George "Gix" Von Elm Golf Collection

Appraised on: June 24, 2006

Appraised in: Salt Lake City, Utah

Appraised by: Simeon Lipman

Category: Sports Memorabilia

Episode Info: Salt Lake City, Hour 3 (#1115)

Originally Aired: April 30, 2007

IMAGE: 1 of 3  

Appraisal Video: (3:16)

GUEST: Well, we have golf club trophies from my great uncle. His name was George “Gix” Von Elm and he was a Utah favorite golfer. He won the U.S. Open Amateur in 1926, and he beat Bobby Jones. And I was given his golf clubs about 15 years ago. And I brought along a trophy from the Canadian Open that he won in 1922 and another trophy from 1922 and also a family picture. And this is Gix right here.

APPRAISER: Yes, uh-huh. This wasn't your typical Sunday golfer.

GUEST: No.

APPRAISER: He was one of the greats of the golden age of golf.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: And as you said, he won the 1926 U.S. Amateur Open, which was played at Baltusrol in New Jersey.

GUEST: Yes, yes.

APPRAISER: And he beat Bobby Jones.

GUEST: Yep.

APPRAISER: This is not something that many people did in the 1920s. Bobby Jones, perhaps the greatest golfer of all time. During that time period, he was the only person to beat him in a five-year span in the U.S. Amateur Open. Gix actually lost to him two years in a row prior to that.

GUEST: That's right.

APPRAISER: But he came back and he beat him in 1926. They became great friends. He was a great golfer and very well known during his day. After his playing days he became a golf pro, correct?

GUEST: Yes, in California.

APPRAISER: In California. And he also built a golf course and designed in Blackfoot, Idaho. He also taught to Bing Crosby and Bob Hope how to play golf.

GUEST: That's right.

APPRAISER: And that, probably more than anything else, helped popularize the game. So we're talking about a very important person in golf history.

GUEST: Correct.

APPRAISER: Well, we have some wonderful items here. You have these two magnificent trophies. This one right here is silver plate. It's the Pacific Northwest Golf Association. It's an amateur trophy. It's the championship. It's magnificent. It's intricate. It has this wonderful statue. I would estimate this one at $5,000 to $7,000.

GUEST: Oh, wow. Whoa.

APPRAISER: This cup right here is for Gix winning the 1922 Southern California Golf Association Championship qualifying round. This one is actually sterling silver.

GUEST: Whoa.

APPRAISER: It's magnificent. This one I would estimate at $3,000 to $5,000.

GUEST: Oh, my goodness.

APPRAISER: Now if this was just anybody's golf bag and clubs, I would say it would be worth about $300 to $400. But because it's Gix's golf bag, and his clubs… And interestingly enough, the clubs range from clubs from the 1920s all the way up through the late 1950s. It's kind of his whole history.

GUEST: That's right, in the bag. You know?

APPRAISER: Represented in that golf bag. Because of that, I would estimate that golf bag between $2,000 and $3,000.

GUEST: Oh, my.

APPRAISER: So you have an amazing group of items here.

GUEST: Whoa.

APPRAISER: And he was a Salt Lake City native.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: So it's just great to have all these items here in Salt Lake City.

GUEST: Oh. How cool. That's really cool.

APPRAISER: Let's go play a round.

GUEST: Okay.