar and a man. While it was his natural golf ability that first attracted the world to him, it was his character that set him apart from all who went before him and all who have followed.

Born in Atlanta on March 17, 1902, Jones was a sickly child, unable to eat solid food until the age of five. Taking up golf to strengthen his frame, he quickly demonstrated that the game would become more to him than a therapeutic remedy. It was clear Jones had a gift.

At the age of 14, he played in his first championship at the 1916 U.S. Amateur, where he advanced to the third round placing him in the top-10. This would be the first of many championships for Jones, yet it would be seven years before he would capture his first Major.

Photo Courtesy of World Golf Hall of Fame

Before winning the 1923 U.S. Open at Inwood, even Jones had begun to doubt whether he would ever win a Major. However, once he rediscovered his game and himself, Jones was an unstoppable force. With his victory at Inwood began what O.B. Keeler, an Atlanta newspaperman and close personal friend, would later dub “The Seven Lean Years” in which he dominated the golf circuit, winning 13 out of 20 championships. This remains in golf history as one of the most imposing runs of major titles the game has ever seen. Observers cite the key to his success in the game was his ability to play under pressure, scoring well even when he played poorly.

Throughout his career, Jones won the U.S. Open four times, the U.S. Amateur five times, the British Open three times and the British Amateur once. Distinguishing him from all other past champions, though, is that Jones won each in the same year and in doing so accomplished the unthinkable. He remains the only golfer to ever accomplish this feat, now referred to as “The Grand Slam of 1930.” The Associated Press cited Jones’ accomplishment as the all-time achievement in sports history in 1944. Within months of achieving his Grand Slam, Jones retired from the game at the age of 28.

Making Jones’ accomplishments as a player even more remarkable is that he never played competitive golf more than three months in a year at any point in his life. He devoted the remainder of his life to academia. After receiving a degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech in three years, Jones furthered his studies at Harvard University and Emory University. While attending Harvard, he earned a degree in English Literature, and at Emory, he attended law school before withdrawing in his third semester to pass the bar.

Jones’ influence on the game continued even after his retirement as an avid writer and teacher of the game. Jones further solidified his place in the golf world when he founded the Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament in 1934, leaving a legacy of golfing tradition for future generations. Jones emerged from retirement several times to play in the Masters before illness left him unable to play golf.

In 1948, Jones developed syringomyelia, a fluid-filled cavity in the spinal cord. The disease first caused him pain, then loss of feeling and muscle atrophy, confining him to a wheelchair in his later years before his death on Dec. 18, 1971.

Contributing to Jones’ greatness was the strength of character he displayed in all of his endeavors. As a golfer, a scholar, a World War II veteran and a man, Jones acted with immeasurable grace. Herbert Warren Wind wrote of Jones, “As a young man he was able to stand up to just about the best that life can offer, which isn’t easy, and later he stood up with equal grace to just about the worst.” In tribute to his remarkable character, a USGA sportsmanship award now bears his name as the Bob Jones Award.

For his many achievements including his 13 Major championships, Bobby Jones was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974 as a member of the inaugural class of inductees.

Leaving a legacy of more than golf swings or championships, Jones showed the world what could be accomplished on and off the course, earning him a place in the history books as the epitome of both a great athlete and a great man.