John Jacobs (English golfer)
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- For other persons named John Jacobs, see John Jacobs (disambiguation).
John Jacobs (born 14 March 1925) is an Englishman who had a diverse career in professional golf as a player, coach, entrepreneur, writer and administrator and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000.
Jacobs was born in Lindrick, Yorkshire. He was the son of a golf professional and had a moderately successful tournament career on the European circuit in the pre-European Tour era. He won both the Dutch Open and the South African Match Play Championship in 1957, two years after making his one appearance in the Ryder Cup. He served as Tournament Director-General of the European Tour from 1971 to 1975, a period which included the inaugural season of the modern tour in 1972. In 1979 and 1981 he was the non-playing captain of the European Ryder Cup team.
Jacobs was also a leading golf coach, who worked with many top players, and established his own golf academies. In 1972 he set up a driving range business in the United Kingdom. He wrote several books including Practical Golf and Golf Doctor. His influence has been acknowledged by later coaches such as Butch Harmon, who stated, "John Jacobs wrote the book on coaching. There is not a teacher out here who does not owe him something."
