Robert (Bobby) Tyre Jones, Jr. (1902-1971) was born to Robert Permedus Jones, Sr. (1879-1956) and Clara Merrick Thomas Jones (1881-1961) in Atlanta, Georgia. He married Mary Malone Jones (1902-1975) in 1924 and they had three children: Clara Malone Jones Black (1925-1994), Robert Tyre Jones, III, (1926-1973), and Mary Ellen Jones Hood (1931- ).

Bobby Jones suffered from health problems as a child and his doctor prescribed golf to strengthen his health. He developed into a child prodigy and won his first children's tournament at age six. In 1916 Jones began to compete in golf tournaments as an amateur. During his fourteen year career as an amateur competitor, Jones played in fifty-two tournaments. In 1930, Jones won the Grand Slam: The British Amateur, the British Open, the U.S. Open, and the U.S. Amateur. Jones remains the only man to accomplish this feat.

After conquering the golf world, Jones retired from competitive golf to practice law. Jones founded and helped design Augusta National Golf Club and he also co-founded the Master's Tournament. He continued his interest in golf by writing golf books and producing short films on the subject. Jones was an avid collector of golf books and golf memorabilia during his life. In 1948 Jones was diagnosed with syringomyelia which eventually led to paralysis. He died on December 18, 1971 and was buried in Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.