John Ball Jr.

John Ball was a soft-spoken and shy person who does not have a great deal of commentary associated with him, but as a British golfer, his is considered one of the greatest amateur golfers of all time. He won eight British Amateur Championships and his American counterpart to this accomplishment would be Bob Jones, who came along more than forty years after John Ball.

His stretch of Amateur golf championships began in 1888 and continued through to 1912, when he was 51 years old. He won both the British Amateur and British Open Championships in 1890, a feat that was only matched by Bob Jones in 1930. John Ball was the first amateur golfer to be named an 'Immortal' by the Royal Empire.

His grip on the club was somewhat unusual, and the kind of thing that would give today's instructors fits, but his swing was graceful to the point that Bernard Darwin wrote, "I have derived greater aesthetic and emotional pleasure from watching John Ball than from any other spectacle in the game." He gripped the club tightly with both palms.

In 1927, at the age of 66, John Ball tried to win his 100th British Amateur match, but came up short in the second round. In these early days of competitive golf, tournaments were played in match style, where one player competes against one other opponent, trying to win each hole, or halving the hole, rather than keeping stroke scores.

He retired from the game shortly after this defeat and died in 1940. John Ball's competitive nature was clearly evident at every tournament he played. He had a raw determination that set him apart from almost all other golfers of his time. When he found an opponent with whom he wanted to best, he would dig in and focus solely on making it through the tournament to go head-to-head with that player.

It wasn't a personal vendetta or anything like that; John simply wanted to compete against the best players in the field at any given time and he sought them out with a lion's tenacity. John Ball, though often quiet, admonished the Academy for allowing niblick to be used in competitive play, which was similar in angle to modern eight or nine irons. When he found himself in a bunker, he simply turned a mid-iron over at a steeper angle and with his fluid swing, floated the ball out and toward the green.

History can sometimes forget about these early pioneers and lions of competitive golf, but John Ball will always be remembered for his unique swing, his desire and determination, and his accomplishments as an amateur golfer.

My name is Mike Maves. You may know me as Sevam1 from Youtube and Golfwrx. If you enjoyed this piece of golf history, come check out secretinthedirt.com, a golf instruction forum and social network I created with PGA tour legends Steve Elkington and Jackie Burke, Jr.