The True Story of the Augusta National Lightweight Boxing Champion of the World

In the early days of the Augusta National, the club employed a young man by the name of Sidney Walker. Sidney wasn’t very large in stature, standing only 5’6 and weighed in around 130 pounds, but he was known to be a hard worker who started off as a shoe shiner at the club & was moved into a position where he would occasionally caddy for Bobby Jones. It’s safe to say Bob Jones was very fond of Sidney. In the words of Sidney: “There were many golfers at the club who treated me as if I was invisible, but only Bob Jones had time for me.”

On one of their many talks Bob asked Sidney what he wanted in life. Sidney responded by telling him that he wanted to be a professional boxer.

A little time passed, but when they spoke again, Bob pulled Sidney aside to tell him that he had spoken to the membership and fifty members including Clifford Roberts, sportswriter Grantland Rice and Bob had agreed to give Sydney $50 a piece- (mind you this was during the Great Depression at a time when the club likely had somewhere between 66-85 members). In the shadow of the Great Depression, coming off of the club’s foreclosure sale (see last week’s newsletter) Bob Jones raised $2500 (the modern-day equivalent of $55,000) to allow Sidney Walker to pursue his dream of being a professional boxer.

Now if you google Sidney Walker, you might think that the onetime shoeshine/caddy failed to reach his dreams, but Sidney went by another name and that name was Beau Jack.

As the editor or Ringside Magazine once said about Beau Jack- “on paper he didn’t look like much, but he had heart, quick hands and guts and he just threw non-stop punches.” In just three years time, Beau Jack posted a 22-2 record and got his shot on December 18, 1942 at the Lightweight Boxing Championship of the World in none other than Madison Square Garden.

Would the moment be too big for the shoeshine-caddy of Augusta National? Beau Jack with his non-stop machine gun punches overwhelmed Tippy Larkin and knocked him out in the third round and in the process, claimed the Lightweight Boxing Championship of the World!

Famous Boxing Writer, Burt Sugar said, "Beau Jack was a crowd-pleaser without equal, even more than Ali. Tremendously popular with fans, he was good for other fighters, too. He may have helped integrate the sport. Before Jack, white boxers routinely ducked black opponents unless the fix was in, but fighting Beau, meant a shot at the title in front of a big crowd. Every boxer wants that."

In 1944 Beau Jack used his popularity for the U.S. War Bonds effort, just as Bobby Jones had done to raise money for WW1 and WW2. Beau Jack and his biggest rival Bob Montgomery had just joined the army, but both men agreed to fight in Madison Square Garden to raise money for the war effort. They raised $35 million dollars (~ $617,000,000 in 2024 money), which remains the richest boxing gate in the history of boxing. Beau Jack donated his entire share of the gate to the U.S. War Bond Effort! In his own words: “That was for the country I live in.”

Beau Jack not only became one of the most famous boxers in the world, but he was also voted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame. All along that journey you could often find Bob Jones, Cliff Roberts and Grantland Rice in the crowd cheering on the onetime shoeshine and caddy of Augusta National… who for a time outshined the men who once employed him.

What is lesser known is that Clifford Roberts made sure that Beau Jack received good financial advice throughout his boxing career, much like Roberts provided for President Dwight D Eisenhower.

An Ode to the Short Holes: ANGC’s 12th

While there has been so much talk in the golf world about the rollback of the golf ball, I thought I might create a segment in the SOCIETY Newsletter that focuses on the “short ball” - that is to say some of the golf’s great short holes & hopefully some of their history.

With this issue being dedicated to the Masters Tournament, I thought we could focus on the 12th hole at Augusta National.

What did Dr. Alister Mackenzie say about ideal short holes (excerpts from the Spirit of St Andrews):

“I think the eleventh (the short hole coming in at St. Andrews) may be considered so. Under certain conditions, it is extremely difficult for even the best player that ever breathed, especially if he is attempting to get a two, but at the same time an inferior player may get a four if he plays his own game exceptionally well. It has been suggested that the mere fact that it is possible to putt the whole length is an objection to it. No doubt the timid golfer can play the hole in this way, but he will lose strokes by avoiding risks. Even if an expert putter holes out in four strokes once in three times, he can consider himself lucky.”

He continued,

“There are few, if any, other short holes in existence.  The seventh and fourteenth on the Eden Course at St. Andrews are remarkably fine holes, especially as they have to a great extent been artificially created.”

Mackenzie also mentioned the 8th at Moortown known as Gibraltar (which to be fair he designed).

The famous saying, “The Masters doesn’t start until the back nine on Sunday” can be linked to the 12th. While its risk reward approach hasn’t won the Masters, it’s certainly contributed to the loss of more than a few Masters. In short, it’s the perfect golf hole for one of the world’s most preeminent golf championships.

MacKenzie’s Description of the 12th Hole:

“This is an interesting pitch shot to a long narrow green Immediately over a stream. The bold player will go for the pin on the right, while the less ambitious will steer for the larger landing the left side of the green.

There is a steep sandy bank covered with beautiful trees beyond the green.”

Like every hole at ANGC, the hole has evolved over time. Today it sits as one of the most challenging short holes in the world, with its ability to even make the greatest golfers in the world quiver.

Historical Notes on the 12th:

• When construction started on the 12th hole (back then the 3rd hole), Wendell Miller found that it sat upon an old Native American Burial Ground.

• In 1944 forty-two German prisoners of war, detained at Camp Gordon, were used to help restore Augusta National for play. The POWs were part of Rommel’s Engineering team for his tank division charged with building bridges in North Africa. Some of these 42 POWs built bridges in place of the Hogan & Nelson bridges on the 12th hole.

The Myths of the Masters Part 1

If you haven’t tuned in yet- click the link below to listen to a podcast dedicated to some of the Myths behind Augusta National and the Masters. I promise you will be entertained- from Assassination conspiracies to whether you will get an automatic membership if you get a hole-in-one on the property!

Thank you for taking the time to read our free weekly newsletter dedicated to the history of the game of golf. If you enjoy it, please let your friends know that they should subscribe too. Again it’s completely free of charge!

Yours in Golf History,

Connor T.