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Stephen Britton

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1930's Masters Photos.
« on: April 08, 2009, 10:18:39 PM »
April 4, 1936
Masters Golf Tourney Opens. Augusta, Georgia: A general view as Bobby Jones, of Atlanta, Ga., drove off from the first tee in the opening round of the annual Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta, Ga. Bobby has a card of 78 for the first day's play.


March 24, 1934
Jones tied for eighteenth in Augusta Tourney. Bobby Jones of Atlanta, pictures as he drove from the 8th tee in the Masters Invitation Golf Tournament at Augusta Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia, March 24th. With a score of 222 Jones was tied for eighteenth place with Johnny Revolta of Milwaukee. On the left is Walter Hagen of Detroit who was tied for fifth with a score of 217.


April 6, 1936
Gene Sarazen's favorite caddy Stovepipe (last name unknown), is showing his fellow caddies the club with which Gene made the double eagle in 1935. Sarazen is among the leaders of the Masters' tournament at Augusta.


April 7, 1932  
Bobby Jones tries out his "perfect course" in the making. Here's a rear view of the King of Golfers, Bobby Jones, testing shots on his new National Golf Course, which will be completed next December. Bobby stated that the course, when completed, will exceed his highest expectations. He was elated over the layout of traps, bunkers, and holes. With Jones are Dr. Alister W. MacKenzie, noted Scottish Golf architect who has collaborated with Jones, and Clifford Roberts, Wall Street financier.


April 8, 1936
Horton Smith Winning The Masters' Tournament. Horton Smith is pictured on the 18th green in the final round of the Augusta National (Masters') Golf Tournament which he won with a 285. A bungling put may have lost him the tournament in as much as he finished just one stroke better than "Lighthorse" Harry Cooper who had a 284. Lawson Little is watching.


April 3, 1939
Ralph Guldahl (right, bending over) is shown putting on the ninth green of the final round, as he carded the 72-hole total of 279 to win the annual Masters' Golf Tournament, beating "Slamin'" Sam Snead by a single stroke.


March 24, 1934
Johnny Farrell watches in anticipation as his ball nears the cup during the Masters Invitational Golf Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.


March 23, 1934
Photo shows Jones, (left), and Paul Runyan, who were paired together in the opening day's play, as they appeared on the practice tee before the match. Jones turned in a 76 for the eighteen holes.


March 26, 1936
Two Golf Masters Exchange Putting Ideas. Augusta, Georgia: Bobby Jones, whose putter "Calamity Jane" has proved the deciding factor in many a tournament, watches Gene Sarazen putt the ball on the putting green here. They are preparing for the Masters Tournament which gets underway here shortly.


March 22, 1934
Below is a general view as Jones, (left), and Paul Runyan, with whom Bobby was paired in the opening day's play, crossed a bridge on to the third green. Jones turned in a 76 for the eighteen holes.


At Masters' invitation golf tourney. Bobby Jones missing a putt on the 16th green during the second round of the Masters' Invitation Golf Tournament at Augusta, Georgia. Jones finished the tournament in a tie for 13th place, with a score of 294, ten strokes behind Horton Smith, the winner.


March 30, 1936
Preparing for Masters Golf Tournament. Augusta, Georgia: Horton Smith drives the ball for good distance during a practice round on the Augusta, Ga. National Golf Club course where he will participate in the Masters Tournament starting April 2. Bobby Jones is shown on left.


March 22, 1934
As Bobby Jones Returned to Competition. Augusta, Georgia: Bobby Jones driving from the fifth tee during the first round of the $5,000 Masters Invitation Golf Tournament at Augusta, Ga. Returning to competition after four years of retirement, Jones scored a 76, four over par, and finished the first round six strokes behind the pace setters.


March 23, 1934
Augusta, Georgia: Bobby Jones sinking a putt for a birdie on the fourth green while Paul Runyan (foreground) looks on during the first round of the $5,000 Masters Invitation Golf Tournament at Augusta. Returning to competition after four years of retirement, Jones scored a 76, four over par, and finished the first round six strokes behind the pace setters. Runyan, of White Plains, N.Y., who played with Jones, carded a 74.


April 6, 1936
Bobby Jones, shown putting on the first green during the second round of the Masters golf tourney here, is not the great golfer of 1930 when he made his famous "grand slam" to win the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open, the British Amateur and the British Open championships to take the above four major titles. In the Augusta Masters tourney, on his own course, Jones is trailing far back of the leaders, his game quite unlike the brilliant play of his heyday.


