There are not enough superlatives or words on a page to describe the impact Jones had on the game, and one could argue that his golfing accomplishments could have been even further expanded had he not retired from the game at the seemingly prime age of 28.

The Atlanta, GA native grew up with East Lake Golf Club as his home course and legendary Scottish club professional, Stewart Maiden, as his most influential teacher of the game.

The time span of 1923 to 1930 was the peak of Jones’ game where he won an astounding 13 major championships out of 20 attempts.  This stretch culminated in his capturing The (pre-Masters) Grand Slam which consisted of:

1.  The Amateur Championship, Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland
2. The Open Championship, Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, England
3. U.S. Open, Interlachen Country Club, Minnesota
4. U.S. Amateur, Merion Golf Club, Pennsylvania 

Jones was not only a champion golfer, but as a sportsman who demonstrated supreme integrity, although he didn’t see it as anything but the right thing to do.  On two occasions in competition (1925 and 1926 U.S. Opens) his ball moved such a small amount that only he would have known of its change of position.  Jones unselfishly called penalties on himself on both occasions and essentially cost himself the championship in 1925 as he lost in a playoff.  He was victorious in 1926 despite the self-imposed penalty.  Although praised by many sports writers for his gesture, Jones was reported to have said, “You might as well praise me for not robbing banks.”

The Augusta National Golf Club was co-founded by Jones, opened in 1933, and hosted the very first Masters Tournament (first called the Augusta National Invitational) in the spring of 1934.  Jones participated as an exhibition and helped give the event early prominence.

Sadly, in 1948, Jones was diagnosed with syringomyelia, a fluid-filled cavity in the spinal cord that causes crippling pain, then paralysis; he was eventually restricted to a wheelchair and passed away in 1971.  Three years later he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, an honor befitting the impactful life that Jones led, both on and off the course.  

Bobby Jones’ legacy will be felt as long as the game is played.  He personified what it is to be a champion golfer and a true gentlemen in life.  A better role model could not be found for generations of golfers to come.

The post #1 – Bobby Jones appeared first on Silver Club Golfing Society.

Tiger grew up dominating the golf scene at every level, and first won on the national level in 1984 at the age of eight, when he won the 9–10 boys’ event at the Junior World Championship at Torrey Pines.  He first broke 80 at age eight. He went on to win the Junior World Championships six times, including four consecutive wins from 1988 to 1991.

Tiger’s U.S.G.A. dominance began in 1991 with a win at The U.S. Junior Amateur.  He would go on to win two more consecutive U.S. Juniors in 1992 and 1993 and then he would go on to conquer the next level.  

In 1994, Tiger would begin a U.S. Amateur run that nobody in the history of golf has ever duplicated.  Tiger’s run of three straight U.S. Amateur Championships from 1994 to 1996 culminated with a win at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Portland, OR, defeating the Silver Club Golfing Society’s Founder, Steve Scott on the 38th hole of the match.

He had an amazing run of 6 straight U.S.G.A. Championships and a perfect 36-0 match play record during the run from ’91 to ’96.  One amazing statistic from his unparalleled run is that Tiger went to the final hole (or further) in every final match and won every time.  He may have been up or he may have been down and forced a playoff, but each and every match went its limit and then some.  Clearly a sign that he thrived and succeeded in the most pressure packed moments in the game of golf.

In 1996, Tiger also won the NCAA Individual Championship at The Honors Course while playing for Stanford University.  Tiger had an 8-shot lead heading into the final round, and even despite a final-round 80, Tiger captured the title on the difficult Pete Dye layout.

Tiger was the low amateur in the 1995 Masters as well as the 1996 Open Championship.  The day following the 1996 U.S. Amateur, Tiger turned professional and made his debut at the Greater Milwaukee Open where he famously said, “Hello World”.  Now with 80 PGA Tour victories to his credit, Tiger has his amateur career well in his rearview mirror, but without this early success he may never achieved such heights.

The post #2 – Tiger Woods appeared first on Silver Club Golfing Society.

Ball dominated amateur golf in Great Britain. He won all the important golf championships as well as the hearts and respect of his country. In the words of British golf historian Donald Steele, “No golfer ever came to be more of a legend in his own lifetime.”

He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1977.

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Ouimet’s stunning triumph captured the imagination of sports fans across the globe, sweeping away the notion that golf was a stuffy game for the old and rich. Ouimet was American golf’s first great hero, and he remains one of the most beloved figures in the sport’s history.

