A Little Bit of Masters

My personal Masters news room, courtesy of Masters.com

Bobby Jones is one of my heroes. Arguably, he is the greatest golfer of all time and the only golfer to win the "grand slam" of major golf tournaments in a single year back in 1930 (you can read about it in a well-written book by Mark Frost and in an intriguing account from this curious gentleman).

But that's not why he is a hero. He was known as a Southern gentleman, whose grace and humility belied the greatness that he achieved. Later in life, he maintained the same characteristics when he faced a neurological disease that crippled and later paralyzed him after 22 agonizing years. Herbert Warren Wind wrote about Bobby Jones, "as a young man, he was able to stand up to just about the best that life can offer, which is not easy, and later he stood up with equal grace to just about the worst."

When Spring rolls around, it is signaled by the playing of the the Masters, the perennial tournament in Augusta, Georgia that marks the first major tournament of the professional golf season; it was also started on a golf course that Bobby Jones built with Alistair McKenzie in 1933. I remember Mr. Jones every time I tune in and think about what it takes to achieve great things and do it in the right way.

Learning more about Bobby Jones has been a pleasure; here's a few of the better resources:
Bobby Jones on Golf
Down the Fairway
The Bobby Jones Story: The Authorized Biography
Bobby Jones, Stroke of Genius
Bobby Jones, How I Play Golf

Comments

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