https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub O.B. Keeler en-us 2018-12-03 19:44:05 UTC 2025-11-09 22:37:12 UTC hello@padlet.com cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/311997612 Keeler, O. B. The Bobby Jones Story: the Authorized Biography. Triumph Books, 2003.]]> 2018-12-06 19:23:21 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/311997612 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/312766942 Bobby Jones lived near a golf course called East Lake Club. He was watching one of the members of the club very intently from the street and the man, noticing how envious Bobby looked, he asked him if he wanted to try. Bobby naturally said yes and that is what started it all. The golf club was so tall, it was taller than Bobby, and when he swung, it was a horrific shot, but the member solved the problem by cutting it to the right size. Eventually, Bobby built his own 4 hole course in his backyard. His family moved to the country where it was much easier to play golf. His family owned a membership at the East Lake Club where Stewart Maiden was the head golf professional. He would become Bobby's biggest role model and mentor.]]> 2018-12-10 04:05:26 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/312766942 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/312780593 In 1916, Bobby, at the age of 14, went to Philadelphia to compete in the United States Amateur tournament at Merion. This is the biggest stage as an amateur golfer. It is one of the four "major" tournaments which back then included: United States Amateur, British Amateur, U.S. Open, and the British Open. Back to the tournament itself. Before the match play part, a contestant must  qualify first. Bobby was from Georgia where the type of grass used is Bermuda which is very rough and requires a lot of power to get the ball moving. Merion uses Bent grass and that is very smooth compared to Bermuda. So, on the first couple holes, when Bobby was putting on the green, he putt the ball 30 feet past the hole. Despite his troubles on the green, he shot a 74. He thought he played terribly, but in reality, that would be one stroke behind the leading score. The next day he shot a horrific 89 for a two-day total of 163. The highest total that qualified was 167. It was by a miracle that he qualified for match play. His first match was against Eben Meyers. He was the oldest competitor in the tournament, while Bobby was the youngest. They both played really bad, but Bobby got the best of him. Bobby's second match was against Frank Dyer. Bobby barely won that match and moved onto the quarterfinal. The quarterfinal match was against Robert A. Gardner: the defending champion. The first 18 holes, Bobby was one up. Through the home stretch, Bobby began to realize that Gardner's short game was superior to his and that would be the death of his run. He lost that match, but he learned the biggest lesson of his career: even if it seems like your opponent is the luckiest of them all, as long as you stay consistent with par, you will prevail. ]]> 2018-12-10 05:50:05 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/312780593 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/313260830 In 1921, Bobby set sail for Great Britain to "infiltrate" the British Open and Amateur tournaments. At the British Amateur, Bobby tied for the lowest score in the qualifying round. Sadly, he lost in the fourth round. The  British Open was played at the old course at St. Andrews that year. Bobby was so frustrated, he picked up his ball. After shooting a 46 on the front 9 and a 6 on the tenth, he had had enough. Picking up his ball without holing out automatically disqualified him from the tournament. This is the only time that Bobby didn't finish a tournament without being eliminated. ]]> 2018-12-11 05:28:05 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/313260830 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/313703909 There were seven years that Bobby didn't win a single major tournament in his amateur golfing career. These years were called the Seven Lean Years. They were 1916 to 1923. He played in 10 major tournaments in those years and didn't win a single one until 1923.]]> 2018-12-12 04:10:21 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/313703909 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/317528621 It was the 1920 U.S. Open Championship at the Inverness Cub in Toledo, Ohio. This would be Bobby's best chance at getting a U.S. Open win. In the second round, he was playing with Harry Vardon, a future member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. He was leading him in the second round going into the seventh hole. They both had good drives, but Harry played a conservative approach shot that worked out fine and Bobby played an aggressive shot that he skulled over the green and made a bogey. Vardon was known to be a somewhat antisocial person, so it was odd for him to joke around, but when Bobby asked him if he had ever seen a shot worse than that, he said, "No." At the end of the second of four rounds, Bobby was seven strokes back of the leader and concluded he had no chance. As he looked at the scoreboard when he finished the third round he realized that he only had to shoot 70 or better. He shot 77, but what he didn't know is that he only needed to shoot a par 72 to win the tournament.]]