Click here for the GHS Zoom interview with Dr. Bob Jones IV.
By Taba Dale
I am still abuzz after being on the GHS Zoom call with Dr. Robert Jones IV. He is the grandson of the legendary Robert Tyre Jones, and he treated us to rare insights into the only golfer to win the Grand Slam, and to the man, as our host, Connor T. Lewis, said, “Had his struggles.”
The zoom started with GHS president, Bern Bernacki, giving a concise and compelling introduction to the history and mission of GHS. He stated the perfect mantra for all of us wanting to grow our membership: We want to stimulate, fascinate and educate AND engage in fellowship.
Jones, a clinical psychologist, was asked by Lewis what advice would he have given his grandfather, a golfer who was known to have a volcanic temper in his youth. Among other things, he offered an approach most of us could use: “He would need to monitor his breathing, and calm the small muscles in his face.”
I knew that Bobby Jones, who preferred to be called Bob, not Bobby, was born in 1902. I knew that he was a sickly and fragile child. But I was shocked to learn that he did not have solid food until he was five years old.
Bobby Jones, who was famously reprimanded in a letter from George Herbert Walker, fixed his temper issue, so desperate was he to play in the Walker Cup. That advice proved to keep him in good stead as he went about setting and achieving his other goals in championship golf.
Jones shared several endearing anecdotes about his grandfather. One personal reminiscence was of the young man, a teenager, listening to a set of priceless Beethoven recordings without his grandfather’s permission or knowledge. When the younger man was discovered, the elder Jones merely inquired whether he was enjoying the music. Assured that this was the case, grandfather immediately gifted those prized records to his grandson, who now treasures them above other Bobby Jones memorabilia most of us would die for.
All of us on who were privileged to enjoy that Zoom interview with Jones will treasure our moment with him. I give a big pat on the back to our board member, Connor Lewis, who guided the interview with such a brilliant and charming individual.
If you have not seen the interview, do click the link above and prepare yourself for hour’s worth of fascinating stories and a new perspective on the legendary golfer Bobby Jones.