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| ![Match, The [Frost]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511TdiZTPcL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Author: Mark Frost
Publisher: Hyperion
Category: EBooks
List Price: $18.95
Buy New: $9.99
You Save: $8.96 (47%)
Rating:  67 reviews
Sales Rank: 332
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
ASIN: B000Y2R0F2
Publication Date: November 6, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 hyperbolic title but good book December 14, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Frost does his usual nice job of recreating the past, but really stretches it with the title. The pros had won all the majors back to 1933. The legendary match was truely wonderful---indeed if I could have been a witness to any single day in golf it would be this one, but one must not confuse pure pleasure with historical importance----compare Tiger winning the Masters, the Euros winning their fist Ryder Cup, Ouimet at Brookline, the Haig winning the British and getting respect for the pros, Hogan's "three slam", Arnie winning his first Masters---now these were history making!
 The essence of the game! December 11, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Golf in the day of Der Bingle aka Bing Crosby. A panoply of the game back in the day when the guard was changing. Eddie Lowery, who as a 10 year old had caddied for Francis Ouimet when he defeated the then reigning greatest in the game, Harry Vardon and Ted Ray (as magnificently told by Mark Frost in his earlier book "The Greatest Game") has come to California and become a hugely successful car dealer. He remains close to the game both in California and nationally as a member of the inner circle at the USGA. He has nurtured several talented amateurs. At the time of "The Match" his two protege's/employees are Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi. At a dinner party on the eve of the Crosby "Clambake" at Pebble Beach he promotes a bet that "his two amateurs" could beat any two pros in the game. This leads to an impromptu match the next day at Cypress Point, the focal point of this wonderful story, between two of the greatest pros the game has ever known, Ben Hogan and his fellow Texan, Byron Nelson. Along the way to the conclusion of this incredibly played match we are treated to the color and background of the times and the lives of the four protagonists up to this moment in their respective lives. As ever, Frost is a peerless storyteller and keeps the reader engaged at every moment as the story unfolds. Don't miss this!
Fabulous book from the history of golf November 29, 2007
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
I had heard about the famous 4-ball match between Hogan, Nelson, Venturi, and Ward for many years, odds and ends from different sources. Obviously, the detail in this book is unsurpassed. This is an absolute must-read for the golf enthusiast. Most golf fans have a fairly thorough knowledge of Ben Hogan, Byron Nelso, and Ken Venturi. However, Harvie Ward has remained a relative name-figure only in golf lore to many, especially those under the age of 40. As can be deduced from the book, he, too, was a fabulous player, and quite a character. Putting all four stories in one concise read is great, and the recounting of the match, hole-by-hole, is thrilling. Knowing the history of the game is very important to the serious golfer. The scores and the winners are not just numbers and names, but living documents to be discussed over and over with fellow golfers. Such conversations can almost make one feel like the event is being replayed in the present, and this book is no exception. Read it once, and you will definitely want to re-read it for sheer enjoyment. You will be very pleased with your purchase.
The Match November 25, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Mark Frost has done it again. His wonderful ability to mix the current subject with past history adds immeasurably to the readers interest. All readers of golf books have certainly had their fill of Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Ken Venturi, but little has been written about Harvey Ward and what occured in his life after The Match. Frost does a good job of giving us some unique flashbacks and solid history leading up to The Match, as well as after. I felt like I was in the gallery at Cypress Point that incredible day in 1956.
Awesome, Delightful and Required Reading November 23, 2007
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
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.
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