92-year-old's golf tales date to first Masters, its founders

Not many people can say they saw Bobby Jones play in the inaugural Augusta National Invitation Tournament. Or that they dined with President Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie.

Dan Yates can.

The Atlanta native, 92, is one of the oldest Augusta National Golf Club members. He has attended every Masters since the gathering of Jones and his friends was first held in 1934. He is full of stories about the tournament and club.

His best ones revolve around the men who built Augusta National, Jones and Clifford Roberts, and the president who helped popularize golf.

Growing up in the shadow of East Lake Golf Club, the home course for Jones, Yates and his older brother, Charles, would tag along and watch the golf great during his rounds. Jones once gave Yates a brief golf lesson.

"Bobby Jones told me when you're swinging a golf club, the first thing to remember is not to think about more than one thing at a time," he said. "The second thing is to keep your head behind the ball."

Yates, a fine golfer, was thrilled to get a letter from Jones in 1960 that invited him to join the club.

"I was really stunned."

Yates' brother had played in the first 11 Masters and became an Augusta National member in 1940. They also served on the press committee for many years.

Though Dan Yates never played in the Masters, his son, Danny, has played twice. The Yates family has been prominent in golf in Georgia for decades; Charles, Dan and Danny each won the Georgia State Amateur Championship.

Still, having a brother who was close to Jones and being a member himself brought no special privileges, Yates said.

"When I joined the club, my tickets were reduced," he said. "I complained to my brother, who was secretary of the club, and he said, 'Don't complain to me.' He said, 'My tickets were reduced, too.' "

Roberts, the club's co-founder, ran a tight ship, Yates said.

"I was scared of him as I was of a rattlesnake. I really was," Yates said. "The first year I was on the press committee and I was in a golf cart and I backed into a Pinkerton man. Mr. Roberts called me into his cabin. And the thing I always remembered was they used to put the trophy out in front of the pro shop. The next day after he got onto me he backed into the trophy."

Roberts was innovative in the changes he brought to tournament golf, Yates said.

"I think he did so many great things for golf that nobody had even thought about before," he said. "But everybody respected him."

Yates once got a chance to dine with Eisenhower.

"My brother Charles was with the railroad. He would take one of the railroad office cars to Washington and bring Ike and Mamie down to Augusta," he said. One morning the phone rang. The brothers were invited to have dinner with the Eisenhowers, he said. Dan wound up being Mamie's dinner partner.

"It's been a special place for me to be a member," he said. "You can't do anything to join. You just get invited."

Reach John Boyette at (706) 823-3337 orjohn.boyette@augustachronicle.com.