If you have not read Mark Frost's great book "The Match", I highly recommend you do one of two things immediately:
(1) Click this LINK and order it right now, or
(2) Get up from whatever you are doing, and motor down to the local bookseller and snag a copy.
Whether you are a "golf historian" or just a casual golf fan, this book completely rocks. It's the tale of a match play contest between two teams - Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson - two of golf's greatest players vs. two up and coming amateurs - Kenny Venturi and Harvie Ward. In addition to some very cool background info on the "Crosby Clambake" (now the ATT Pebble Beach Schlepapalooza), the book also includes a hole by hole account of this epic throwdown/showdown.
"The Match" was played at Cypress Point (the uber-exclusive Monterrey Peninsula private club), and really makes you feel like you are there - complete with detailed descriptions of some of the most beautiful and breathtaking holes in all of golf. The backdrop of the entire story,however, is the collision/conflict between the emerging Professional Tour and the whole "gentlemen's amateur" scene - very interesting and enlightening for anyone who cares about golf.
I'm reading the book now for the 3rd time, and it's as good as it was the first time. If you haven't read this one, get busy - you will enjoy the trip.
Sidenote - One of the really interesting things is to compare the REAL celebrities who used to play in the "Clambake" vs. some of the uh, "celebrities" that you saw last weekend. Let's just say that fat dude from "Mall Cop" and "Shankapotamus" Romano would not have been drinking martinis with Bing and his crew...
(1) Click this LINK and order it right now, or
(2) Get up from whatever you are doing, and motor down to the local bookseller and snag a copy.
Whether you are a "golf historian" or just a casual golf fan, this book completely rocks. It's the tale of a match play contest between two teams - Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson - two of golf's greatest players vs. two up and coming amateurs - Kenny Venturi and Harvie Ward. In addition to some very cool background info on the "Crosby Clambake" (now the ATT Pebble Beach Schlepapalooza), the book also includes a hole by hole account of this epic throwdown/showdown.
"The Match" was played at Cypress Point (the uber-exclusive Monterrey Peninsula private club), and really makes you feel like you are there - complete with detailed descriptions of some of the most beautiful and breathtaking holes in all of golf. The backdrop of the entire story,however, is the collision/conflict between the emerging Professional Tour and the whole "gentlemen's amateur" scene - very interesting and enlightening for anyone who cares about golf.
I'm reading the book now for the 3rd time, and it's as good as it was the first time. If you haven't read this one, get busy - you will enjoy the trip.
Sidenote - One of the really interesting things is to compare the REAL celebrities who used to play in the "Clambake" vs. some of the uh, "celebrities" that you saw last weekend. Let's just say that fat dude from "Mall Cop" and "Shankapotamus" Romano would not have been drinking martinis with Bing and his crew...
