Rating: 
Summary: A great read, even for the non-golfer
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a great read, even for the non-golfer. A sweeping story with a lot of scope, it brought the early days of golf in this country to life in a vivid fashion, and I found it hard to put down.I heartily recommend this to anyone looking for a well-told, exciting tale.
Rating:
Summary: Golf, the true history of the game
Review: I thought this book was great I loved all the history that was incorporated throughout the book, you felt like you lived that era. I was so enthralled in Harry Vardon and Francis Ouimet's life. Wow!!! I hope that anyone who takes up golf reads this as a prereading to appreciate all that golf is and what it isnt. Any true lover of the game of golf will appreciate this book. I think it will make me a better golfer!!! One can only hope!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Would Make a Great Movie
Review: I'm not a big fan of golf, so the fact that I enjoyed this book attests to how good it is. The author, Mark Frost, who worked on "Hill Street Blues" and "Twin Peaks," does such a great job of establishing the background and personalities for all the major participants at the 1913 U.S. Open tournament that the reader really cares what happens to them, both in the tournament and later in their lives. The reader also gets excellent incite into what golf was like from the late-1800s to early-1900s and how society viewed it and its participants. As my title suggests, the book, to me, plays out a great movie, complete with interesting characters and a dramatic, "Rocky"-like ending.
Rating:
Summary: One of Greatest Books on Greatest Game
Review: I'm still entranced by this work. It ties the game many of us are passionate about with two key individuals: Harry Vardon and Francis Ouimet. From their confrontation at The Country Club emanated modern golf era in America and Bobbby, Jack, Arnie, Tiger et al.
That's just one of many points that struck this reader, the amazing influence Vardon and Ouimet had. The grip, the ball, the fame, the book. Francis taken in by all this. Harry finally taken in by this young golfer from across the street. The first half is just superb history telling by a master writer who has done the research so well. Amazing chapter on what was going on historically in 1913. Context makes this so riverting reading! The second half is the Open that started the U.S. modern era. Parallels abound between Harry and Francis and their love for the game, start and family interest. From a growing sizeable personal golf library, this will be a most treasured volume, to be reread fondly. Those who follow golf will want to know this heritage which runs from Morris to Vardon to Ouimet to Sarazen to Jones to Venturi to you and me. What a book! What a game!
Rating: 
Summary: In the same class as Hillenbrand's "Seabiscuit"
Review: If you're interested in the history of the game in America, this is a must read by a VERY capable writer. He sets a great tone and his prose is engaging. Frost does a whale of a job transporting the reader back in time and when the protagonists reach the climactic playoff, you will not want to put this book down. Forget "Bagger Vance"; Francis Ouimet was the real deal. This was a wonderful read and a great antidote to the blather one hears during the typical televised golf event. If you're a golfer looking for a good read, this title will not disappoint.
Rating:
Summary: Greatest Game Review
Review: If you've ever loved golf you'll love to read this. I didn't know it was a book I couldnt put down. Author has a great narrative style. You almost feel like you are there...
on a scale of 1-5 it is a 10!!
Rating:
Summary: Soars Like a Well-Struck Drive
Review: Imagine at this year's (2005) U.S. Open at Pinehurst, an unknown amateur from North Carolina who grew up nearby the resort and caddied at Pinehurst No. 2 won his local Open qualifier, somehow gets himself into a playoff with Tiger Woods and Vijay Sihgn, and actually wins it all. This may give you the slightest inkling about what Francis Ouimet accomplished against Harry Vardon and Ted Ray at the 1913 U.S. Open. Mark Frost's recounting of this remarkable event (along with the lives of its two most compelling participants, Ouimet and Vardon) ranks among the most vivid and compelling writing ever encountered in golf (or for that matter, all of sports).
The early chapters of the book focus on the dire circumstances that almost inadvertently introduced Vardon and Ouimet to the game. Family financial crisis forced the young Vardon to seek a caddying position at a local golf course in Jersey (the British island, not the U.S. state), at which time through trial and error he developed the principles of the modern golf swing (including the overlapping positioning of the hands on the club that has come to be know as the "Vardon" grip). Vardon's steely resolve and determination not only drove him to the top of the golfing world, but also aided him in his successful battle against tuberculosus.
Ouimet's financial straits were not much better than those of Vardon, but as a very young boy growing up across the street from The Country Club in Brookline, MA he was transfixed by golf; enough so that he and his brother built a make-shift three hole course in the woods in their back yard. Like Vardon, circumstances force him into caddying - but the young Ouimet had the by-then successful Vardon as an inspiration for his own fluid swing.
The events leading up to and surrounding the historic 1913 U.S. Open are captured brilliantly by Frost, including Vardon's tours of America, Ouiment's sudden emergence as a force in amateur golf (along with his reluctance to accept an invitation to the U.S. Open because of his worry of getting time off from work), and the unfortunate jingoistic rooting of some of the Open gallery (foreshadowing some of the rude behavior displayed at the same course at the 1999 Ryder Cup). Frost also creates wonderfully vivid images of key golf figures of the time, including the rougish Walter Hagen (who nearly stole the show in 1913), Johnny McDermott (the high-strung defending U.S. Open champ who succumbs to his own bravado), and the marvelous golf writer Bernard Darwin, who sees Ouimet's potential in a 36-hole U.S. Amateur quarterfinal match with defending champion Jerry Travers (in which Francis plays admirably but loses, 3 and 2) and despite his British ancestry finds himself rooting for Ouimet during the climatic playoff.
