The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf
Filed in Product Review on Jun.03, 2010
Product Description
This narrative chronicles the birth of the modern game of golf through the story of Harry Vardon and Francis Ouimet. These men, in pursuit of their passion for a sport that had captivated them since childhood, lifted themselves out of their lives of common poverty and broke down rigid social barriers, transforming the game of golf into one of the most widely played sports in the world today. Vardon and Ouimet were two men from different generations and vastly differ… More >>
The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf
June 3rd, 2010 at 1:43 am
After sober reflection, I state my conviction that, if I lived the length of a dozen lives, I should never again be the spectator of such an amazing,
thrilling and magnificent finish to an Open championship.
-Bernard Darwin (1876-1961), The Times of London
Mark Frost has already proven himself a terrific writer, with such television series as the great Hill Street Blues and the innovative Twin Peaks to his credit,
and a few successful novels, including the excellent Sherlock Holmes homage, The List of Seven>, and a sequel, The Six Messiahs. But I don’t know that
anything can have prepared even his fans for this book, which, though one must have some reservations about its form, is quite simply one of the best golf
books ever written.
To begin with, Mr. Frost has chosen his topic wisely. Harry Vardon (1870-1937) and Francis Ouimet (1893-1967)–both of whom came from working
class families, had difficult relationships with their fathers, and learned to golf as boys at the local courses where they caddied, Ouimet in Massachusetts, Vardon some twenty-plus years earlier on
the Isle of Jersey–are thoroughly compelling heroes. In 1913 their similar stories converged at The Country Club, in Brookline, MA–the very club at which Francis had caddied–in the United
States Open. Harry Vardon was at that time probably the best golfer in the world and in previous visits to America had been instrumental in marketing the game here. But it was to be the young
amateur Francis Ouimet’s playoff victory over the professional Vardon and countryman Ted Ray that, or so Mr. Frost argues, gave birth to the modern golf era in America.
The book starts with extended biographical sketches of the two men and the events that brought them to the tee for their face-off. Numerous other characters are on hand to lend color–two of
whom stand out, and will be the star-making roles in the inevitable movie: the dashing young American professional Walter Hagen (golf’s eventual answer to Babe Ruth) and Eddie Lowery,
Ouimet’s preternaturally self-assured ten year old caddie. Digressions inform us about changes in rules and equipment, the professionalization of the sport, and its popularization. But it is the
tournament itself that forms the bulk of the book, particularly the final day, the Monday playoff, when the little known twenty year old, playing before large and enthusiastic hometown galleries, on a
course across the street from his own house, had to fend off two of the world’s best.
Mr. Frost’s prose gets a tad purplish at times, but personally I thought that gave it the feel, of old time sportswriting. Besides, the story is so improbable that the reality seems like a clich?, so why not
write it like a sports movie? More troubling is that Mr. Frost has chosen to provide dialogue and to ascribe thoughts and feelings to the various players even though he has had to create some of it
himself, without ever differentiating which is which. Although it serves his purposes as a storyteller well, fleshing out the characters and letting us see them interact “naturally” with one another, it
actually becomes distracting because you can’t help but wondering which thoughts and words come from people’s memoirs and contemporaneous accounts of the event (which are apparently
sufficiently extensive so that much of what’s here is genuine) and which are purely made up. It also–though we’ve seen experiments of this kind in recent years, like Edmund Morris’s
Dutch–seems more than a little unfair to attribute imagined words and emotions to real people who don’t have an opportunity to dispute or confirm them. It would, I think, have been preferable to
simply call the book a novelization, in the tradition of Michael Sharaa’s Pulitzer Prize-winning account of Gettysburg, The Killer Angels. At the very least, there should be footnotes to indicate where
truth ends and fiction begins. From an author or publisher’s point of view there may be reasons not to do these things–just in terms of the sales and marketing of novels vs. nonfiction and reader
dislike of footnotes–but from a standpoint of intellectual rigor it’s somewhat disconcerting.
Once you get past these considerations–and take my word for it, the writing and the story are so exciting that you will get past any questions–you’re in for an unbelievably thrilling tale. It’s
especially recommended for golf fans, who will find the tangential stuff about the clubs and balls they used just as interesting as the championship, but it should really appeal to everyone, in much the
same way that Seabiscuit reached past horse race fans to a wide audience. It’s a marvelous read and seems certain to make for a great movie.
