The Greatest Game Ever Played (Jake Bailly) (Sean Mackey)

The Greatest Game Ever Played
By: Mark Frost
Hyperion
496 Pages

I found this book at my local public library.

This book tells the tale of a young golf prodigy named Francis Quimet. The book starts with his childhood in 1913. His parents did not approve of golf because they wanted him to get an education. His house is right near a golf course so he grows interested. He builds his own mini course in his backyard and gets balls from the local course. He started caddying at the local course and grew very fond of the game. One day he is invited to play by one of the members. It was his first time playing a real round of golf but he played amazingly and shocked his companions. He then saw his boss watching him so he got scared and choked but still ended up beating the members. His talent was discovered and the rest of the book describes tournaments. The biggest tournament is the Open. He qualifies as an amateur and gets to play against the great Harry Vardon. To make a long story short Francis ended up being the first amateur to win the Open. A record which still stands today. I would recommend this book to golf enthusiast. It is an easy read because Frost keeps the action going which makes the reader more interested in the characters story.

Passages:

“Read it, roll it, hole it”-Pg 387 Eddie Lowery. I liked this quote because it fit the character who was Francis’ caddy. Golf is a simple game if you look at the way his caddy did.

“Hey, Francis, who's that fat guy?” “Oh, my God. That's President Taft.”-Pg 287 Francis/Eddie Conversation I liked this passage because it described the relationship between Francis and his caddy. They were both goofy and uneducated.

“Let me tell you something. I came here to win a trophy. And on the face of it Ted Ray or I should carry it off. Not for you, not for England, but for sheer bloody pride at being the best, that's why we do this. And if Mr. Ouimet wins tomorrow, it's because he's the best, because of who he is. Not who his father was, not how much money he's got, because of who he bloody is! And I'll thank you to remember that. And I'll thank you to show the respect a gentleman gives as a matter of course.” -Pg 376 Harry Vardon I picked this passage because it shows the true competitive spirit between golfers.


This is one of favorite books. Golf is one of my favorite sports so I can relate to the characters. Obviously I am not going to win the US Open but it is stories like this that make the game of golf great. The parts that really spoke to me were in the beginning when his parents kept telling him how silly of a game golf was. His dad thought it was silly but his mother secretly liked it and didn’t mind Francis playing. Although my parents encourage me golfing I still feel as though this describes how great the game is. Even though he was told not to golf he still fought on and became a champion. I also enjoyed the fact that this was a true story and it is definitely one of the best stories in golf.

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The Greatest Game Every Played
Mark Frost
Hyperion
Pages: 475
I was recommended this book by Zachary Garbacik

The Greatest Game Every Played is an inspirational true sport story that brings the readers through the journey of the 20 year old Francis Ouimet. In this true story, Francis, an amateur to the professional golfing world enters the 1913 U.S. Open Championship. Up against the defending champion the great Harry Vardon, Francis goes against his father’s opposition to play and must overcome obstacles to ultimately come out on top. Coming from a working class family, Francis grew up working as a caddy for a nearby golf course; he learned to love the game and was inspired by his hero; Harry Vardon the man Francis would soon see himself competing against in the U.S. Open. Francis studied Harry’s game immensely to pick up on habits that he could integrate into his own game. Ironically for Francis he grew up to play his hero in a fierce competition. The match was brought into an eighteenth hole playoff against between the two golfers. With an exciting ending, Francis plays to the end and wins the U.S. Open Championship with the eyes of his father watching.

The audience for this book is an audience whom is interested in underdog stories and sport stories because it is basically a story about both of these topics.

The writing style of Mark Frost is straight forward, there is a great use of adjectives which enlightens the story and he makes it easy for the reader to comprehend.
“Ted Ray was as plainspoken and uncomplicated as he appeared, but often displayed a baroquely colorful way of expressing it.” (pg. 153)

“When he turned sixteen, Francis reluctantly decided to give up caddying at The Country Club in order to retain his amateur status.” (pg. 61)
Francis decides to give up his job to take a chance at his dream. I give him respect because he is basically gambling his life, if he wants to go far he must be committed and work hard, he cannot do the job mediocre. Francis must pursue his dream to the maximum.
“In the meantime, unbeknownst to Francis, USGA president Robert Watson had gone ahead and entered his new favorite amateur into the tournament.” (pg. 189)
At this time, Francis is aware that he is entered and playing in the U.S. Open Championship. This is great news for Francis; he is gaining respect in the golf world.

“’We made mistakes and Mr. Ouimet, like a wise man and good golfer, took advantage of every one of them.’” (pg. 425)
This passage occurred during one of the days during the open when Francis had a great day and played excellent. By playing excellent, he made it so his opponents wouldn’t have a chance if they made any mistakes.

I enjoyed this book greatly. It gave me a good insight on early twentieth century sporting events. I like how Frost wrote the book, his writing style is directed toward the audience to fully understand entirety of the 1913 U.S. Open Championship. This underdog story reminds me of my lacrosse season this year. Coming from a team that only won four games last season, we have won enough games including our hardest of the season against Westfield to move us on to the Western Mass Championship. Both situations are related to sporting events in which there is an underdog who has rose to the top to ultimately be successful. Our lacrosse team still has playoff games to play but we hope to win it all as Francis had done. The plot of the book spoke to me.