Jim Barnes Personal Used Golf Iron Donated to PGA of America - with Display

When presented with this piece from the PGA of America it was instantly apparent how truly significant of an opportunity our bidders would have in this future acquisition, Jim Barnes' personal used golf club. Similar to the game of golf, the Professional Golfers of America is rich in history and was founded in 1916. Growing the game of golf is and always has been their main objective, fast-forward 100 years and it has been a great success. Coming along with their conception was a professional tournament that is known as one of the four modern major tournaments, the PGA Championship. Having Jim Barnes become the first champion in 1916 and again in 1919 couldn't have opened the then match play tournament any nicer.

Born in Lelant, Cornwall, England, James Martin "Long Jim" Barnes was one of the titans of golf at the turn of the 20th century. He won four major championships - the first two PGA Championships 1916 and 1919 (the latter the result of the interruption of World War I); the 1921 U.S. Open and the 1925 Open Championship. Barnes remains the only major golf champion to be presented a trophy by a sitting U.S. President - Warren Harding in 1921 at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Barnes also captured three Western Opens and two North and South Opens when both events were considered "premier" by the golf community but not officially stamped "majors" following the 1934 launch of The Masters.

World Golf Hall of Fame journalist Bernard Darwin described Barnes: "His finish was a model for a tall man (6-foot-4), who is inclined to spring up too soon after the ball is hit. Everything he did was pleasant to watch." Barnes didn't become a U.S. citizen, but did leave his mark in America beyond winning the first two PGA Championships. He was a popular golf instructor while working at 13 clubs in eight states. He authored a classic instruction book in 1919: "Picture Analysis of Golf Strokes." Barnes, an original member of the PGA of America Hall of Fame (1940) and later the World Golf Hall of Fame (1989), famously gave a piece of advice to a young Bobby Jones: "Bobby, you can't always be playing well when it counts. You'll never win golf tournaments until you learn how to score well when you're playing badly." Jones later recalled, "This is perhaps what I learned to do best of all."

- Bob Denney, PGA of America Historian

To reiterate and circle back to the piece that is located in this lot: with likely much praise and possibly upon request, Jim Barnes donated his personally used iron that bears a head stamp of simply "JM Barnes Tacoma Wash" to the PGA National Golf Club. This was then given to the PGA of America to be appreciated for many years to come. Included in the presentation is a Silver King golf ball that was presented by the PGA National Golf Club as well in 1991 on the occasion of the PGA of America's 75th anniversary. The framed presentation measures 22" x 32" and holds Barnes' club that measures 39" from the top of the grip to the bottom of the heel. A letter of from PGA Historian Bob Denney will accompany this lot.

~*PGA Reach Collection*~

PGA Foundation Inc. d/b/a PGA REACH, is the 501(c)(3) charitable foundation of the PGA of America. PGA REACH positively impacts the lives of youth, military, and diverse populations by enabling access to PGA Professionals, PGA Sections and the game of golf

* All winning bids for auction items will be deemed to be at fair market value. As a result, none of the items are eligible for a charitable tax deduction and no acknowledgement letters will be provided * 

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Place your bids now as this auction will end at 9:00pm EST Sunday, February 9th with EXTENDED BIDDING to follow. All items that have received multiple bids in the auction will remain open until no items have received a bid within a 15 minute time period (at 10pm EST, the countdown clock will be adjusted to a 5 minute interval). Place your bids now!

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