The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever

If you love golf this is a must read

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. I can't summarize that essence better than the last paragraph of the book: "No four men will ever play such a match again. No four men like like these. The genuine way they lived their lives makes most of today's fast and frenzied sports and entertainment culture seem like so much packaged goods, a self-conscious, inauthentic hustle. In their best and worst hours alike each of these four stood his ground, put all he had on the line, and for better or worse lived with the consequences of his actions and moved on. Some green, untested souls might be tempted to wonder why one should still care, but none of us are here forever, we're not even here for long; and if it's true that our collective past exists inside all of us, unless we take time to bear witness to the best of those who strived before us, our chance to learn from their lives will be lost forever, and we will be the poorer for it." That's why I call it "required reading"... not to mention that it's totally fun and a complete delight! Thanks so much, Mr. Frost.

I had the unusual opportunity to play a round at Cypress Point in September of 2013. So, it motivated me to buy and read this book given that the story is set at Cypress Point. And, it was fun to read how the 4 players took on the various challenges along the course...as I could picture much of what was described having just played the course. But honestly, I ended up enjoying the book more because of the history described about the 4 players and just golf generally, especially how golf's professional tour vs the amateur tour have evolved. Most interesting were the profiles offered of the 4 players: Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Ken Venturi, and Harvie Ward. Very different individuals, but all with fascinating stories in their own right, and each with lives very well lived. Once you appreciate the significance of each of these players, then you better appreciate why it was so momentous that these 4 showed up to play a round at Cypress Point one day back in the 50's.

Frost is an incredibly gifted writer ... perhaps the most gifted of any sports book author. This comes from an obvious formal and dedicated writing background, and an exceptional understanding of the game of golf. Add to that social awareness and historical depth, and you easily have the best author of golf books. In this instant classic, Frost details how an impromptu match between legendary pros Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan, versus top amateurs (at the time) Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward, would present a fork in the road for the future of golf: would it remain the gentlemanly game of well heeled men playing only for honor, or would the best players come from the pro ranks where commercialism and money were also part of the incentive? Eras and egos collide, but in the end the participants celebrate the match with laughs over drinks in the Cypress clubhouse. Frost captures all the important shots with expert delivery of the risk/reward calculations involved, to the delight of readers that are also better players. All 4 played inspired golf shooting in "the 60's." Magical golf like this from everyone in the group is almost always the product of intense match play and, fittingly, the difference in the match was a truly perfect shot. The lives of the 4 participants plus the 2 men that sponsored the match are seamlessly weaved into the golfing tale, to the point where it's impossible to determine where the golf story ends and personal stories begin. You'll be on the proverbial "edge of your seat" wanting to know how both the golf and personal histories conclude. When Arnold Palmer burst onto the professional scene thereafer, it was clear where the future of golf was headed. And he's rightly credited with bringing golf to the masses. But importantly the stage had been set for the arrival of an Arnie-like character as a result of "The Match" played several years earlier. * Beyond "The Match" the history of the making of Cypress Golf at the book's end is worthy of special note. The visionary behind Cypress was an accomplished woman golfer from Long Island striking out on her own, and the original architect was Seth Raynor, associated with legendary Long Island courses The National and Shinnecock. When he died prior to laying out a plan, he was replaced by Alistair MacKenzie. The Englishman MacKenzie had been a battlefield surgeon in WWI, and he drew upon the "camoflouge" aspect of that battlegound experience and others in his golf course design philosophy. Although this resulted in highly difficult courses, his artistry meant players were too caught up in the visuals to even notice. Through Cypress, Bobby Jones met MacKenzie and subsequently commissioned him to design Augusta National. And the rest, as they, "is history."

A relative forwarded a video of former amateur and professional golfer Ken Venturi recounting a casual match between two seasoned golf professionals (Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson) and the best two amateur golfers of the day (Harvie Ward and Venturi) – arranged a day before the start of that year’s Bing Crosby Pro-Am by two millionaire golf patrons (George Coleman and Eddie Lowery) at Cypress Point Golf Course in 1956. I had never seen this video nor heard of the match; I forwarded the video to golfing friends thinking they would enjoy it. All three friends had seen the video and read “The Match” by noted golf writer Mark Frost, so I felt out of the loop and immediately purchased the book. I dove right in, and Frost exceeded my expectations. Due to a wealth of research and interviews, Frost was able to describe the match in extraordinary hole-by-hole, stroke-by-stroke detail, as if he’d seen it firsthand. At the end of the book, Frost tips his cap to Marion Hollins, an accomplished multi-sport athlete and amateur golfer who formed the Cypress Point Club and hired Alister MacKenzie, a British surgeon turned gold course architect, to design the course. A whole book could be written about each of them and their quest to make Cypress Point a golf course for the ages. Frost’s brilliant writing doesn’t just cover the match. He painstakingly describes the lives of each of the six main “Match” characters. Hogan and Nelson started out dirt poor in Texas and caddied their way into golf. They opted to turn professional to put food on the table. Lowery grew up just like them and is most widely remembered as the 10-year-old who caddied for Francis Ouimet – a 20-year-old amateur who won the U.S. Open in 1913. Ward, a lifetime amateur and college grad, and Coleman came from means and Venturi was somewhere in between them all. The reader is reminded that by 1956, Hogan’s career had already peaked, and he was finding it increasingly difficult to endure the physical demands of golf after his horrific 1949 car crash. Nelson had retired from the game ten years earlier and spent most of his time ranching in Roanoke, Texas. But between them, they had won 14 major championships and weren’t about to be beaten by “two damn amateurs”. Ward had just won the U.S. Amateur in 1955 and would win it again in 1956. Venturi had just gained national attention at the age of 24 and, while an amateur, would finish second in the Masters in 1956. He blew a four-shot lead in the final round and, to this day, no amateur has ever won the Masters. Each of the four players played to their full potential. No team was ever in the lead by more than one hole – the pros regained that lead on the 10th hole when Hogan pitched in from 85 yards for the day’s only eagle. They held the lead going into the 18th hole, sensing that they would need a birdie to win the match. Indeed, Venturi was the first to birdie the hole, leaving it to Hogan to also make birdie and clinch the match. His putt split the middle of the hole. Ward and Nelson ended up shooting scores of 67. Venturi shot a 65 and Hogan a 63. The amateurs' better-ball score was 59, the professionals a 58. As a foursome, they had 27 birdies and the eagle. A notable seventh character – but not associated with the match – is Frank Stranahan, a very successful amateur and professional golfer. He was born into a very wealthy family (his father founded the Champion Spark Plug Company), allowing him as a teen to concentrate on golf. Several times during his amateur career, Stranahan ran afoul of Clifford Roberts, the chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, because of his unsportsmanlike conduct, which violated club and tournament rules. Notably, Stranahan was warned, and then finally suspended from the tournament in 1948, for playing more than one ball during practice rounds. Legend has it that although Lowery, then a San Francisco car dealer whose employment of Ward and write-off of his golf-related expenses caused Ward to lose his amateur status, made a sizeable bet with Coleman that his amateurs could beat any two professionals Coleman might put forward. Despite winning the bet, Coleman never asked to collect. The two were so blown away by the performance of this foursome that no amount of money could compensate for the experience. P. S. Frost mentions the day that Harvie Ward captured the U.S. Amateur in 1955, held at my home course, The Country Club of Virginia (CCV) in Richmond. Upon accepting the winner’s trophy, Ward gave a speech and thanked several people. One of them, a teaching professional named Palmer Maples, had taught Ward the game of golf in Ward’s hometown of Tarboro, North Carolina. At some unknown date, Maples became a teaching professional at CCV; beginning in 1964, he also taught me the game of golf.

