So firstly, a bit of a confession here. I'd seen the movie before I read the book but as with other sports movies which I always enjoy, I thought I'd give this a go and it was great to actually fill in a lot more from the book that I didn't pick up in the movie. I'm sure that is always the case when you know a film has been made and then you come back to the movie. Golf is a game that has come into my radar a lot in recent times since I took up playing the game and I;'ve always followed the game intently as a sport across the years. However, I wasn't massively aware of its foundations as a sport and what this book brings to the party, is an educational aspect that gives you some fascinating insight into not only the way competition formed, but also with the equipment that we use today.

This book and whether it will be enjoyed will go one way or the other for readers. Its a long book that documents the life of both of the main competitors and the differing era that they grew up in before the main event takes place and the battle that would eventually be won by Francis Ouimet as the pretender overcame the king, Harry Vardon. As a sports lover and keen reader of sports history, this book was of a distinct appeal but the length of the book and its groundings in a different era will render this book one way or the other. Even as a fan of both the game and the history, It wasn't the quickest for me to read and at times it was a hard slog to get through them. Maybe it was the at length detail that the book went into before getting to the main event, clouded my judgement and at times chapters of the book flowed easily but there were other times that the structure and detail of certain events seemed similar as if I'd read it beforehand. 

What the book did do was give me the names of others around this era that I'm always keen to learn about and perhaps part of the reason the book seemed to take on age to read was because I would look back at these golfers and find out more about them. So take that into consideration when thinking about reading the book. Everyone would have their own opinion as to how this book will flow. The argument will always be there to watch the movie instead of reading the book and again perhaps that has clouded my enjoyment in that I knew what was going to happen and ultimately this is what has maybe influenced my reading of the book.

Nevertheless, I do think this book will appeal to lovers of both the game and of sports history so go grab a copy before you watch the film.