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In January 1900, the legendary British golfer Harry Vardon traveled to America on a tour sponsored by the Spalding Sporting Goods Company. He was to be paid two thousand dollars for ten months of work plus whatever additional fees and purses he might win. In the United States the game of golf was in its infant stage, having been introduced in North America only 12 years prior to Vardon's adventure. Golf fans flocked to see the legendary British Open champion with the same zeal that modern fans follow current golfing great Tiger Woods.
In Boston, Massachusetts, Vardon appeared at an indoor exhibition at the Jordan Marsh sporting goods store that hundreds of fans attended. They watched in awe as Vardon hit golf balls into a net for nearly eight hours. Among the spectators was 7-year-old Francis Ouimet, a budding golfing enthusiast. Thirteen years later, at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, Ouimet would have a much closer view of Vardon. They would face each other for the U. S. Open championship in an 18-hole playoff that would change the face of golf in the United States. THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED by Mark Frost is the story of that Open championship; the lives of its participants and the impact that tournament week would have on golf in the United States and Great Britain.
The U. S. Open championship of 1913 was a pivotal event in golf history. Like the Bobby Thompson home run of 1951 and the sudden death victory of the Baltimore Colts over the New York Giants in the 1956 National Football League Championship, the 1913 Open was a defining moment in sports history. For the first time, an American golfer defeated a foreign golfer who was considered at that time to be the greatest player in the game. Mark Frost has done far more than focus on the events of that momentous week in golf history. He has created a vast mural that brings together an era when the game of golf was slowly being introduced to the world. THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED is a cornucopia of golf information for lovers of the game. From the portrayal of the participants, to the evolution of the golf ball, to the presidential golfing habits of Taft and Wilson, there is a wealth of information for anyone with an interest in the game of golf.
By 1913 Harry Vardon, the greatest golfer of his era, had seen a decline in his golfing ability. He had been victorious in five British Open Championships, golf's most prestigious championship. He would later win a sixth championship, a record that still stands today. Physically, however, Vardon was past his prime due to age and a battle with tuberculosis.
As a young man in England, Vardon had been forced into a life of domestic servitude. At the age of 17, he began work as an apprentice gardener. His employer, Major Spofforth, was the Captain of Golf at Royal Jersey. After observing Vardon swinging a golf club, the Major immediately arranged for a round of golf for his soon-to-be erstwhile gardener. From that point on, Vardon was destined to become the golfing hero of England.
Francis Ouimet followed a path to the 1913 Open that was both similar to and yet distinctive from the man he would face at Brookline. The Ouimet family lived across the street from The Country Club. Francis' father viewed golf as a silly endeavor. Ouimet began his golfing life as a caddy searching the course for lost golf balls to use during his rounds of golf. At the age of 16, Francis was forced to withdraw from the caddy trade. The rules of the United States Golf Association, then in effect, provided that a caddy could not be considered an amateur golfer. Because Ouimet had no desire to become a professional golfer, his caddy career came to an end. He continued his amateur golfing career with much success in the state of Massachusetts. In 1913, the United States Open Championship had been delayed from its traditional June date to September. This allowed some of Europe's great golfers to play in the tournament. It also earned Ouimet an invitation to the tournament after his fine play in the U.S. Amateurs played earlier that summer.
Unburdened by the commercial needs of modern golf tournaments, the 1913 Open was scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Thirty-six holes were to be played each day. The early part of the week included qualification rounds. Mark Frost describes the week with extraordinary detail. Having already been introduced to Ouimet and Vardon, we now meet the supporting cast, which includes Ted Ray, the third participant in the playoff; Eddie Lowrey, Ouimet's four foot tall, ten year-old caddie; and an untested professional playing in his first major tournament by the name of Walter Hagen. Each of these individuals makes a major contribution to the Open. Frost's description of the week's events has an almost fictional tone as he recreates the conversations between the major participants. Although he has taken some license with the dialogue recreation, it is done in a fashion that makes THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED an even better work of sports history than if the recreated conversations had been eliminated.
This is a remarkable book for golf and sports fans. Even those new to the game will enjoy this wonderful insight into the early days of the game in both Great Britain and the United States. There is so much to savor in THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED that even a review cannot do justice to the accomplishment of this book. It is simply put, a must read.
--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
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