George Gunby Jordan II was born on November 2, 1915 in Muscogee County, Georgia to Ralph Curtis Jordan and Louis Mott Mulford. He was named for his paternal grandfather. Jordan graduated from Yale University with a degree in History and returned home to Georgia in order to take over the family business, the Jordan Company. Gunby Jordan married Helen Smith Swift in 1938 and they had two children, G. Gunby III (1939-1942) and Randolph Swift (1942-2013).

G. Gunby Jordan II was an avid golfer and developed the Green Island Hills golf club on what was once his family’s farm. In the 1970s, he created the Green Island Invitational which became known as the Southern Open. In 1990, the Southern Open gained Buick as a sponsor and moved to Callaway Gardens in 1994 and became known as the Buick Southern Open. Jordan’s love of golf also inspired a book he wrote called “Caddies” (1988) which sought stories and personal remembrances from caddies throughout the sport.

Helen Smith Swift was born March 13 1917 in Columbus, Georgia to George Parker Swift, III and Helen Vernon Smith. She attended Stuart Hall in Staunton, Virginia, Gunston Hall in Washington, D.C. and Finch College in New York. She married Gunby Jordan, II in June 1938 and they settled in Columbus, Georgia. Helen Jordan was an avid golfer like her husband and a member of several social organizations in Columbus.