The Grand Slam of Golf was once termed the ‘Impregnable Quadrilateral’, a term that seems more ancient than the game itself. While the Quadrilateral has expectedly faded from golf’s lexicon, the historic significance and the legendary character of Bobby Jones continue to influence the golf world today and underscore the excitement which surrounds the 75th anniversary of the Grand Slam in 2005.
The Grand Slam of Golf was declared so by O.B. Keeler of the Atlanta Journal when Bobby Jones captured the 1930 U.S. Amateur Championship at the Merion Cricket Club. Keeler wrote, “This victory, the fourth major title in the same season and in the space of four months, had now and for all time entrenched Bobby Jones safely within the Impregnable Quadrilateral … the Grand Slam of Golf, many are calling it, and while I invented the term to describe what I believe to be an absolutely impossible achievement, I fear it is too casual and futile for this supreme feat of the sporting world. It was in the book now. Nothing could change it.”
Francis Powers of the Chicago News, paraphrasing Grantland Rice’s story in the Notre Dame team, said, “There goes another race by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse over the fairways of Merion, and this time their names are Jones, Jones, Jones and Jones. And so it was. There at Merion was Bobby Jones, Amateur Champion of Great Britain, Open Champion of Great Britain, Open Champion of the United States, and competing for the fourth victory of the quadrilateral, the Amateur Championship of the United States.
“Bobby Jones is the only golfer to win the acknowledged four majors of the era in one season. The four major tournament victories in 1930 was the Grand Slam of Golf of that era, consisting of the Open and Amateur Championships of the United Kingdom and the U.S.A. The Masters and the PGA Tournaments have replaced the amateur crowns in constituting the current definition of the four majors and thus the modern Grand Slam.
“This grandiose morsel of left over nineteen-twenties prose described what were in those days the four main world championships. It tells us something about the social shift of golf from ‘a gentleman’s game’ to a money game that these events were then the U.S. Amateur championship, British Amateur, the U.S. Open and the British Open. Jones’ feat, done by a 28-year-old Atlanta lawyer as handsome as Apollo and as engaging as Charlie Brown, earned him a ticker-tape parade down Broadway à la Lindbergh and made him the golfer known and adored in countries that wouldn’t know a bunker from a hole in the ground. He retires, still an amateur, from all competitive golf and it is about as sure as anything can be that his ‘Grand Slam’ will never be done again.”
Of all the American sportsmen who have competed around the world, none exemplifies the honesty, integrity and character of a champion more than Bobby Jones. His unique sense of fair play, sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct epitomises the game of golf, however, Bobby Jones was more than a golfer. His accomplishments outside of golf rivalled those on the course. By the age of 25, he held degrees in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech, English from Harvard and law from Emory University Law School. He was commissioned as an Army Air Force intelligence officer at the age of 40 and most significantly, he founded Augusta National Golf Club and The Masters Tournament.
As with any national treasure, protecting the name of Bobby Jones is a legacy taken seriously by the ‘Jonesheirs’ and Hartmax Corporation. The trust in Hartmax was base don the fact that it too had guarded its legacy since 1887. As a tribute to the legendary achievements and exemplary character of its namesake, the Bobby Jones sportswear collection was established in 1989.
For those who appreciate excellence, the collection represents the unification of classic style, distinctive craftsmanship and luxurious comfort. Along with the women’s and recently introduced boys’ collection, it is among the most desirable sportswear collections throughout the world, both on and off-the-course, currently distributed to 32 countries.
In 2003, the company earned the rights to become the Bobby Jones family’s exclusive master licensor, having the ability to engage appropriate partners to produce a Bobby Jones lifestyle collection worldwide. Its most recent agreement include Motorola and the Bobby Jones Trophy Edition cell phone, Bobby Jones Golf Company for clubs, bags, balls, gloves and golf shoes and Seiko instruments, with its 75th Anniversary Timepiece Collection of men’s watches and a pocket watch launched at the PGA Merchandise Show in January 2005. Other distinguished partners include Golf Links to the Past, Bobby Jones Instructional DVD’s and Bobby Jones fragrance.
Bobby Jones is proud to have freestanding shops in Las Vegas, Beverly Hills, and Atlanta, and a shop within the Hickey Freeman flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York.
In 1953, Grantland Rice described Bobby Jones’ run from 1922 to 1930, “He won the U.S. Open four times and tied for top place twice. He won the British Open three times, the U.S. Amateur crown five times, and the British Amateur crown once. Here was a marvellous amassing of 13 national golf crowns, the greatest sweep in the history of the Ancient Green.” Understanding these historic facts contributes to the excitement and significance of growth opportunities on behalf of the legendary namesake, Bobby Jones.
(Thanks to Bobby Jones Golf Europe – the source of this article)
Bobby Jones www.bobbyjones.com
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