Ouimet seemed to step from the pages of a Dickens novel. He had grown up across the street from The Country Club in a working-class home and learned the game with the one old club his older brother, Wilfred, had procured as a caddie. The two boys built three makeshift holes in the family backyard, incorporating a gravel pit, a swamp, a brook and a patch of long, rough grass. Sunken tomato cans were used as cups. At 11, Ouimet began caddying at The Country Club, and by his later teens, he had begun to make a name for himself in tournament competition. After winning the 1913 Massachusetts State Amateur Championship, Ouimet was inspired to enter the National Open.

After three rounds he somehow found himself tied with Vardon, a four-time winner of the British Open, and reigning British Open champion Ray, whose walrus mustache and length off the tee were equally outsized. During the tense final round both Englishmen stumbled home with 79s, and, after a jittery 43 on the front nine, Ouimet joined their playoff by birdieing the 71st hole.

The following day, all three men went out in 38, and Ouimet took his first lead when Vardon and Ray three-putted the par-3 10th. By the par-4 17th Ray had given up the fight but Vardon was only one behind when he caught a bunker with his drive and took bogey. Ouimet then drilled a 15-foot birdie putt to put the championship on ice and endear himself to the world, with a little bit of help from his 10-year-old caddie, Eddie Lowery, a pintsized neighborhood kid who added a touch of whimsy to the photographs.

Ouimet proved he was no fluke by winning the 1914 U.S. Amateur, but when he subsequently opened a sporting goods shop he was banned from amateur competition by the USGA, a miscarriage of justice that was later reversed. Ouimet returned to play on the inaugural Walker Cup team in 1922 and the seven that followed, serving as captain in four more thereafter.

In 1931, his temples specked with gray, he won another U.S. Amateur at age 38. Ouimet was an important international figure as well. In 1951, he became the first American to captain the Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St. Andrews. His legacy transcends tournament victories. In 1913 it is estimated only 350,000 Americans played golf.  Ten years later, fueled by Ouimet’s heroics, that number was up to 2,000,000. So it is that Ouimet is rightfully called the Father of American Golf. In 1963, the U.S. Open was again held at The Country Club to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his victory.

Said Ouimet in 1932, “To me, the ground here is hallowed. The grass grows greener, the trees bloom better, and there is even warmth to the rocks. Somehow or other the sun seems to shine brighter on The Country Club than any other place that I have ever known.” He died in nearby Newton in 1967.  (http://www.worldgolfhalloffame.org/francis-ouimet/)

The post #4 – Francis Ouimet appeared first on Silver Club Golfing Society.

Some in the golf world for his battles best remembers Travers with Walter Travis, the most successful amateur golfer of that era. The contests, Hall of Fame professional golfer Francis Ouimet once said, formed Travers into “the best match player in the country.” 

Although he lived to 63, Travers’ championship career came to an end at age 28. In the midst of his heyday, he twice didn’t bother to enter the Amateur. And he never entered the Open again after winning in 1915.  He later taught the game to other hopefuls, but by that time had lost most of the passion and desire for the game that once made him a champion. Travers was enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1976.

The post #5 – Jerome Travers appeared first on Silver Club Golfing Society.

Evans won the 1910 Western Open by defeating George Simpson 6 and 5 in the 36-hole final. He was the only amateur to do so until Scott Verplank in 1985.  After his 1916 victory at the U.S Amateur, Evans won the event again in 1920, and was runner-up three times. Selected to the Walker Cup team in 1922, 1924, and 1928, he played in a record 50 consecutive U.S. Amateurs in his long career. Evans achieved all of this while amazingly only carrying seven hickory-shafted clubs.

Evans also won the Western Open in 1910  Into the 1960s, Evans was an active participant in senior tournaments, and still competed in U.S. Amateur events.  Evans played his last rounds of competitive golf in 1968, winning the Illinois Open that year. His last Western Amateur was in 1967.

After his wins in 1916, Evans was given several thousand dollars in royalties for recording golf instructions for the Brunswick Record Company, and in 1921 he received royalties from a golf book.   If he had accepted this money Evans would have lost his amateur status. His mother suggested that he put the money to good use by sponsoring a scholarship fund for caddies.

Evans, who was unable to finish his own studies at Northwestern University, recalled that his mother “wouldn’t think of accepting my money unless we could arrange it to be trusted to furnish educations for deserving qualified caddies.” He said his mother “pointed out that the money came from golf and thus should go back into golf — It was all her dream — her idea.”

