The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf

by Mark Frost

Book Overview

THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED is the story of Francis Ouimet and Harry Vardon, who in pursuit of their passion for a game that captivated them as children, broke down rigid social barriers that made... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786869208
• ISBN13: 9780786869206
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: Hyperion Books
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.4" x 9.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

For anyone that is a decent and improving goal for this is the greatest book you’ve ever read gives

I live in Brookline Massachusetts so I purchased the book because the golf course that I play at is near where Francis Ouimet grow up and I loved the education part of the early game of golf how it had evolved I loved the description and the vivid detail the author provides of the personalities of the player amazing book I’m only halfway through but I would recommend it to anybody who loves the game of golf

Outstanding Dramatization of the 1913 U.S. Open Championship

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

Outstanding

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<br> 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<br> books ever written. <p> 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<br> 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<br> 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<br> 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<br> 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. <p> 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<br> 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,<br> 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<br> 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<br> course across the street from his own house, had to fend off two of the world's best. <p> 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<br> write it like a sports movie? More troubling is that Mr. Frost has chosen to provide dialogue and to ascribe though

One of Greatest Books on Greatest Game

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!

One of the best golf books I have ever read!

This is a very well written history of players in the 1913 US Open. I enjoyed the history behind each player and the turns their careers made after the historic win by Ouimet. The author does an excellent job of describing the play of the qualifying rounds and the actual tournament. The descriptions of the shots and the play of significant players was like being there. I did not understand or appreciate the significance of the 1913 US Open until I read this book. The history of the English golfers and their golf makes one wish we could meet them today (Harry Vardon and Ted Ray). The golf rules of 1913 also are very well outlined and illustrate the style of play during that time in history. This book is highly recommended to anyone interested in the game of golf and I feel it helps one appreciate the test that golf has each time we step on the course. Wonderful book and a very well written true story!

Required reading for anybody who knows a golfer!

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.