The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever [Unabridged] [Audible Audio Edition] Author: | Language: English | ISBN:
B003BLGDC4 | Format: PDF, EPUB
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Renowned novelist and screenwriter Mark Frost turns his eye for golf to an event so famous that it's grown to the stuff of legend. In 1956, a casual bet between two millionaires eventually pitted two of the greatest golfers of the era - Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan - against top amateurs: Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi. Frost recounts this dramatic tale from start to finish, detailing the match that vaulted golf out of the shadows and into the national spotlight.
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- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 8 hours and 43 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: Recorded Books
- Audible.com Release Date: March 9, 2010
- Language: English
- ASIN: B003BLGDC4
I just finished Mark Frost's new book, The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever, and while I was excited to read the latest from the author of the amazing and invaluable true golf tale, The Greatest Game Ever Played, this new book exceeded my expectations. I was moved to tears several times and another, perhaps even more important, slice of golf history was illuminated.
I also looked forward to this read because I had heard that "The Match" takes place at Cypress Point and I've always dreamed of playing that course, so it was a treat to walk and play it with some of the greatest golfers of all time. In case you haven't heard, the center piece of this story is a casual best ball match play round between Ben Hogan and Bryron Nelson (representing the pros) and Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward (representing the amateurs). The time is 1956 and Venturi and Ward are the last of the gentleman amateurs playing at the highest levels of the game. The event is precipitated by a bet instigated by none other than Eddie Lowery, the pint-sized ten-year old caddie from "Greatest Game" who has (believe it or not) become a millionaire California car dealer. This connection to the earlier book is more than a coincidence and Lowery becomes more important to the story than one might expect.
I'm going to go so far as to say that this book is required reading for any serious golfer. On one level learning more about the life story and personality of these great players as well as that of Cypress Point and the Crosby Clambake are quintessential elements of the glory of golf in America. As before, Mark Frost does an amazing job illuminating this background (including the best recounting of the famous Hogan comeback after his accident that I've ever read.) But there's much more beyond all this.
With the publication of THE MATCH: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever, Mark Frost cements his credentials as one of the country's finest chroniclers of the rich and celebrated history of golf in America. In two previous efforts, he painted remarkable portraits of significant events in the annals of the game that travelled to America from Scotland. THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED is his account of the 1913 United States Open and the victory by Frances Ouimet, an unknown American amateur. THE GRAND SLAM is his narrative of Bobby Jones's victory in the four major golf championships of his era. The chronological saga continues as THE MATCH takes readers back to 1956, the era of golf preceding television and legends Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
At the outset, readers should accept the fact that Frost's title for his third golf book is hyperbole. Indeed, one can search its pages in great detail and never find an answer to how the game of golf changed as a result of the 18-hole practice-round match pitting professionals Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson against amateurs Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi. While substantial money may have changed hands as a result of the contest, very few sports fans were even aware that it had occurred. Contemporary professional golfers probably pass out more in tips than the four players battled for on this day.
Setting that aside, Frost describes far more than a competition involving four men. Through his words readers gain a portrait of the status of professional and amateur golf in the 1950s, as the beloved and respected amateur golfer would now take a backseat to a new era of professional golfers and their fans.
The money men behind the contest were Eddie Lowery and George Coleman, wealthy businessmen who loved golf and betting on it.
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