Evans went to the Western Golf Association (WGA), an organization that ran the golf championships in the Midwest, to get their support for his scholarship. By 1930, the Evans Scholars Foundation had formed.  Evans Scholarship houses exist at the following Universities: University of Colorado, University of Illinois, Northwestern University, Marquette University, University of Wisconsin, Purdue University, Ohio State University, Northern Illinois University, University of Missouri, Indiana University, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Miami University and the University of Minnesota.  Its safe to say the legacy of Chick Evans has been felt by hundreds, if not thousands of people fortunate enough to be be impacted by the Evans Scholars Foundation.

In 1960, Evans was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. He is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. (wikipedia)

The post #6 – Chick Evans appeared first on Silver Club Golfing Society.

Bonallack received an OBE for services to golf in 1971, and was created a Knight Bachelor in 1998.  In 1972, he was awarded the Bob Jones Award, which the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. He has received numerous honors from golfing organizations around the world, culminating in his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000.

The post #7 – Sir Michael Bonallack appeared first on Silver Club Golfing Society.

While attending Ohio State, he won the U.S. Amateur twice (’59, ’61), and an NCAA Championship (1961). In the 1959 U.S. Amateur at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO, Nicklaus beat two-time winner and defending champion Charles Coe 1-up in the final 36-hole match when he birdied the eighteenth hole. This was significant not only because of Coe’s proven ability as a player, but also because Nicklaus became the then-youngest champion in the modern era, second only to Robert A. Gardner, who won in 1909.

In 1961, Nicklaus became the first player to win the individual title at the NCAA Championship and the U.S. Amateur in the same year. He was followed by Phil Mickelson (1990), Tiger Woods (1996), Ryan Moore (2004), and Bryson DeChambeau (2015). Nicklaus also won the NCAA Big Ten Conference Championship that year with a 72-hole aggregate of 283, while earlier claiming the Western Amateur in New Orleans. In his second U.S. Am victory in 1961, Nicklaus convincingly defeated Dudley Wysong 8 & 6 at Pebble Beach in the 36-hole championship match. For the week, Nicklaus was 20 strokes under par, including 34 birdies and two eagles.

At the 1960 U.S. Open, twenty-year-old Nicklaus shot a two-under par 282, finishing in second place two strokes behind Arnold Palmer, who won the tournament for the only time with a final round charge of six-under-par 65. This score remains the lowest ever by an amateur in the U.S. Open. Nicklaus played the final 36 holes with Ben Hogan, who later remarked that he had just played 36 holes with a kid who should have won by 10 shots. During the final 36 holes, Nicklaus was two-under-par; he had shot every round of the tournament at or below par and was the only entrant to do so. Nicklaus had led by two shots with six holes to play. In 1960, Nicklaus also tied for 13th in the Masters Tournament. He tied for fourth in the 1961 U.S. Open, three shots behind champion Gene Littler, having played the final 54 holes one under par. Each of these three major championship finishes designated Nicklaus as low amateur. However, Nicklaus’ one-under-par 287 tied for seventh in the 1961 Masters Tournament, and was second that year only to Charlie Coe’s low amateur placing, when he tied for second with Arnold Palmer at seven-under par 281, one shot behind champion Gary Player.

Nicklaus represented the United States against Great Britain and Ireland on winning Walker Cup teams in both 1959 and 1961, decisively winning both of his matches in each contest. On the 1959 trip to Britain, he also made his only attempt at the British Amateur, the world’s oldest international amateur event, at Royal St George’s Golf Club, reaching the quarterfinal round (top 8). He was also a member of the victorious 1960 U.S. Eisenhower Trophy team, winning the unofficial individual title by 13 shots over teammate Deane Beman with a four-round score of 269, a record which still stands; this score was 18 shots lower than Ben Hogan’s earlier U.S. Open aggregate of 287 at the same site (which had, however, been scored under much tougher conditions). For three straight years (1959–1961), Nicklaus was named the world’s top amateur golfer by Golf Digest magazine.

We all know what “The Golden Bear” made his biggest mark in the professional game with a record 18 major championships, but it was his amateur career that catapulted him to the confidence to reach those heights.

The post #8 – Jack Nicklaus appeared first on Silver Club Golfing Society.

Among his other major victories as an amateur golfer were three North and South Amateurs at Pinehurst and four Metropolitan Golf Association Championships. When Travis won his fourth MGA Championship, in 1915, at the age of 53, he beat 28-year-old Jerome Travers in the final match. Just the year before, Travers had eliminated Travis in the semi-finals of the U.S. Amateur. With declining health diminishing his skills, Travis announced his retirement from competitive golf in 1916.