Grade: (A+)
Rating: 5 / 5
June 3rd, 2010 at 4:13 am
I’m still entranced by this work. It ties the game many of us are passionate about with two key individuals: Harry Vardon and Francis Ouimet.
From their confrontation at The Country Club emanated modern golf era in America and Bobbby, Jack, Arnie, Tiger et al.
That’s just one of many points that struck this reader, the amazing influence Vardon and Ouimet had. The grip, the ball, the fame, the book. Francis taken in by all this. Harry finally taken in by this young golfer from across the street.
The first half is just superb history telling by a master writer who has done the research so well. Amazing chapter on what was going on historically in 1913. Context makes this so riverting reading!
The second half is the Open that started the U.S. modern era.
Parallels abound between Harry and Francis and their love for the game, start and family interest.
From a growing sizeable personal golf library, this will be a most treasured volume, to be reread fondly. Those who follow golf will want to know this heritage which runs from Morris to Vardon to Ouimet to Sarazen to Jones to Venturi to you and me. What a book! What a game!
Rating: 5 / 5
June 3rd, 2010 at 6:17 am
Mark Frost’s first novel, The List Of Seven, was so meticulously researched, had you not known it was fiction you would believe it to be fact. His latest work, The Greatest Game Ever Played, is so well structured and vivid in its description of characters and events, had you not known it was fact, you would embrace it as a novel. It is a wonderful, captivating, heartwarming yarn. And every detail is true.
It took me nearly two weeks to read The Greatest Game Ever Played – not because I’m a slow reader nor because the book is that long – but, because I savored each chapter, internalized its characters, and then proceeded to go out and shoot a terrific game of golf. Frost’s historical novel actually taught me to play better by inviting me inside the hearts and minds of golfing greats Harry Vardon and Francis Ouimet. I simply didn’t want the experience to end.
Frost’s gift for storytelling is at its best as he tackles a subject he clearly loves. His fascination and enthusiasm are contagious. The Greatest Game Ever Played is a book you will read more than once and want to share with your friends: golfers, golf-widows, and all those who simply think golfers are crazy.
Rating: 5 / 5
June 3rd, 2010 at 7:53 am
Although I drive past the Ouimet museum every day on my way to work, have contributed to the Ouimet Scholarship fund for caddies for many years and thought I knew all about the 1913 Open, this book was an eye opener for me. Almost everything I thought I knew was incorrect in some important detail, and the best parts of the story were unknown to me until I read this well researched and exciting book.
While I’m not sure that the 1913 Open was the greatest game ever played, I do know that The Greatest Game Ever Played was the best sports book I read in 2003. I heartily recommend it to any golf fan and those who love to read about the underdog rising to the top.
Before discussing the Open, let me comment that this book has a format that most will find unusual. There is extensive background on the origins of golf, the backgrounds of the players, the development of golf in the United States and the social history of the time, as well a lengthy section on aftermaths of the players and individuals involved. You will learn about unexpected subjects, such as how tuberculosis was treated before there were antibiotics.
The story-telling style is in the best tradition of fictional dramatizations. Some of the dialogue is invented. The author indicates that “in employing dialogue to bring these scenes to life, I used source material for direct attribution whenever possible. In its occasional absence I attempted to infer intent from prose or reportage . . . . In rare exceptions, with a dramatist’s license, and in the utter want of an eyewitness, I took the liberty of elaborating on those perceptions beyond what I could absolutely verify.” It’s impossible to know which dialogue material is a quotation and what is invented, so don’t take the dialogue too literally. It’s like watching a made-for-television movie about the Open. One of the strengths of the dramatization is to capture the psychology of the event in what read to me like realistic terms.
During the matches, there’s a tremendous amount of detail about the shots that were taken. I was impressed by the amount of research that went into capturing the drama of the occasion.
If you don’t know the story, Harry Varden was the greatest star of his day. He was touring the United States with Ted Ray to earn money and to establish British superiority over the Americans by winning the Open. Before he was done, he would win six British Open championships despite having lost many years due to World War I and his illness with tuberculosis . . . and its permanent effects on his putting. Varden was Ouimet’s idol, in fact. Their backgrounds were very similar in coming up as caddies from poor, working class families. Golf had been a game for the privileged rich until a small class of professionals rose up. Ouimet’s victory was exceptional in that he played as an amateur and because he was so inexperienced. His victory had large ramifications for the sport in encouraging its further development in the United States and in attracting future stars to the game like Gene Sarazen and Bobby Jones.
