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

Mark Frost

As a member of the Baby Boomers (born 1949) I have experienced events that have shaped my development and those of my peers. Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas; Woodstock and Altamont; "one small step for man—one giant leap for mankind"; "I have a dream"; 450,000 people bringing the troops back home at the Polo Fields in San Francisco; 73 home runs in a season; the end of a Berlin Wall; and the fall of communism in the USSR. I lived these events in person or experienced them with the help of the media.

In The Greatest Game Ever Played Mark Frost has made the late part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century come alive with history, dialogue, class struggle; economics; modern technology; and deposited me at Brookline Country Club (outside of Boston) in September of 1913 to witness the birth of golf in America. Don’t check out on me now if history or golf are not your bag! This book is about the sprit that breathes in every human being; the drive/flame that burns within us to improve our lot for ourselves and our children; to accept defeat after defeat and never give up.

The life of Henry Vardon and the life of Francis Quimet are so similar that you get goose bumps reading this book. Mark Frost weaves a story of that makes the golfers of this period jump off the pages of the book and dialogue with you. While I am at best a junior grade golf historian&mdash the characters of Walter Travis, Johnny McDermott, the Smith Brothers, Ted Ray, Jerry Travers, Bernard Darwin, Long Jim Barnes, Wilfred Reid, Walter Hagen, and Eddie Lowery become (with Mark Frost's artistry) so real as to be a part of my Saturday foursome.

I would tell you that this is the best golf book I have ever read (which it is) but I want to convey to you how much I enjoyed this book as an example of the human sprit, which burns in all of us. For it tells of poor, young men, with dominating fathers who do not understand the Sirens that beckon from the links; the mistress that gives you a taste—but not enough to satisfy; a woman whose face changes round by round; place by place; the excessive heat, cold, wind, rain she throws in the face of her pursuers.

That third week in September of 1913 changed the lives of so many and introduced America to the game of shepherds with crooked shafts, caddies that fell in love with the mistress for the few pennies they made; wealthy gentlemen from private clubs who loathed the professional and embraced the amateur. Francis Quimet, with 10–year–old Eddie Lowery at his side, took on the mightiest that the game had to offer and turned golf into a game for the masses—not the rich. And for Americans—not just English and Scottish ex&ndash patriates.

The book ends with a narrative telling what became of the major players of the book. For the Westerner in me, the story of Eddie Lowery’s move to San Francisco and the role he had in championing the rising amateur careers of Ken Venturi (1964 US Open Champion) and E. Harvie Ward (United States Amateur Champion) rekindles the memory of my youth at Lincoln Park both as a caddie and a player.

Thank you, Mark, for hours of enjoyment with a period and a game I love so much.

Review by Lee Silverstein

This is a book to be read by everyone, not just the committed golfer. Like Seabiscuit, a book about a horse and horseracing that was embraced by anyone with a heart and soul, The Greatest Game Ever Played, a book about the US Open and the birth of modern golf, will be embraced by everyone who likes an interesting slice of life about a place and time that not much has been written about. This is a true epic story of human beings who understand struggle, triumph, defeat, and the power of the human will. This is one of the best sports books or snapshot of history books I have ever read. It is far more than just the story of the 1913 U.S. Open in Brookline, Massachusetts. This is a classic fairy–tale–come–true story. Make sure your teenage and young adult children and friends read this treasure. This is a book full of heroes, yet without any villains. It is wonderful and unique. In may be "The Greatest Sports Book Ever Written."

I feel I cannot be effusive enough about this book. Everyone I know who has read it at my suggestion has called me to thank me. It makes a fabulous gift for any sports fan and certainly anyone with any interest in golf. I can't understand why this book has not proved to be the biggest best–seller in many years.

Review by Len Oppenheim