I’m 60 years old and loved and played golf for over 20 years until severe back problems forced me to quit (along with all the other sports I love, especially running). I knew all four players in this story except for Harvie Ward, whom I had never heard of. Since the game the book is about took place in 1956, I wasn’t even born yet so I never saw any of the players play. But of course I knew who Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Ken Venturi were. Ken was still announcing golf on TV when I was younger and I knew Mr. Nelson as the old gentleman who would open the Masters with a ceremonial first drive. The only thing I knew about Ben Hogan’s life I learned from the movie “Follow The Sun”, which I didn’t realize was such a poorly shallow rehash of Hogan’s life. But that was really all I knew about them and it’s really a shame that you could live for 60 years, love golf and NOT know this story (or more about the men in it). I think I remember reading that they were making a movie based on this book but if not, they really should. The movie “The Greatest Game Ever Played”, based on the book of the same name (and coincidentally written by the same author) is the best golf movie in existence in my opinion. When I was a teenager, even Arnold Palmer was past his playing prime and so was Jack Nicklaus except for his amazing Masters victory at aged 47 (I can’t swear to his age but for an athlete he was old and I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way at all). There is a postscript to this book and it was, for me at least, a must read. I’d recommend reading this book to the very end since it tells of the man and woman who actually designed and built Cypress Point. The guy who designed it also designed a little course called Augusta National. Buy this book and read it. You won’t regret it even if you don’t play golf. My only regret is that I didn’t know this story or about Cypress Point when I was stationed at Camp Pendleton early in my Marine Corps career. If I had, I would have made the drive just to see the course even if it wasn’t possible to play it.

As a 66 year old who is in semi retirement ( whatever that is!) and tries to play golf three times a week , the 2 ball team event has always seemed the most enjoyable golf. This wonderfully written book captures for me, why I feel this way. I can therefore quickly understand and relate to the special challenges of this format when it's not just dealing with the unique characteristics of each hole ( and of course in this case what amazing golf holes they are - Cypress Point an emerald in the pantheon! Worth the read if only for the wonderful analysis of Cypress Point But no...in the 2 ball game it is also the particular individual challenges that each player must face to best respond to the team situation so that one plus one equals three times the effect Then,superimpose on this the fact that the players are first an unbeaten amateur national team of much fame Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi who find themselves much to their surprise and unique fortune,pitted against probably the two greatest golfers of their time , indeed perhaps any time- the Great Ben Hogan and the amazing talent of Byron Nelson ! These two legends of vastly differing style and temperaments and motivation who only once played together in a two ball- and on this day ,in a classic example of for the enjoyment of competition ,rather than for trophy or dollars How therefore could this not be a special event ? But the fact also is that the match played actually exceeds any possible expectations ,at all the various possible levels ( sustained skills of all four players at their very best, classic pressure moments for each individual, prolonged uncertainty as to outcomes and for the true golf spirit and enjoyment. Mark Frost has captured all of this . Thank you!

Basketball, Football, Volleyball, Tennis, Baseball I played them all 4 sports in high school, football/ basketball as a NCAA division I scholarship athlete. Golf is by far the most precise, and often mentally challenging. This book provides a great history of truly great players of this lifetime game. Even though 79 now I still play 18 2-4 times per week. During my year studying Japanese at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey and playing most area courses, I never played Cypress Point. The profiles, history and story is well done. Thanks D. Winters , one time a 1.5 USGA index still an 8

Amazing story, narrative, very entertaining and educational at the same time

A good story well written.

brilliant read for the golf addict or any who are interested in sports stories, a glimpse of a long gone era in sport, a must read in particular for Hogan and Nelson lovers

Great story about Ben Hogan and golf in general. Good read for anyone and a must for golfers

Good read but long wait to get it.