April 5, 1935
Bobby Jones Putting on the Green


March 23, 1934
Below is a general view as Bobby putted on the eighteenth green with the crowd watching.


March 23, 1934
A general view as Bobby Jones drove from the third tee during the first round of the $5,000 Masters' Invitation Golf Tournament at Augusta, Georgia. Returning to competition after four years of retirement, Jones scored a 76, four over par, and finished the first round six strokes behind the pace setters.


April 1, 1936
Bobby Jones (left) and Harry Cooper are off for the 1st green on the start of a practice round over the Augusta, Ga. National Golf Club course, which the Masters Golf Tournament will be held starting April 2.


Bobby Jones of Atlanta, Georgia, putting on the first green, as he competed in the Masters Invitation Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, March 24th. The contest was won by Horton Smith of new York, who turned in an Aggregate of 284 on the closing day of the competition March 25th.


March 26, 1934
Horton Smith, of Chicago, putting on the 8th green during the third round of the Masters' Invitation Golf Tournament at Augusta, GA. Denny Shute of Philadelphia may be seen in the picture. Smith won the Tournament with a score of 284. Shute, with 294, finished in a tie for thirteenth place with Bobby Jones.


March 29, 1936
A view of the Augusta National Club House at Augusta, GA, where the forthcoming Masters Invitation Golf Tourney will be played. On the right is the Golf House, an 85-year-old structure, and on the left, the club house proper.
"The chief object of every golf architect or greenkeeper worth his salt is to imitate the beauties of nature so closely as to make his work indistinguishable from nature itself" Alister MacKenzie...

James Bennett

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2009, 10:42:36 PM »
Good pics.  Bobby Jones follow-through position is identical in the first two photos.

It looks like the nines were reversed at the time of these photos (as per the original plan), hence third green is current 12, 16th green is current 7 and the first is to the old 10th green.  I also assume 18 must be 9.

James B

Edit

it looks like the 1934 photos are with the nines reversed, and the 1936 (and later) are with the nines as we now know them.  The pic of the old green on what is now the 10th is the first one that I have seen of that original green.
« Last Edit: April 08, 2009, 11:14:03 PM by James Bennett »
Bob; its impossible to explain some of the clutter that gets recalled from the attic between my ears. .  (SL Solow)

David Stamm

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2009, 10:58:08 PM »
I've seen some of these before, but I love looking at photos such as these. You really get a sense of the time period.
"The object of golf architecture is to give an intelligent purpose to the striking of a golf ball."- Max Behr

Eric Smith

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2009, 11:00:13 PM »
Notice how slick the greens look in these photos:


with a neat and trimmed collar (notice at the top right the gentleman sitting down). How many different cuts do you count in front of him?


Looks fast!

Jim Colton

Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2009, 11:03:34 PM »
Great pictures.  Bobby Jones sure put up a lot of 76's.

ChipOat

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2009, 11:20:22 PM »
Never seen a picture of the original (now) 10th green before.

David_Elvins

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #6 on: April 08, 2009, 11:36:30 PM »
Thanks for posting.  shows some of the design changes to the 9th green between 34 and 39.

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39

Ask not what GolfClubAtlas can do for you; ask what you can do for GolfClubAtlas.

Warwick Loton

Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #7 on: April 08, 2009, 11:38:36 PM »
Great photos. Isn't there a grandeur about the layout. It looks so much more open than in current pictures (although admittedly the deciduous trees are not in leaf, and some trees are just saplings). This impression reminds me of Stephen's previous ponderings how another MacKenzie course would look if the trees there were cut back to the way they were pre-WWII.

The pics also bring to life the contours of the greens.


James Bennett

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #8 on: April 08, 2009, 11:50:54 PM »
Thanks for posting.  shows some of the design changes to the 9th green between 34 and 39.

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David

Note the five years of growth in the newly-planted pines perhaps 100 yards short of the green between the first and ninth fairway, top left of pic 1934, and top middle of pic 1939.  I wonder what they look like today - I will watch closely.

I assume that is the first hole behind/to the right  in both pictures, and the ninth fairway is on the left.

James B
Bob; its impossible to explain some of the clutter that gets recalled from the attic between my ears. .  (SL Solow)

Damon Groves

Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #9 on: April 09, 2009, 12:03:58 AM »
Diggin it. Masters week baby!!!!

Michael Whitaker

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #10 on: April 09, 2009, 12:36:19 AM »
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2009


"Solving the paradox of proportionality is the heart of golf architecture."  - Tom Doak (11/20/05)

Stephen Britton

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #11 on: April 09, 2009, 06:16:17 AM »
A friend of mine told me about this website yesterday.

http://pro.corbis.com/default.aspx

Click search editorial, it's a photography website that has lots of new and old photos.