The venue for the competition was The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. Ouimet lived across from the 17th hole and learned to play on three holes that he and his brother built in their backyard. Ouimet got his first golf club by trading used balls he found on the course. Golf fans will be delighted to know that the 17th hole has been important in three major tournaments at TCC, the most recent being the long putt that Justin Leonard made there to win the Ryder Cup in 1999.
To me, one of the most delightful parts of the story involved tiny 10-year-old Eddie Lowery caddying for Ouimet after the first day of qualifying. Eddie was no taller than the bag and had to dodge the truant officer to get to the course. He had injured his foot before the Open and the wound bled through his bandage every day. Anyone who has ever had a young caddy will be reminded of the pleasures of working with a youngster and how that joy adds to the fun of playing.
Mr. Frost is an exceptional story teller, and I hope that he will write other historical dramatizations in the future.
As I finished the book, I realized that I should be sure to look for well researched versions of historical subjects to test my understanding of those events. Otherwise, my beliefs will often be wrong . . . and I will miss out on the drama of the real story.
Rating: 5 / 5
June 3rd, 2010 at 9:52 am
Imagine at this year’s (2005) U.S. Open at Pinehurst, an unknown amateur from North Carolina who grew up nearby the resort and caddied at Pinehurst No. 2 won his local Open qualifier, somehow gets himself into a playoff with Tiger Woods and Vijay Sihgn, and actually wins it all. This may give you the slightest inkling about what Francis Ouimet accomplished against Harry Vardon and Ted Ray at the 1913 U.S. Open. Mark Frost’s recounting of this remarkable event (along with the lives of its two most compelling participants, Ouimet and Vardon) ranks among the most vivid and compelling writing ever encountered in golf (or for that matter, all of sports).
The early chapters of the book focus on the dire circumstances that almost inadvertently introduced Vardon and Ouimet to the game. Family financial crisis forced the young Vardon to seek a caddying position at a local golf course in Jersey (the British island, not the U.S. state), at which time through trial and error he developed the principles of the modern golf swing (including the overlapping positioning of the hands on the club that has come to be know as the “Vardon” grip). Vardon’s steely resolve and determination not only drove him to the top of the golfing world, but also aided him in his successful battle against tuberculosus.
Ouimet’s financial straits were not much better than those of Vardon, but as a very young boy growing up across the street from The Country Club in Brookline, MA he was transfixed by golf; enough so that he and his brother built a make-shift three hole course in the woods in their back yard. Like Vardon, circumstances force him into caddying – but the young Ouimet had the by-then successful Vardon as an inspiration for his own fluid swing.
The events leading up to and surrounding the historic 1913 U.S. Open are captured brilliantly by Frost, including Vardon’s tours of America, Ouiment’s sudden emergence as a force in amateur golf (along with his reluctance to accept an invitation to the U.S. Open because of his worry of getting time off from work), and the unfortunate jingoistic rooting of some of the Open gallery (foreshadowing some of the rude behavior displayed at the same course at the 1999 Ryder Cup). Frost also creates wonderfully vivid images of key golf figures of the time, including the rougish Walter Hagen (who nearly stole the show in 1913), Johnny McDermott (the high-strung defending U.S. Open champ who succumbs to his own bravado), and the marvelous golf writer Bernard Darwin, who sees Ouimet’s potential in a 36-hole U.S. Amateur quarterfinal match with defending champion Jerry Travers (in which Francis plays admirably but loses, 3 and 2) and despite his British ancestry finds himself rooting for Ouimet during the climatic playoff.
Best of all, Frost’s dramatic writing style leaves the reader on the edge of his seat – even though most golf afficianados are familiar with this story, I think even they will find themselves agonizing over each missed crucial putt and cheering every magnificent shot made by both of the protagonists. Whether you care deeply for the game of golf or are looking for an entertaining read, “The Greatest Game Ever Played” will resonate within for a long time.
Rating: 5 / 5