Golf’s Forgotten Legends provides fascinating discussions of forgotten legendary golfers. Jeff Gold has adopted a no-holds-barred writing style in which absolutely nothing is sacred. He thoroughly delves into the most interesting, controversial, and humorous incidents that have taken place in professional golf over the past one-hundred-plus years among the most famous as well as lesser-known figures in the game. We are convinced that golf enthusiasts will find Golf’s Forgotten Legends to be a thoroughly fascinating, educational, and entertaining look at the world of professional golf.
GOLF'S FORGOTTEN LEGENDSHis father didn't want him playing golf, he was stricken with tuberculosis at 33, and he used a golf swing pros would never teach today. Yet he is renowned for being the world's first superstar golfer and greatest of his time. He was America's first golf hero, yet most American golfers know very little about him. At 19 he won the U.S. National Open and did it again the following year. However, he was ruthlessly maligned by Golf Magazine and the film "The Greatest Game Ever Played.He was arguably the most talented golfer in the history of the game, gaining prominence from the 1930s to 1950s. He was the first golfer in history to be blackballed by the PGA Tour for being too good. The greatest players came to him for instruction, including Ben Hogan.This golf pro threw away a U.S. Open Championship after she finished the tournament with the winning score. Read the story of her innocent mistake and what she could have done to reclaim her title.
For generations, Canadian artists have made their mark on the world, with countless individuals rising to fame on stage and screen, and as frontrunners in the various arts, inspiring and influencing all who come after them. One of these legends has been largely forgotten, though his contribution to the arts have inspired the likes of Monty Python and Kids in the Hall, and brought hope and laughter to troops serving their countries at home and overseas, all the while pushing boundaries as a prolific artist, illustrator, author, and actor. This book tells the story of forgotten legend John Wilson (Jack) McLaren from his birth in Scotland to his early years in Canada, becoming a soldier in WWI, entertaining his comrades in arms on the stages of Europe, his business career after the war, his deep involvement with the Group of Seven, his membership in Toronto’s famed Arts & Letters Club, and his eventual retirement to the community of Benmiller, near Goderich, Ontario, where he passed away in 1988. His is a story that deserves to be told ... and remembered.
This book tells the story of the Scottish golf professionals who came to America in 1888 and struggled to earn a living and the respect of the wealthy amateur golf establishment and the United States Golf Association who controlled the sport. Charles "Chay" Burgess--founder of the New England PGA, teacher of three American national champions, and the savior of the Ryder cup--learned the game on ancient seaside links and competed against British greats. His arrival in the U.S. dramatically influenced the growth of golf and the reconciliation of differences between amateurs and professionals. In 1913, the American Francis Ouimet--a working-class unknown under Burgess' tutelage--won the U.S. Open against British celebrities Ted Ray and Harry Vardon. His triumph brought the game to mainstream America.
The objective of this book is to illustrate how golf became such a popular pastime in America. The roles people played in making that so are long-forgotten, distant memories with the exception of a few, like Harry Vardon. But for overpopulation in Europe and political strife, which led to a mass exodus to North America, it is conceivable that golf would be no more thought of in this country than cricket, rugby, or soccer. The lowly golf professionals that escaped abject poverty and war for a better life and Harry Vardon were instrumental in growing the game. We owe them a debt that can never be repaid.
In Reiken’s “affectionate but tough-minded second novel, he captures the poetry of the New Jersey condition, circa 1980, with a rare precision” (The New York Times Book Review). A New York Times Notable Book of the Year A Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year Romeo and Juliet in northern New Jersey? Yiddish constellations in Asbury Park? A garbage dump in the Meadowlands that’s filled with old musical instruments from a high school marching band? Love and sex, hockey and snorkeling, a family that is falling apart despite the best intentions—this is what Frederick Reiken has delivered in his brilliant second novel. But the real subject is true love, the one and only—known in Yiddish as b’shert. Anthony Rubin, the young protagonist, isn’t sure whether he’s found it with his neighbor, Juliette, daughter of a reputed Mafioso. His mother, who quits the family after her husband’s affair with a neighbor, doesn’t believe in true love at all. But his father does, and so does Anthony’s grandpa, who meets the love of his life at 78. Reiken is known for creating characters you feel you’ve known all your life, for mapping landscapes with profound intimacy and wonder. In The Lost Legends of New Jersey, he “reminds us that when good literature comes along, it feels, like true love itself, as if something legendary is occurring” (The Washington Post). “A beautifully told story of bad choices, good intentions, and the price of intimacy.” —Chicago Tribune “Reiken has created a rich, seductive mythology out of the ordinary places and people of the Garden State.” —Los Angeles Times
Golfing legend Ben Hogan went to his grave believing he had won a record five US Open titles. The USGA says otherwise, and the controversy has endured for over 75 years. In 1942, the United States Golf Association (USGA) cancelled its four golf tournaments for the duration of World War II. But then it did something different in only that year—it sponsored the Hale-America National Open on the same weekend as the cancelled US Open. The great Ben Hogan won that tournament and went to his grave believing he had therefore won a record five US Open titles. In The Open Question, Peter May turns his attention to this controversial, colorful Hale-America National Open of 1942. While providing an in-depth look at the tournament itself, May champions Hogan’s claim to five US Open titles and debunks some questionable assertions that the tournament was not worthy of a US Open. Set against the backdrop of World War II, May also tells the stories of other professional golfers in the tournament and the impact of the war on all their lives. The USGA has never recognized the Hale-America Tournament as an official US Open and remains firm in its stance. It was a decision that bothered Ben Hogan for the rest of his life. The Open Question shows how dominant Ben Hogan was against some of the biggest names in golf, and reveals why he deserves to be recognized as a five-time US Open winner.
"I don't know of any player, ever, who could strike a golf ball like Moe Norman...[He is a genius when it comes to playing the game of golf." - Lee Trevino. This book will be especially fascinating for all readers interested in: golf or sports biography. Murray "Moe" Norman has always been a little different. When he took up golf, at the age of 12, he spent hours hitting balls, swinging the club until his hands bled. He soon became a phenomenon on the amateur golfing circuit. Humbly aware of his special gift and justifiably proud, Moe went on to set 33 course records, including three 59s, and 17 holes-in-one.
Joe Monk was a young black golf prodigy. His swing was so pure and wide and flowing that his soul and golf's spirits seemed to merge as one. He learned to play with a tobacco stick as his club and small round pebbles as his projectiles. Because of his race he was required to travel north to establish credentials sufficient to participate in the great North and South Amateur in Pinehurst, predecessor to Augusta, golf's southern right of spring. Potentially the world's greatest golfer, his quest for immortality on the number two course is poignant and stirring.
