John Jacobs (English Golfer)
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John Robert Maurice Jacobs, OBE (14 March 1925 – 13 January 2017) was an English
professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...
, coach, entrepreneur, writer and administrator. He was inducted into the
World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame was, until recently, located at World Golf Village between Jacksonville, Florida and St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States. It is unusual amongst sports halls of fame in that a single site honored both men ...
in 2000.


Early life

Jacobs was born in Woodsetts, Yorkshire, the son of Robert "Bob" Jacobs (1880–1934), the professional at Lindrick Golf Club. Robert was born in Brancaster, Norfolk, and had become an assistant professional at the nearby Royal West Norfolk Golf Club. Robert had been the professional at Lindrick since 1919, having been at Bungay & Waveney Golf Club in Norfolk and Bedford Golf Club before
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. During the war Robert served in the 24th Battalion
Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many war ...
, the 2nd Sportsman's Battalion. He was badly gassed during the war, never fully recovered and committed suicide in December 1934 when Jacobs was nine years old. Jacobs's mother Vivian was the stewardess at Lindrick. Robert was replaced at Lindrick by his nephew John Archibald "Jack" Jacobs (1907–1999) who had been his assistant. Jack was a useful player who had finished as high as 16th in the
1935 Open Championship The 1935 Open Championship was the 70th Open Championship, played 26–28 June at Muirfield in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Alf Perry won his only Men's major golf championships, major title, four strokes ahead of runner-up Alf Padgham. Qu ...
and was twice runner-up in the PGA Seniors Championship (1958 and 1959). Jacobs joined the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, although he did not go into active service. It was during his period in the RAF that he met his future wife, Rita. They were married in early 1949.


Playing career

Jacobs turned professional after the end of the war, an assistant to his cousin Jack. He was demobilised from the RAF in 1947, taking his first paid position as an assistant at Hallamshire Golf Club, near Sheffield, soon afterwards. Jacobs was runner-up in the 1948 Yorkshire Professional Championship at Oakdale. After being tied with John Fallon after 36 holes, Jacobs lost the 18-hole playoff by 2 strokes. In 1949 Jacobs became the professional at
Gezira Sporting Club The Gezira Sporting Club (, Arabic transliteration, transliteration:''nādī al-ǧazyrah al-reyādī'') is the largest multi-sport facility in Egypt. It was founded in 1882 and was originally called Khedivial Sporting Club. It is located on th ...
in
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
, Egypt. He was there until early in 1952 when he left during the early stages of the
Egyptian revolution of 1952 The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 coup d'état () and the 23 July Revolution (), was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952, the revolution began with the toppling of King ...
. Jacobs spent the summer of 1951 in England and qualified for the
Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
for the first time, although he missed the cut. Jacobs spent 1952 playing as an unattached professional before becoming the professional at Sandy Lodge Golf Club near
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
later in the year. He was at Sandy Lodge until resigning and leaving in early 1964. Jacobs had a moderately successful tournament career at home and abroad. In 1957 he won the Dunlop South African Professional Match Play Masters and the Dutch Open. His win in the South African Professional Match Play was in March, at Houghton Golf Club in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
. Jacobs beat
Gary Player Gary James Player (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine ...
2&1 in the 36-hole final, winning the first prize of £200. Jacobs had beaten an in-form Harold Henning in the semi-final. In August he won the Dutch Open at Hilversumsche Golf Club near Hilversum, three shots clear of Flory Van Donck. Jacobs and Van Donck were level after three rounds but a course-record 67 gave Jacobs the victory. Jacobs had a hole-in-one at the 16th hole of his second round. Jacobs never won a big tournament in Britain but was runner-up a number of times, including being a losing finalist in the 1953 Goodwin (Sheffield) Foursomes Tournament, losing to 47-year-old Henry Cotton in the final of the 1954 Penfold Tournament, joint second in the 1960 Dunlop Masters, second in the 1963 Cox Moore Tournament and losing finalist, partnered with
Joe Carr Joseph Benedict Carr (22 February 1922 – 3 June 2004) was an Irish amateur golfer. Early life Carr was born in Inchicore, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, to George and Margaret Mary "Missie" Waters (the fifth of seven children). At 10 days ol ...
, in the 1963 Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament. In 1955, Jacobs made his one appearance in the
Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...
. Qualification for seven members of the 10-man team was based on the Order of Merit after the 1955 Open Championship. The qualifying events were stroke-play tournaments played in Great Britain from the Spalding Tournament ending on 22 April to the Open Championship itself, ending on 8 July. At the time the Order of Merit was a points-based system and a series of top-20 finishes, including a tie for 12th place in the Open, left Jacobs in 7th place in the Order of Merit and earned him a place in the team. The match was played at
Thunderbird Country Club The Thunderbird Country Club is a country club in Rancho Mirage in California's Coachella Valley. Its signature 18-hole golf course has hosted the Ryder Cup and the Palm Springs Golf Classic (now known as the American Express). Opened in 1951, th ...
,
Rancho Mirage, California Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is a low-density desert community with resorts, golf courses, and country clubs within the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert. Nestled along the foothil ...
. Jacobs won both his matches. Partnered with John Fallon, they won their foursomes match by 1 hole. He then beat
Cary Middlecoff Emmett Cary Middlecoff (January 6, 1921 – September 1, 1998) was an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour from 1947 to 1961. His 39 Tour wins place him tied for tenth all-time, and he won three major championships. Middlecoff graduated ...
in his singles match, again 1-up, holing a 4-foot putt on the final green.


