I Would Have Really Enjoyed Bobby Jones' Father

When Bobby Jones and Alister Mackenzie designed Augusta National, they kept a close eye on St. Andrews, hoping to build an American style course that took a lot of the same shots and had a lot of the same elements as the famous Old Course.

That is why, as most don't know (I sure didn't), the 11th hole at Augusta National was initially created with a bunker in the middle of the fairway. You know, the 11th hole? The hardest par-4 on the entire golf course? Yeah, imagine ... a bunker ... in the middle of the fairway.

The story goes that Bobby Jones was playing some golf with his father, Colonel Bob Jones, hit it in the middle of the fairway on 11 only to find his ball in sand. That is when Colonel Bob Jones jumped to near the top of my list on people I'd like to play with in an imaginary foursome, along with Tommy Bolt.

This is from The Making of the Masters, via Shackelford:

“When the Colonel found his ball in the sand, he shouted, ‘What goddamned fool put a goddamned bunker right in the goddamned center of the fairway?’ or words to that effect.

I guess not everyone loves Augusta National as much as I do.