> 2019-01-04 19:50:50 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/317528621 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/317708544 2019-01-06 23:23:37 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/317708544 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/317715967 Bobby Jones won his first U.S. Amateur Championship in 1924. It was complete dominance. He played in 5 matches. They were all blowouts. In the final match against George Von Elm, he was leading by a very large amount and on the tenth green of the second round of the match, George conceded, giving Bobby the championship. When he came back to Atlanta, he was greeted with an astounding mob of people celebrating his win. There would be much more major tournament wins to come. ]]> 2019-01-07 01:09:28 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/317715967 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/318613367 One of Bobby's lifelong friends was Alexa Stirling. She won three U.S. Ladies' Amateur championships in 1916, 1919 and 1920. Over a span of 15 years, Alexa won three Ladies' Amateur championships and Bobby Jones won 13. They were both from Atlanta. They both were members at East Lake Golf Club. This was why Atlanta was widely regarded as the "Golfing Capital of the World."]]> 2019-01-09 00:40:32 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/318613367 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/319083769 In 1925, Bobby won another U.S. Amateur Championship. This time he played against another Georgia native: Watts Gunn. Watts Gunn played golf at Georgia Tech: the same college that Bobby played at. Before he played Bobby, he blew out everyone he played by at least 4 holes. When Watts and Bobby met, Bobby beat him, but it was still significant to have two Georgians play against each other in the U.S. Amateur Championship final match. Bobby played George Von Elm the match before the final and humiliated him. Von Elm won 5 holes in total. 4 birdies and 1 eagle. Both Gunn and Jones were members at East Lake Golf Club. This was the first time that two players from the same city let alone the same golf club played against each other in the final match. Bobby Jones won the 29th U.S. Amateur Championship for the second time in a row. The first time ever that a player defended their title.]]> 2019-01-10 03:48:03 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/319083769 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/320011904 In 1926, a tradition was broken. A group of American golfers invaded the Great Britain. Jess Sweetser became the first ever American-born golfer to ever win the British Amateur. He was lucky to play in the tournament because he had a cold while the American team was crossing the Atlantic. He spent two weeks in cold, heavy rain which didn't forward his cause. Somehow, he played through his matches and won the tournament. Even though Britain's tradition of British players and only British players winning the tournament, the entirely British gallery still congratulated Sweetser very enthusiastically. He made it through the award ceremony. During the Walker Cup, he went home after two doctors examined him and said he should leave.]]> 2019-01-13 05:58:56 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/320011904 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/320606631 St. Andrews is probably the best golf course ever. It might also be the hardest course ever too. Bobby played really well at the Walker Cup at the Old Course at St. Andrews. The U.S. beat Great Britain 12.5 to 11.5. A scot named Andra Kirkaldy praised the U.S.'s ability to finish holes. He said, "Your boys won on their third shots. We can drive with you, hit long irons with you, but we cannot hit third shots with you. That is the shot that wins, a pitch, a chip, or a putt. You finish the hole better than we do. The art of finishing a hole is an American development." The seventeenth hole at the Old Course is the hardest hole on the course and golf in general. The hole is 467 yards with a sharp dogleg right. Near the green, a major road goes through the hole and is not out of bounds. ]]> 2019-01-15 03:22:33 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/320606631 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/323280434 T. Stewart was a club smith factory in St. Andrews. Many well-known golfers got clubs made for them at this factory including: Bobby Jones, Watts Gunn, Francis Ouimet and George Von Elm. Every time that they went to Scotland to perform in the British Amateur or Open they would go there and get their fix of new clubs. It wasn't anything like a retail store. You had to go into the factory and ask for exactly what you wanted. Since every club was made to order, the shop never gets ahead on its orders. ]]> 2019-01-23 01:33:23 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/323280434 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/323281523 Another well known golf club shop was of Tom Morris. One of the first clubs that the author ever had was from Tom Morris's store. He was 15 years old when he bought it. The author was good friends with Bobby Jones. One time, Bobby was having trouble with his short game, so he offered him to use the first club he had. Immediately, Bobby's short game improved and quickly had T. Stewart make a copy of it. One time, O.B. Keeler, the author, and John Morris, Tom Morris's father, were watching Bobby play in a match where Bobby used the copy of the club that O.B. gave him to hole a 75 yard shot. He was filled with joy when O.B. told him that it was a copy of a club that he made.]]