Rating: 
Summary: Know what you're getting!
Review: This is a serious work by a professor of history. It ISN'T filled with anecdotes ("And then Walter said to Bobby ..."), descriptions of shots ("Bobby then drilled a quail-high mashie between the towering pines ..."), gossip, swing analyses, etc. If this is what you're looking for, you'll be sorely disappointed. It's fairly dry -- make that extremely dry -- but is well-researched (hundreds of endnotes) and will be fascinating for anyone with an interest in the history of American golf. The format is a dual biography of Jones and Hagen in which their respective careers are compared and contrasted to give the reader an understanding of the rise of American golf in the era 1900-1930. The two men were so different in virtually every respect that this approach is very effective. Those who think golf began with Palmer, Nicklaus or Woods will gain an appreciation of what "gods" Jones and Hagen really were during the era in which they played. Hagen especially tends to be overlooked, but this book is an important reminder that he was one of the true greats of the game in addition to being one of its two or three all-time "characters." I didn't have the feeling that the author was particularly knowledgeable or avid about the game -- instead, this is a work of historical research, just as you or I might produce a history of badminton if we were willing to spend the time to do the research. When you're done, you won't "know" Bobby Jones as well as you'd know him if you read his and O. B. Keeler's own voluminous writings, and you won't be a fount of anecdotes, but you will have a solid grasp of Jones' and Hagen's place in history, how golf became an American obsession and how American golf eclipsed British golf. All of this for the price of a couple of dozen Top-Flite x-outs.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Insight into two of Golf's Legends
Review: This is reminiscent of an old book I read which compared the tennis careers of Arthur Ashe and Clark Graebner. They came from two different societal classes. Thus, there approach to the game and its structure were opposed at times, and yet had many crossovers and parallels.Possibly, this explains their differences and similarities. One who came from the country club environ might more easily been able to afford the luxury of amateur status and gentlemanly approach, while the other clawed and fought for each millimeter of turf to get and stay on the top. Jones is already a bright star in our past, and this book shall help to place Sir Walter in his rightful place in our rich golf heritage. We don't consider and give enough credit that without these two Arnie and Jack wouldn't have been able to achieve for golf what they did. I've heard Arnie acknowledge this as well, the class act that he is. Golf has much to feed on in its history and continue for the generations to come. This wonderful addition to its literary heritage is an brilliantly composed and written volume.
Rating:
Summary: Great Insight into two of Golf's Legends
Review: This is reminiscent of an old book I read which compared the tennis careers of Arthur Ashe and Clark Graebner. They came from two different societal classes. Thus, there approach to the game and its structure were opposed at times, and yet had many crossovers and parallels. Possibly, this explains their differences and similarities. One who came from the country club environ might more easily been able to afford the luxury of amateur status and gentlemanly approach, while the other clawed and fought for each millimeter of turf to get and stay on the top. Jones is already a bright star in our past, and this book shall help to place Sir Walter in his rightful place in our rich golf heritage. We don't consider and give enough credit that without these two Arnie and Jack wouldn't have been able to achieve for golf what they did. I've heard Arnie acknowledge this as well, the class act that he is. Golf has much to feed on in its history and continue for the generations to come. This wonderful addition to its literary heritage is an brilliantly composed and written volume.
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