Later life

Jacobs was largely responsible for the creation of the European Tour due to his coaching activities and contacts in so many European countries. He served as Tournament Director-General of the
European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...
from 1971 to 1975, a period which included the inaugural season of the modern tour in 1972. In 1979 and 1981 he was the non-playing captain of the European Ryder Cup team which was remembered for a dispute between
Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...
and the European Tour. Ballesteros had only played a handful of tournaments in Europe in the season leading up to the 1981 Ryder Cup because of a disagreement over appearance money. Jacobs wanted Ballesteros on his team and rang him in America. "Seve, I want you to come back to play in Europe. I can't guarantee you will get one of the two Ryder Cup places that are up for grabs – the organising committee can fill them as it sees fit – but I will be voting for you.". In the end, although Ballesteros did come back and Jacobs as captain voted for him, Neil Coles and
Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer (; born 27 August 1957) is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, he became the sport's first number one ranked playe ...
voted against his inclusion. Jacobs was also a leading golf coach, who worked with many top players, and established his own golf academies. In 1972 he set up a driving range business in the United Kingdom. He wrote several books including ''Practical Golf'' and ''Golf Doctor''. His influence has been acknowledged by later coaches such as Butch Harmon, who stated, "John Jacobs wrote the book on coaching. There is not a teacher out here who does not owe him something." He also designed golf courses, such as Chartridge Park Golf Club in Buckinghamshire, the
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
in Denham and Patshull Park Hotel, Golf & Country Club in Shropshire. Jacobs has written a number of golf instruction books. His best known is "Practical Golf", written with Ken Bowden and illustrated by Anthony Ravielli. It was first published in June 1972 and it is on a number of top 10 lists of the best golf instruction books of all time. Jacobs was an Honorary member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St Andrews. Jacobs died on 13 January 2017, aged 91.


Tournament wins (2)


Results in major championships

''Note: Jacobs only played in
The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place


Team appearances

*
Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...
(representing Great Britain & Ireland/Europe): 1955,
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
(non-playing captain),
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
(non-playing captain) * Joy Cup (representing the British Isles): 1954 (winners), 1955 (winners), 1958 (winners) * Amateurs–Professionals Match (representing the Professionals): 1958


References


External links

*
European Tour feature part 1
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, John English male golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe British golf administrators British golf instructors Golf writers British golf course architects World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Golfers from Yorkshire 1925 births 2017 deaths 20th-century English businesspeople 20th-century English sportsmen