On Thursday (Sept 24th), arguably thirty of the best modern day professional golfers tee off in the final event of the 2009 Fed-Ex Cup. This final tournament takes place at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1904, East Lake Golf Club is the home course of legendary golfer Bobby Jones and is the oldest golf course in the city of Atlanta.As a tribute to Robert (Bobby) Tyre Jones, I along with 9 other bloggers, and lovers of golf, are writing about Bobby Jones this week. I'm blogging some of Bobby Jones quotes about golf, other golfers and life. Hopefully you will enjoy this series of blogs. At the end of this blog you will find the other blogs about Bobby Jones.
The Game of Golf
"It is nothing new or original to say that golf is played one stroke at a time. But it took me years to realize it."
"The toughest opponent of all is Old Man Par. He's a patient soul who never shoots a birdie and never incurs a bogey. And if you would travel the long road with him, you must be patient, too."
"The difference between a sand bunker and water is the difference between a car crash and an airplane crash. You have a chance of recovering from a car crash."
The Mental Game of Golf
"The object of golf is to beat someone. Make sure that someone is not yourself."
"Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course, the space between your ears."
"Some people think they are concentrating when they're merely worrying."
"You swing best when you have the fewest things to think about."
"There are two kinds of golf – golf and tournament golf."
Other Golfers
"When he is in the right mood, he is probably the greatest scorer in the game…possibly that the game has ever seen." Speaking about fellow competitor Gene Sarazen.
"If I ever needed an eight-foot put and everything I owned depended upon it, I would want Arnold Palmer to putt it for me."
"Palmer and Player played superbly. But Nicklaus played a game with which I am not familiar." After Nicklaus won the 1965 Masters.
"At my best I never came close to the golf Nelson shoots." About Byron Nelson.
"The way he filled those 72 cavities during the last four days make me think maybe I was wrong." Bobby Jones had urged (Dr.) Cary Middlecoff to give up golf and go back into dentistry right before Middlecoff won the Masters by 7 strokes.
General Golf/Life
"Golf is like eating peanuts. You can play too much or play too little."
"Golf is assuredly a mystifying game. It would seem that if a person has hit a golf ball correctly a thousand times, he should be able to duplicate the performance at will. But this is certainly not the case."
"The more I studied the Old Course, the more I loved it; and the more I loved it the more I studied it." Jones' reaction to the course at St. Andrews, Scotland.
"The secret of golf is to turn three shots into two."
When told it was 105 degrees in the shade, Bobby said, "I'm glad we don't have to play in the shade."
When he was praised for calling a penalty on himself (which cost him the tournament!): "You might as well praise me for not breaking into banks. There is only one way to play this game."
Final Quote......
In 1948, Jones was diagnosed with syringomyelia, a fluid-filled cavity in his spinal cord which caused first pain, then paralysis. He was eventually restricted to a wheelchair. He died in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 18, 1971. Describing the rare incurable disease that afflicted him in his 40's Bobby Jones said:
"I tell you privately, it's not going to get better, it's going to get worse all the time. But don't fret. Remember, we play the ball where it lies."
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Gayle Moss over at Golfgal has posted My Favorite Bobby Jones Golf Tips. She writes, "His swing was a bit unorthodox, but no one can deny his amazing talent. Here are some of my favorite swing tips from the self-taught legend - Bobby Jones."
Mike Southern at Ruthless Golf wonders Could Bobby Jones Have ‘Cut It' Against Today's Pros?, and shows us what science and Jones's own notes have to say about the debate.
Vince Spence from The One-Eye Golfer writes about An Affair to Remember - Bobby Jones and St. Andrews, as he looks at the affection of the champion golfer for the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland which started in 1921.
Greg D'Andrea at From the Rough talks about Golf's Proper Place. "Bobby Jones played competitive golf only three months of the year, always keeping in perspective the game's original intent - 'a means of obtaining recreation and enjoyment.'"
Charles Boyer from Me and Old Man Par has chosen Bobby Jones' Competitors: Many of Them Were Good, One Was Great. "It is often thought that Bobby Jones showed up and crushed his competition on the way to another victory," Charles says. "The truth is that he had many worthy competitors and one, Walter Hagen, stood above all the others as Jones' most worthy competitor."
Michael Green at Aussie Golfer tells about Searching for Bobby Jones, where a search for Bobby Jones in Australia finds remarkable similarities to modern day golf.
Jon Blackburn from The Common Golfer looks at Bobby Jones: Golf's Original Common Golfer. It's a celebration of Bobby Jones' life, and what made him unique amongst his golfing peers.
Apryl DeLancey at Women Like Sports features in her weekly Wild World of Wednesday post about how good friends Alexa Sterling and Bobby Jones continued to play golf during WWI in order to raise money for a good cause.
And Ryan Ballengee from Waggle Room sends us a vlog from East Lake about how Jones' spirit influences the club and community today.