> 2019-01-23 01:40:09 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/323281523 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/323287390 John Morris's son, Tom, was a competitive golfer. He also kept the family business of making golf clubs going. His son Young Tom Morris ended up being arguably one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won 4 British Opens before dying at the age of 24. After he won the fourth Open Championship, his wife died. Six months later, he died and his grave is right next to hers. ]]> 2019-01-23 02:19:03 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/323287390 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/323308113 It was the 1926 British Open Championship. This is widely regarded as the greatest tournament that Bobby ever played in. In the qualifying round, he was nearly perfect. He shot a four under par 66. He made no mistakes except for one shot into a bunker which he got up and down from anyway. It didn't affect the round at all. The next day, he shot a 2 under par 68 which set a two day record for the British Open Championship. He started earning accolades from news outlets in Britain like News, London Times and Sporting Life. The next round was the dreaded final round. Bobby wasn't leading, but absolutely was he contending. He was in the second to last group of the day with Walter Hagen behind him. Bobby beat his playing partner, Al Watrous by two strokes making him the leader in the clubhouse. Walter Hagen came into the 18th green with everyone feeling the suspense of who would win the tournament. It turned out that he didn't play well on the back 9, meaning Bobby won the tournament.]]> 2019-01-23 04:48:48 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/323308113 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/323327022 In 1926, Bobby won the U.S. Open Championship, British Open Championship and U.S. Amateur Championship. At that time, he was the first person to ever do such a thing. ]]> 2019-01-23 07:25:52 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/323327022 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/323327927 In 1927, Bobby won another British Open Championship. The first time anyone had ever won two years in a row. He never was over par in the entire tournament. He set a record of lowest overall score in a British Open Championship of 285. The previous record owner was Chick Evans with 286.He shot 68 on the first day and that was the first time he had ever broken 70 at a British Open Championship. From that point on, he knew he was going to win the tournament.]]> 2019-01-23 07:30:30 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/323327927 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/323328570 In 1930, Bobby entered a winter tournament for the first time in three years because he knew that his time as a competitive golfer was coming to a close. So, he might as well have gotten the most of that year. He played in the Savannah Open where he played well in the first two rounds and atrocious in the next two rounds. He lost that tournament. That would be the last tournament he would lose in his career. Bobby won the 1930 British Open Championship. The first installment to the grand slam. He then won the British Amateur Championship. The second installment to the grand slam. He had three close matches, but he pulled through for the win, nonetheless. Through the second round, Bobby was in a three-way tie for second place. Going into the seventeenth in the third round, he had a chance to shoot the lowest score ever in a U.S. Open, but he choked and had a bogey on the last two holes. He shot a 68 which was still the best he had ever shot in the U.S. Open. Bobby only won the U.S. Open because Mac Smith choked and missed his short eagle putt to tie, giving Bobby the win. That was the third installment to the grand slam. The 1930 U.S. Amateur Championship was held at Merion. This course held a lot of history for Bobby. He beat Jess Sweetser to win the tournament who had met only once and that one time was at Merion. This was the final installment to the grand slam. Bobby Jones is still the only person to ever win all four major tournaments in one year. ]]> 2019-01-23 07:33:58 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/323328570 cowmarea000 https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/323334452 In November of 1930, the same year that he won the grand slam, Bobby Jones said he was retiring from competitive golf.]]> 2019-01-23 07:59:42 UTC https://padlet.com/cowmarea000/lxmrwx0bvmub/wish/323334452