For the Merion guys there are also some good photos of Bobby Jones playing Merion back in the 1930's..
"The chief object of every golf architect or greenkeeper worth his salt is to imitate the beauties of nature so closely as to make his work indistinguishable from nature itself" Alister MacKenzie...

BCrosby

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #12 on: April 09, 2009, 09:22:26 AM »
Stephen - Thanks for posting these. As noted, the '34 Masters was played with the nine's flipped.

Some of these pic I had seen before, but several are new to me. This is the best picture of the original 10th I've ever seen. I am convinced more than ever that the hole should be restored.

Also, thanks to Michael W. for the comparisons of the 9th. It gives a flavor for how Maxwell toned down MacKenzie's features. That happened to a number of holes circa 1938/9. Maxwell domesticated MacKenzie's greens to the detriment of the golf course. A real architectural loss, imho.

Bob

 

Dan Herrmann

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #13 on: April 09, 2009, 09:28:03 AM »
Great photos.

I didn't see the huge bunker that's now on the 10th (then 1st) hole short of today's green.  Was that bunker (which reminds me of the bunkering a Cypress Point) present at the start?

BCrosby

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #14 on: April 09, 2009, 09:32:29 AM »
Dan - Look at the picture of the 1st (now the 10th) taken from behind the green. The bunker is behind and right of the green from that angle. It is huge, but the sand is hidden by its large lip.


JESII

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #15 on: April 09, 2009, 09:49:57 AM »
Bob,

It is also removed from the green by about 10 yards...that was interesting to me.

BCrosby

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #16 on: April 09, 2009, 09:52:22 AM »
A closer look at the old 10th green pic suggests to me that it was up at an elevation that matached the top of the big bunker. It does NOT appear to be in a bowl.

Which further suggests that the hole was not changed because of drainage issues.

Bob

JESII

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #17 on: April 09, 2009, 09:52:42 AM »
Assuming nothing else changed on #10/(#1 originally) excepting more fairway up to the new green, it appears that the drive would have wanted to get up onto the right side, avoiding the runway to the left...this seems a more penalizing tee shot than today's...

BCrosby

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #18 on: April 09, 2009, 09:55:57 AM »
Jim - Exactly. That is the heart of the case for a restoration.

The drive on the old hole was much, much more interesting that the current rope hook you hit any where in the valley.

The drive on the old hole needed to find a little plateau (still there) on the right side of the fw. A testing, interesting shot.

Bob

JESII

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #19 on: April 09, 2009, 10:04:37 AM »
What is / or would be the yardage difference?

Would they hit 3-iron - sand wedge?

Jon Heise

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #20 on: April 09, 2009, 10:05:31 AM »
Those pics are great!

Ive been watching ESPN Classic all yesterday as theyve been showing non-stop old Masters coverage.  Just watching the course evolve from the early 60's to the modern course in the ...9... or so hours I watched is pretty spectacular.  Seeing the trees grow and the bunkering change shape is pretty wild.  It seemed there was a good bit of scruff in some places up until about the mid 70's, then I really started to see the smooth contours and speed of the course really pick up.  Even the fairway mowing patterns changing.  Was also kinda neat to see all the old greats hitting the REALLY low chip shots landing right on the hole and wild bunches of birdies and eagles as the tournament moved to Sundays.  

Fun week, eh? :D
I still like Greywalls better.

Anthony Gray

Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #21 on: April 09, 2009, 10:09:27 AM »


  Is it me but do those greens look perfect. Even in the 30's they look fast.

  Bring back the plus 4's...I love 'em.

  Anthony


Mike Hendren

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #22 on: April 09, 2009, 10:10:25 AM »
These photographs show how quickly the course was altered - notably the now 9th green has been rounded off from its original tooth shape.

Great stuff.  Also proof that tree planting in is the course's DNA.

Bogey
Two Corinthians walk into a bar ....

BCrosby

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #23 on: April 09, 2009, 10:14:01 AM »
Jim - From the new back tees (which were needed) I would guess that getting to the best spot on the right side would be 260 or 270 plus, downhill.  A scary shot, however. The rightside rough/trees are very much in play if you want to open up the old green.

Bob

JESII

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Re: 1930's Masters Photos.
« Reply #24 on: April 09, 2009, 10:24:46 AM »
Thanks Bob...interesting concept for a course that now has only a single short 4.