The Match

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Edit: I upgraded the rating because a) The moments that were good were really good and I can't let the bad overshadow them. b) I am not grumpy anymore.

Alternating points-of-view drew me right into the minds of these wonderful characters and gave me glimpses into their thoughts and feelings. I couldn't get enough of this story and of Jake and Evie. And everyone needs a Jo in their lives. I wanted to keep basking in the book all summer long. True perfection from start to finish. This was a good read. Frost is a good writer, no doubt. I did find the names confusing but jotted the four (two pros and two amateurs) on a receipt I was using as a bookmark. Later I added the two men behind the wager--and eventually all sorts of other details and connections between the six men. They all knew each other in a variety of ways.Hogan and Nelson had played at the Clambake many times, but in 1956, they were on the downside. Nelson had retired about 8 years earlier (when he was the best golfer in the world) to become a rancher in Texas, and he came to the Clambake as one of his few golf events of the year. Hogan was in his last year of competitive play, as hip and leg problems stemming from a car accident were taking their toll. Arguably, he or Sam Snead were the best player in the world at the time. Along come top amateurs Venturi and Ward -- and their employer, an aggressive car dealer on the West Coast, bets his buddy that they can "beat any two men alive." After all, they hadn't lost a best-ball competition in four years, beating hundreds of opponents in match play. So the car dealer's buddy calls up Hogan, who says, "I'll play if Byron plays," and he calls up Nelson who says, "I'll play if Ben plays," and that was it. Match on, see you tomorrow morning at Cypress Creek. Somewhere around the middle of the book I decided this book was like Shakespeare's JULIUS CAESAR--the climax is in Act 3 and Acts 4 and 5 are just the slow dull story of a train grinding to a halt. But then I found myself interested! Who knew four of today's professional golfers would agree to go to Cypress Point and recreate "the Match"? That, along with Frost's story of the later years of the original four made for a pretty good tale. It may not have the suspense and build of the first half of the book, but serious golf fans will appreciate the heartfelt odes to the masters Hogan, Nelson, Venturi, and Ward. Hogan is the only one of the foursome I have any extensive knowledge of (Ben Hogan: An American Life, James Dodson. Another golfer's must-read) and naturally I knew a thing or two about Byron Nelson, Hogan's Texan counterpart. But Venturi and Ward, ardent amateurs who endeavoured to play for the love of the game, were relatively unknown to me, until now. Yay!! Sarah writes a good contemporary! Gah contempory is so hard for me and I get so nervous when my favorite authors go there. This was a sweet story with all the feels! I loved that she wrote about someone with a disability but didn't go into a victum place. Evie was strong, indepediant and working on herself and I loved that she was in a good place, but still had to deal with the epilepsie. I have daughters who are working their way to a good place with their disability and it was so awesome to see her handling it. We are trying to get them to a place they can adult on their own and this was just a hopeful book for me to read right now. Plus! JAKE! Dang! Sarah write me up some more men to Love! Geez girl! I was fanning my face over this beautiful man:} Such a good love story with some real life obsticals and situations keeping these two on their toes. Really enjoyed this fun, sweet romance!!

The second in the series based on a man called Wilde who, as a child was abandoned and left in a forest to fend for himself, eventually being found after a few years amazingly surviving on his own. The Match' (Wilde, #2) is even better (imho) than 'The Boy from the Woods' (Wilde, #1). I highly recommend reading book #1 first since this is its continuation and would be very difficult to understand if you do not. If all you care about is who won… The amateurs scored birdies on 13 holes, net 59. The pros had a net 58 – 12 birdies and an eagle when Hogan holed out from 90 yards on the 10th.

In the 1950's, the amateurs were the stars and the pros were looked down upon in the game of golf. Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson would go on to be two of the greatest golfers of all time, setting the stage for what professional golf has become around the world. They brought money to the game. Up until this point, the ideal golfer was that of an amateur, wealthy enough to play the game of golf for the love of it. It was a Victorian ideal, similar to Roger Bannister as he tried to break the four minute mile in England while working as a doctor. Dandy's first book was a runaway success, and I fell in love with her urgent writing and compelling portrayal of deep friendships and family-ships. Therefore, I was apprehensive about the second book... But I do declare I love it more than the first. The Perfect Match feels less self-conscious and more accomplished - its original format of first person speaking to second person is absolutely captivating. It held me in its grasp from beginning to end (I read it in two sittings). The story flies by, it’s nonstop action. Yes, it’s convoluted. And the ending gives the reader twist after twist. I give Coben credit that I never saw any of them coming. Crosby himself, one of the most famous entertainers of his time, was actually an extremely good golfer, carrying a handicap in the low single digits. [I either never knew this, or had forgot it. Thanks Mark Frost.] In these days of the Crosby Clambake, as it was known, it was an invitation-only event, with Crosby himself issuing the invitations, assigning the pairings of professional & amateur for the pro-am teams, and even assigning the handicaps to the amateur partner in each team.

Silas Bennett– Peter’s older brother (really his uncle) who also matches with Peter on a DNA database.high rollers, Eddie Lowry and George Coleman, were partying together before the tournament started. Eddie was a strong supporter of amateur golf and proposed a better ball challenge match between two of America's top amateurs and two top professionals with a sizable wager on the outcome. Everyone agreed and the game was on to be played the next day at the world renowned Cypress Point Golf Club. The amateur contestants were Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi. The