Overall, Travis competed in 17 consecutive U.S. Amateurs from 1898 to 1914, compiling a 45-14 record, earning medalist honors three consecutive years (1900-02), and losing to the eventual champion on five occasions. He competed in six U.S. Opens between 1902 and 1912 and was low amateur five times and tied for third low amateur the other. Travis placed second in the 1902 U.S. Open Championship.  In the January 28, 1922 issue of The American Golfer, the following response was given to a query about “How many tournaments Mr. Travis has won, counting in every variety?”: “Our opinion is that Mr. Travis has won more low gross, low net and open tourneys than any other living golfer. He was practically unbeatable for a stretch of six years from 1898 to 1904 during which time he played in double or triple the number of events entered by either John Ball or Chick Evans. A guess at the number of his trophies would place it over five hundred and perhaps nearer to a thousand. In 1901, Travis was national champion and in 1915 he was again the Metropolitan champion. His southern victories were numerous.”

Travis founded The American Golfer Magazine, popularized the Haskell rubber cored golf ball he used to win the 1901 U.S. Amateur and made the Schenectady Putter (a center shafted mallet he used to win the 1903 U.S. Amateur and 1904 British Amateur that was subsequently banned by the R & A) one of the hottest commodities in golf equipment.  Having all of those listed accomplishments, possibly his most enduring legacy may be the many premier golf courses he designed or remodeled throughout his career. Four Travis-designed or redesigned courses are regularly included in Golfweek’s rankings of America’s top 100 “Classic” courses: Country Club of Scranton, Ekwanok Country Club (assisted John Duncan Dunn), Westchester Country Club’s West course, Hollywood Golf Club (redesigned Mackie’s work), and Garden City Golf Club (remodeled Emmet’s work).

The post #9 – Walter Travis appeared first on Silver Club Golfing Society.

Little was born in Newport, Rhode Island in June 1910. He emerged on the golfing scene at the 1929 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, where he defeated Johnny Goodman the day after Goodman defeated Bobby Jones.  By the time he arrived at Stanford in 1930, Lawson was already an accomplished competitor; among his eight amateur titles are the 1928 and 1930 Northern California Amateur. Lawson majored in Economics at Stanford and belonged to the Chi Phi fraternity. A teammate of Charlie Seaver, he was a letter winner in 1933 and 1934. Time Magazine described Lawson as “a burly 23-year old Stanford junior” when he won the 1934 British Amateur. He did not lose a single hole in the final match, defeating James Wallace 14 and 13. In addition to the British and U.S. Amateur titles, while at Stanford Little won the 1932 Broadmoor Invitational and the 1933 Colorado Closed Amateur.

Little was a member of the 1934 American Walker Cup team. The competition was held at St. Andrews, where Lawson won both his matches. He qualified for the Walker Cup by reaching the semi-finals of the 1933 U.S. Amateur. After the Walker Cup, the U.S. contingent stayed over to compete in the British Amateur at Prestwick, leading to the first of Little’s two British Amateur titles. He then returned to America and at The Country Club in Brookline won the first of his two U.S. Amateur titles. Only 12 other golfers have won both the U.S. and British Amateur titles.

Lawson left Stanford in the fall of 1935. He turned professional in April 1936, and was among the first professionals to earn substantial endorsements. He won eight professional titles, including the 1940 U.S. Open in a playoff over Gene Sarazen. He tied for 3rd in the 1939 Masters (photo at left). He is one of only 11 golfers to win both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open, placing him among such greats as Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

His other professional victories included the 1936 Canadian Open, the 1940 Los Angeles Open and the 1941 Texas Open. Only when compared with the brilliance of Little’s amateur career can his professional career be considered disappointing. While described as bullnecked and barrel chested (Little was 5’9″ but weighed 200 pounds), he was a thoughtful and sometimes brooding golfer.

He once said  “It is impossible to outplay an opponent you cannot out-think.” He had a fine short game to complement his long drives, and was known to carry as many as seven wedges. He also carried as many as 26 total clubs, and the 14 club limit adopted by the USGA in 1938 is generally attributed to the practice of certain golfers, most notably Little, of carrying a large number of clubs. Little died in Monterey, California in February 1968. He is a charter member of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame and he was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1980. (Rich Peers)

The post #10 – Lawson Little appeared first on Silver Club Golfing Society.