Seventy-five years later, Bobby Jones' Grand Slam appears as perfection

It was 75 years ago this week that Bobby Jones won the U.S. Amateur title, which was the final triumph of a historic Grand-Slam run that saw him take home the U.S. and British amateur championships, and the U.S. and British Opens.

“To say it’s remarkable is really not even a fair assessment,'’ Phil Mickelson has said of the accomplishment, and Lefty is as accurate as his short irons.

Jones set out in 1930 to win all four prestigious titles. But there was no special ESPN feature presentation on Jones’ quest and no shoe deal to promote his campaign in advertisements. He was attempting it out of athletic pride and just kept it to himself.

“I felt reluctant to admit that I considered myself capable of such an accomplishment,'’ Jones said later. “Actually, I did make plans for that golfing year with precisely this end in view.”

And when the final putt of his dominating U.S. Amateur victory was drained, his plans were achieved. And a few weeks later, he retired.

In a time when Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey were creating fans for their sports, Bobby Jones was doing the same for his. His contributions to golf should never be overlooked, nor should the fact that he did it for the love of the game and competition.

Looking back, Jones’ accomplishment is more than a great athletic achievement. It was pristine.

–WKW