Review by Choice Review
Sommers's detailed and thorough history of the US Open from 1894 through 1986 effectively captures the human drama of this tournament. A writer with extensive experience in sports journalism, Sommers explains why the Open is truly the ``ultimate challenge'' because of its demanding courses, its rigorous system of qualifying, its characteristic narrow fairways, fast greens, and heavy rough. The book is rich in fascinating detail about course design and maintenance, advances in equipment technology and design, rules changes, and the shift to the dominance of golf professionals after the 1933 Open. Far more than the history of golf's oldest and most prestigious tournament, this is a brilliant history of the evolution of the sport and the development of its greatest players. Excellent biographical information on such ``greats'' as Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Harry Vardon, and Jack Nicklaus, among many others, reveals the evolution of their talent into finely honed skills and control of their game as well as their inner motivation. General sports readers will find the book too detailed and analytical; however, golf lovers who understand its demands and challenges will find this book rewarding reading. The book could say more about how the Open (and the sport itself) was transformed by increasing TV coverage into a media event. This remarkable work of sport history will take its place with Herb Graffis's The PGA (1975) as standard works in golf history. For academic and public libraries.-D.A. Noverr, Michigan State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
The story of the U.S. Open constitutes the most important chapter in the ongoing history of tournament golf. In this lively, anecdotal survey, Robert Sommers, editor of Golf Journal, charts the Open's evolution from lowly stepchild of the British Open in the 1890s to international preeminence before the new century was three decades old. In Sommers' telling, it is largely a story of personalities: Francis Ouimet, whose victory in 1913 gave American golfers respectability; Bobby Jones, whose dominance of the game in the 1920s made him a folk hero; Ben Hogan, whose peerless shotmaking brought him four Open championships in the 1940s and 1950s; Arnold Palmer, ``the swashbuckling hero of his time,'' who brought golf to the masses; and, of course, Jack Nicklaus, another four-time champion and, in the minds of many, the greatest of them all. It is difficult for any golf writer to avoid the ennui of shot-by-shot reporting, and Sommers occasionally falls prey to this inevitable trap; overall, though, his account holds our interest because it captures the emotional side of the game as well as the statistical: Jones' grace under pressure, Hogan's courage, Nicklaus' concentration. Bibliography; to be indexed. BO. 796.352'7 United States Open Golf Championship Tournament History / Golfers Biography [OCLC) 86-48137
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Probably the most prestigious tournament on the golf tour, the U.S. Open attracts the best players from all over the world and is played on some of the nation's most challenging courses. Sommers, editor of Golf Journal, traces the history of the event from its start in 1894 to the present. Extracting the maximum amount of drama from every stroke, he concentrates on great stars like Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus, all four-time winners, but does not neglect major players like Francis Ouimet, Sam Snead (who never won, despite playing in 27 Opens) or Lee Trevino. Especially informative are the chapters on the early history of the event and an interesting statistic for those who think the old-timers were better is that the winning score has dropped from the 330s to the 270s. Photos not seen by PW. (April 24) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
The Open is the United States' oldest tournament and the world's largest. Golf Journal editor Sommers records the competition each year since 1895. Along with the changes in courses, equipment, purses, and public exposure, he details the triumphs of winners and challengers, with special attention to his demigod Bobby Jones and his heroes: Hagen, Nicklaus, Hogan, and Palmer. Attractive to those who liked Al Barkow's Gettin' to the Dance Floor ( LJ 1/86) and Charles Pierce's The Golf Game (Atheneum, 1986), this is useful for golf collections. Morey Berger, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
