#byronnelson

The Match by Mark Frost is my favorite book on the history of golf.

Golf and baseball are two sports that translate well into literature. The Match is reminiscent of Peter Gammons’ “Beyond The Sixth Game.” Its primary thesis is that the “Match” - a best ball contest pitting Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson against Ken Venturi and Harvey Ward - changed golf forever. Mr. Gammons’ book highlighted the penultimate game of the 1975 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox. Following that season, free agency commenced, causing a sea change in Major League Baseball.

Hogan and Nelson were the leading professional golfers of the day. Venturi and Ward held that distinction in the world of amateur golf, which, at the time - the mid 1950s - was equal in importance to the professional game.

That all changed following the Match when the professional game became ascendant. Although the Match may have contributed to that in a symbolic way, there were certainly other factors that played an important role. The rise to prominence of Arnold Palmer to name one. The increasing prevalence of televised golf, a second. (Mr. Palmer & TV - are not mutually exclusive.)

The biographies of the four men at the center of The Match are presented in the book. They are compelling.

Notably, Ben Hogan. As a boy, Hogan witnessed his father’s suicide. Years later, at the near pinnacle of his career, Hogan was in a horrendous automobile accident. The doctors told him he would never walk again, let alone play golf. A little over a year later, Hogan won the United States Open at Merion.

But that’s not all. Hogan and Byron Nelson grew up in golf together. They caddied at the same tract in Fort Worth, TX. Everything came easy to Nelson, including golf and friendships. He won early and often on the professional tour.

Not so, Hogan. He struggled mightily, for years. Nelson’s success caused a strain in the Texans’ relationship.

Then Hogan broke through. And he was magnificent. In 1953, Hogan won The Masters, the US Open (at Riviera) and The Open Championship (at Carnoustie). The latter tournament was held at the same time as the PGA Championship, thus depriving Hogan of an opportunity to complete the grand slam.

The backdrop of the book is Cypress Hill Golf Club where the Match was played. Designed by Alister MacKenzie, it is a gorgeous course on the Monterrey Peninsula. It ranks consistently among the top three courses in the United States, if not the world.

I recommend reading the book by referring to a map of the course. You can pinpoint each shot, which the author presents in detail. < < Spoiler Alert - Hogan’s eagle on hole No. 10 > >

An added bonus is the story of Marion Hollins, the woman behind the development of Cypress Hill and later Santa Cruz’s Pasatiempo, also designed by Mr. MacKenzie.

Mr. MacKenzie and Ms. Hollies went on to work with Bobby Jones on the design and construction of Augusta National. One of many intersections of people and places in American golf chronicled in The Match.

Another is the origin of the Match - a bet between George Coleman and Eddie Lowery on the eve of the Bing Crosby Pebble Beach Pro-Am that year. Lowery was Francis Ouimet’s caddie when the latter won the 1913 US Open at The Country Club - chronicled in Mr. Frost’s earlier book, The Greatest Game Ever Played.