Arnold Blum, five-time Georgia Amateur champion from Macon, dies

In the 1950s, at a time when some of golf’s greats were playing as amateurs, Macon’s Arnold Blum was right in the mix.

There’s a photo of a sitting Ken Venturi at the 1952 National Amateur in Seattle, engaged in conversation with Byron Nelson. Venturi had just lost his first-round match, falling to Blum.

Venturi went on to a long professional career, eventually moving into the CBS broadcast booth. Blum remained in the amateur ranks, helping lead the United States to victory in the 1957 Walker Cup.

Blum, who played in the Masters five times and finished in a tie for 24th in 1952, died Wednesday, a little more than two weeks shy of his 95th birthday.

“He’s the man,” said Ray Cutright, the director of golf at Idle Hour Club, about Blum’s stature when it comes to golf in Middle Georgia. “He’s so far above everyone else. Five Masters? Nobody around here did that. He’s in a different league.”

A two-time state high school champion at Lanier, Blum won an SEC championship at Georgia and shot a course record 62 at Athens Country Club before earning a Purple Heart in Europe in World War II as part of the 75th Division, where he rose to the rank of captain.

After the war, Blum became a major player in amateur golf. He won his first Georgia Amateur title in 1946, then he won three straight state amateurs from 1950-52 before winning his final state amateur in 1956.

In 1951 and 1956, Blum also won Southern Amateur championships. He qualified for the U.S. Amateur 16 times, reaching two quarterfinals, and won three Southeastern Amateur championships.

Locally, Blum won nine Macon city championships and two Peach Blossom tournaments.

“He’s probably one of the top 20 amateurs every in the country,” Cutright said.

Blum, who owned Central Bedding Company, maintained his involvement in the sport through service on the Georgia State Golf Association and Southern Golf Association boards. He was president of the Georgia State Golf Association in 1960-61, and he was also a past president of the Macon Rotary Club.

Cutright said Blum picked up tennis after his competitive golf days, with Blum returning to recreational golf later in life.

“For years, he shot his age almost all the time,” Cutright said. “I came here in 1993, he was playing two or three days a week, and he still shot in the 60s. And he was in his early 70s at the time.”

The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame inducted Blum in 1979, with the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame adding him to its rolls a decade later. Idle Hour Club has named its teaching facility the Arnold Blum Golf Learning Center.

Visitation will take place from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday at Hart’s at the Cupola, 6324 Peake Road, with the memorial service scheduled for 11 a.m. on Monday at Vineville United Methodist Church.

This story was originally published April 6, 2017 at 5:54 PM with the headline "Arnold Blum, five-time Georgia Amateur champion from Macon, dies."