Bobby Jones.

Essay by zaogirlo5High School, 12th gradeA+, August 2003

download word file, 8 pages 3.0

Downloaded 48 times

On St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1902 Robert Tyre Jones Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Bobby was the only son of Colonel Robert P. Jones, a well-known Atlanta lawyer. Until the age of five, Bobby was so sick that he could not even eat solid foods. 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 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...