( CNN ) -- He was the first golfing superstar , and his legacy lives on more than 80 years after he made sporting history . The U.S. PGA Championship has returned to the home club of Bobby Jones , who bestrode the gentleman 's game like a colossus as an amateur in the 1920s before his shock retirement . The only man to win golf 's four major tournaments in one year , Jones founded one of his own events that is now among that pantheon -- the Masters . Not only did he buy the plot of land on which he helped build the fabled Augusta National club , the American legend was also instrumental in the move towards mass-produced metal-shafted clubs that made golf more accessible to the general public . Kaymer claims 2010 PGA Championship after last-day drama . But while Jones is inextricably linked to Augusta and the Masters long after his death in 1971 , his real home is the Atlanta Athletic Club . Originally located downtown in Georgia 's capital , its course was actually the nearby East Lake Golf Club , not the present-day development in Johns Creek north of the city . `` This is his home course . You ca n't dispute the fact the Atlanta Athletic Club is his home club , and you ca n't dispute the fact that this is his home course , '' East Lake general manager Rick Burton told the PGA 's official website . Jones ' family moved to a summer house near there when he was six -- he was a sickly child who could not eat solid food , according to his descendents ' business website . But he thrived at Eastlake , winning the club 's junior title at the age of nine and even beating his father in a senior final when 13 . The following year he became the youngest player to appear at the U.S . Amateur , which then -- like its British counterpart -- was one of golf 's four major tournaments . However , despite his prodigious talent , it took Jones time to make his mark as he battled his own demons . He had the `` face of an angel and the temper of a timber wolf '' according to renowned sportswriter Grantland Rice . That was best illustrated at the 1921 British Open when he shocked onlookers at St. Andrews , the home of golf , by picking up his ball in disgust during a difficult third round and effectively disqualifying himself . Jones called it his `` most inglorious failure '' but he subsequently became synonymous with fair play and grace , calling a two-shot penalty on himself at the 1925 U.S. Open before missing out on the title by one stroke . `` You may as well praise a man for not robbing a bank , '' he reportedly said after being praised for his gesture . Jones ' breakthrough year was 1923 , when he won the U.S. Open for the first of a record four times -- triumphing in an 18-hole playoff after almost throwing away his chances with a disastrous finish to his final round . Between 1923 and his final year of competitive play , 1930 , Jones won 13 of 21 major tournaments he entered . A lawyer by trade , he rarely played anything but national championships and spent only three months of each year competing , much of that time in transit . In 1930 he finally won the British Amateur title , the first leg of his unprecedented `` Grand Slam , '' and received a hero 's welcome when he returned to New York . It was his second such ticker-tape parade , having also been honored in 1926 when he won the British and U.S . Opens in the same year . `` The accomplishment of the Grand Slam assumes more importance as an example of the value of perseverance in the abstract than as a monument to skill in the playing of a game , '' Jones wrote in his book `` Golf Is My Game . '' `` I am certain that in those moments when the success of the project was most in doubt , the decisive factor in each case had been my ability , summoned from somewhere , to keep control of myself and to keep trying as hard as I could , even when there was no clear indication of the direction in which hope of victory might lie . '' Jones , who could have embarked on a lucrative professional career , then shocked the sporting world by deciding to quit competitive golf , calling it `` a cage . '' `` First you are expected to get into it and then you are expected to stay there . But of course , nobody can stay there , '' he said . Jones instead began his dream of building his own course at Augusta , and made money writing golf books and making short instructional films for Hollywood studio Warner Brothers . He also helped design revolutionary standardized , numbered clubs for Spalding that bore his name for more than 40 years , which replaced the hickory Scottish-style shafts he had used so well . His family company has sold his signature equipment and clothing since 2003 . Jones served in the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel during World War II , but ailing health ended his playing participation at the Masters after 1948 . His best finish at his own tournament was 13th in its inaugural year 1934 , as he concentrated on his hosting duties . Additionally , he became president of the Atlanta Athletic Club as his father did half a century before him , and played a significant role in its move to Johns Creek in the 1960s . In November 1971 , just a month before his death , Jones wrote a letter to the U.S . Golf Association that led to his club 's Highlands course hosting its first major tournament , the 1976 U.S. Open . `` I should be most happy if my old club should become the host for my favorite golf tournament ... I can assure you that the championship will be royally entertained , '' Jones wrote . `` I wish I could look forward to seeing you in Augusta again this fall , but I suppose my days there have about ended . '' Confined to a wheelchair by long-term spinal problems , Jones passed away at the age of 69 a week before Christmas . `` That was an impactful letter , '' AAC general manager Chris Borders told the PGA website . `` I 'm sure when the president of the USGA received it in 1971 he felt , 'Well I really do n't have any other choice , we have to take it to the Atlanta Athletic Club . '' The club hosted the PGA Championship for the first time in 1981 , when Larry Nelson won , and most recently in 2001 as fellow American David Toms triumphed . Visitors to this week 's tournament will be greeted by a statue of Jones outside the clubhouse . `` We specifically did not pick one of him in his swing because we felt it was more important that he gave the appearance of welcoming people into the club , and one of hospitality . He was such a great gentleman , '' Borders said . `` He guided the club not just with golf but with our athletic endeavors , all our dining and social activities . The club was a very important place for him to be . ''
Atlanta Athletic Club will host U.S. PGA Championship for the first time this week . It was the home club of golf legend Jones , who broke records 80 years ago . Bobby Jones is the only golfer to win all four major tournaments in 1930 . After retiring in 1930 he built the Masters Tournament and founded the Masters Tournament .