Best of all, Frost's dramatic writing style leaves the reader on the edge of his seat - even though most golf afficianados are familiar with this story, I think even they will find themselves agonizing over each missed crucial putt and cheering every magnificent shot made by both of the protagonists. Whether you care deeply for the game of golf or are looking for an entertaining read, "The Greatest Game Ever Played" will resonate within for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: Non-golfer loves golf book.
Review: In Dandelion Wine Ray Bradbury taught us that the best time machine is storytelling. In this wonderful book, Mark Frost transported me to 1913 to witness the birth of golf in the United States. The heart of the book is the battle between the Tiger Woods of the day, Harry Vardon of England, and the American kid who would become the first homegorwn champ, Francis Ouimet. For a non-golfer like me, it was a revelation to feel present at a great golf game as psychologically tense as Fischer vs. Spassky, as hard fought as Ali vs. Frazier, and as crowd thrilling as Bird vs. Magic. A truly great read. To paraphrase the old potato chip commercial, I dare you to read just one - (page that is).
Rating:
Summary: An absolutely fabulous narrative
Review: It would be hard to come up with a more obscure topic for a book. The 1913 US Open? Are you kidding? Who wants to read about that? It was only because I heard a positive review of this book over the radio that I even considered picking it up. I am most gratified that I did. The first section of the book, which discusses both the rise of Harry Vardon to golf superstardom and the childhood of Francis Ouimet, is riveting. Two individuals, raised half a world apart (although in similar economic circumstances) make their way through their respective worlds. It seems totally unlikely that their two paths will ever intersect. The second section of the book, which covers the qualifying & final rounds for the US Open, was to me a little less engaging, at least until the final playoff round between Ouimet, Vardon, and Ted Ray, where the 20-year-old Ouimet shocked the golf world by defeating the seasoned British professionals. His victory announced the arrival of American golf, and ranks as one of the great upsets in sports history. Ouimet was the first US amateur to win the US Open. The stroke-by-stroke description of the final round is a true page-turner. The book only bogged down when the author attempts to describe the era in which the game is set. He gushes over Teddy Roosevelt & castigates William Howard Taft, whose term he describes as one of the most disastrous in history. This section not only seems unnecessary, but clearly shows that Frost is not exactly a student of US history. Taft may not be one our great presidents, but his term was not exactly a fiasco. Why Frost spends as many pages ripping into Taft is a mystery to me. All golfers should read this, if for no other reason than to be humbled by the description of the equipment & conditioins under which these golfers played. In a day of graphite shafts & over-sized heads, where duffers can launch the ball great distances, it is almost inconceivable that men could play with any accuracy with wooden shafts & gutties. One is left with the impression that Harry Vardon would massacre most modern-day professionals if given half the chance. It is very depressing for hackers such as myself, but then one has the example of Francis Ouimet, who reminds us why we love the game so much.
Rating:
Summary: An absolutely fabulous narrative
Review: It would be hard to come up with a more obscure topic for a book. The 1913 US Open? Are you kidding? Who wants to read about that? It was only because I heard a positive review of this book over the radio that I even considered picking it up. I am most gratified that I did. The first section of the book, which discusses both the rise of Harry Vardon to golf superstardom and the childhood of Francis Ouimet, is riveting. Two individuals, raised half a world apart (although in similar economic circumstances) make their way through their respective worlds. It seems totally unlikely that their two paths will ever intersect. The second section of the book, which covers the qualifying & final rounds for the US Open, was to me a little less engaging, at least until the final playoff round between Ouimet, Vardon, and Ted Ray, where the 20-year-old Ouimet shocked the golf world by defeating the seasoned British professionals. His victory announced the arrival of American golf, and ranks as one of the great upsets in sports history. Ouimet was the first US amateur to win the US Open. The stroke-by-stroke description of the final round is a true page-turner. The book only bogged down when the author attempts to describe the era in which the game is set. He gushes over Teddy Roosevelt & castigates William Howard Taft, whose term he describes as one of the most disastrous in history. This section not only seems unnecessary, but clearly shows that Frost is not exactly a student of US history. Taft may not be one our great presidents, but his term was not exactly a fiasco. Why Frost spends as many pages ripping into Taft is a mystery to me. All golfers should read this, if for no other reason than to be humbled by the description of the equipment & conditioins under which these golfers played. In a day of graphite shafts & over-sized heads, where duffers can launch the ball great distances, it is almost inconceivable that men could play with any accuracy with wooden shafts & gutties. One is left with the impression that Harry Vardon would massacre most modern-day professionals if given half the chance. It is very depressing for hackers such as myself, but then one has the example of Francis Ouimet, who reminds us why we love the game so much.
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