The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever

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.

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!

While I enjoy an occasional round of golf and watching PGA tournaments on TV, I m not much of a golf history buff. When I heard an interview with Mark Frost on a podcast, discussing The Match, I knew I had to read it. The Match is the story of a friendly round of golf instigated by Eddie Lowery, the boy caddie of Francis Ouimet, whose story was chronicled by Frost in his earlier book The Greatest Game Ever Played Grade: A+ . What made The Match unique, was the foursome that played: Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Ken Venturi, and Harvie Ward. Nelson and Hogan were legendary professional golfers, though somewhat past their prime. Venturi and Ward were a couple of young amateurs who worked for Lowery at his car dealership an arrangement that proved detrimental to Ward . The book casts this battle as one between golf professionals and amateurs for the future of golf. Contrary to the current climate, the PGA tour was hardly a jetsetting high-paying profession. It was a grind that saw pros driving from tournament to tournament, staying in cheap motels, and hoping to earn enough money to buy their meals and repay their backers. The Match took place at Cypress Point Golf Club, an apparently extraordinary course that is no longer host to PGA events. It was played prior to the 1956 Crosby Clambake, which has since become the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The backstory about Cypress Point and the Clambake is fascinating enough in its own right. But what makes the book a page turner is the tension of The Match itself. The four golfers played an almost unbelievable round of match play, in which neither side ever led by more than one hole I won t spoil the story by telling you which team won. Interspersed are the life stories of the four protagonists. While I knew of Nelson, Hogan, and Venturi, I didn t know the story of their lives and how they intertwined. I hadn t heard of Ward, which is a shame, because he was an incredible amateur golfer who was seen as the successor to Bobby Jones. My one complaint with the book was the prose Frost occasionally used in describing the golfers lives. For example: "You didn't need a crystal ball to see that worldly success waited just down the road for Harvie; he wore the can t miss sign in neon lights a mile high and exuded the rare intangible confidence of a man supremely comfortable in his own skin. That future appeared all mapped out; Harvie just had to fill in the details on the requisition; sign on the dotted line; and start living the life of Reilly." I'm not sure what exactly bothers me about the language, perhaps the use of cliches or hyperbole. However, this is outweighed by the way Frost paints the picture of Cypress Point and The Match. If you have even a passing interest in golf, or appreciate the competition of elite athletes, you owe it to yourself to read The Match.

A special book for all golfers. A well told true story. Special to all Northern California golfers.

It is difficult to remember or appreciate what the game of tournament golf was like some fifty or so years ago. Before Tiger Woods, before Jack Nicklaus, before Arnold Palmer, before network television and the Golf Channel. This book will open a window on those times and does it in a very entertaining way. It is the time of the Crosby Clambake, an event started by Bing Crosby which brought together touring pros and wealthy and well known amateurs and has now evolved into what we know as the AT+T National Pro-Am, played on golf courses on the Monterey Peninsula. In 1956, the premiere kick off party for the week long event was a party held at George Coleman's. Coleman, is a millionaire many times over and an avid and accomplished golfer in his own right. Attending the party that night was Eddie Lowery, another golfing millionaire and a person known to have engaged Coleman in several sporting wagers over the years. Lowery owned the most succesful Lincoln-Mercury dealership in the country and was also a ardent supporter of amateur golf. In order to support some of the most promising ones, he gave them jobs as car saleman which meant they were to sell his cars in the morning and be available to play golf in the afternoon. On this particular evening he is singing the praises of two of "his boys" who he has arranged to have play in the golf tournament, Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward. At dinner he proclaims to all who will listen that there are not two players in the world that can beat them when they play as a team. Coleman's ears prick up and he inquires, "Including pros?" "Any players breathing," comes the reply. "Well, I've got a couple of fellas in mind," "Fine. Bring 'em on. Name your price." The amount of the wager differs according to those with memories of the evening, but it was substancial for 1956 and perhaps as much as twenty thousand dollars. "So who are your players?" Eddie asks after the bet is arranged. "I'll tell you in a minute," Coleman replies as he leaves the room and places a call to Ben Hogan. He agrees. Byron Nelson is already at Coleman's house and after a quick conversation the match is agreed to. Those at the dinner are sworn to secrecy, but are told the match will be at Pebble Beach where Hogan has a tee time arranged for 11 AM. The players gathered the next morning at Cypress Point to commence one of the most amazing golf matches ever played. As the match progresses, the author uses it to also describe aspects of the careers of the participants, give interesting insights into the times and describe the wonders of one the the world's finest golf courses. For golfers, it is a trip back in time not to be missed.

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

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.

This is the best golf book I have ever read. The real life 1950's Cypress Point golf match between Hogan, Nelson, Venturi and Ward is very well told. More importantly though is that it provides a great vehicle for the author to share the life stories of some of the greatest forces in American golf while also highlighting the transition of golf from an amateur game to the professional game we know today. Hogan and Nelson absolutely come to life. Venturi and Ward are close behind as is Eddie Lowery, Francis Ouimet's now wealthy caddie from "The Greatest Game Ever Played." Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Bing Crosby and a host of other luminaries of the times are well explored while others such as Walter Hagen and the newcomers Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus make apperarances. The book also provides some great history of the Pebble Beach golf complex which I found fascinating. My only complaint came right at the end when the author got a little bit preachy, but that disappeared as quickly as it arrived. This book reads like a novel, but packs in more information per page than almost any book I have ever read. If you are in the least interested in golf and its history, this is a "must read."