Bobby Jones

On Sept. 27, 1930, Bobby Jones, ME 22, did what no golfer had ever done - or has ever done since. His victory in the U.S. Amateur at Merion Cricket Club in Ardmore, Pa., captured the Grand Slam of golf - the four major tournament titles all won in the same year.

The Atlanta Athletic Club is marking the 75th anniversary of the Grand Slam with a three-day celebration that ends today. Outside the clubhouse on Thursday, Jones’ grandson, Robert T. Jones IV, delivered an invocation, followed by the raising of flags from each of the four golf courses constituting the Grand Slam and unveiling of commemorative plaques.

Jones was a longtime member of the Atlanta Athletic Club, which houses a number of his golf trophies, photos and memorabilia at its Duluth, Ga., clubhouse.

Representatives from Merion, St. Andrews, Royal Liverpool and Interlachen Country Club also were on hand for the lavish festivities, which included a Stearman biplane stunt performance and golf demonstrations using 1930s-era clubs. The Ramblin’ Wreck was parked on a pathway as a monument to Jones dedication to Georgia Tech.

Jones served as Alumni Association president from 1931 to 1933 and received the Distinguished Service Award in 1937. In 2003, the Robert T. Jones Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund established a fellowship program for graduate exchange students at Tech and the University of St. Andrews.

According to the newly published "Bobby Jones and the Quest for the Grand Slam," written by Catherine M. Lewis, curator and special projects coordinator at the Atlanta History Center, "The impetus for the establishment of the fellowship came from Charles R. Yates, a 1935 graduate of Georgia Tech, longtime secretary of Augusta National Golf Club, a 1938 British Amateur champion and friend of Bobby Jones."

Jones attended the Atlanta Athletic Club’s 25th anniversary celebration in 1955. He died on Dec. 18, 1971.