TERRE HAUTE — Every once in a while a movie comes out that not only is enjoyable to watch, but will really pique my interest, and get me to dig for more information. Happily for me and many other golfers, Walt Disney Pictures made a movie about a great story from the history of golf, the story of Francis Ouimet’s victory in the 1913 U.S. Open, over British greats Harry Vardon and Ted Ray. The movie, called “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” is based on a book of the same name by Mark Frost. It is a great story, and you don’t have to be a golfer to appreciate it.
“The Greatest Game Ever Played” is about the little guy versus the big guy, the new guy versus the veteran, and a little bit of the Americans versus the Britons. It is not a story of the poor versus the rich, because Vardon and Ouimet share similar working-class backgrounds in a time when there was a vast gulf between the wealthy and all others. Even golf professionals were looked down upon, and not allowed into some clubhouses, or as the movie portrays, not allowed to become members.
The movie starts with Harry Vardon’s beginnings, when his family was moved from their house in Grouville, Jersey, one of the British Channel islands, to make way for a golf course. He never forgot the image of being told that golf was “not for the likes of you” by the dark man wearing a stovepipe hat. Nevertheless, Harry Vardon did become a golfer, and a very famous representative of British golf. By the time he came to the United States for its Open Championship in 1913, he had already won five British Opens, and would win one more. He was young Francis’ idol, and indeed one of Francis’ greatest treasures was a “Vardon Flyer” golf ball that he had found when he was seven years old.
Francis Ouimet, the son of a French-Canadian immigrant, grew up in a house in Brookline, Mass., right across the street from the seventeenth fairway and green of The Country Club. Francis looked out his window every day and watched the golfers across the street. He was mesmerized by the game, but he wasn’t allowed to play there. He and his brother Wilfred would become caddies on that course, but his early start in playing golf was in the dirt road in front of their house, and then eventually on a three-hole course that Francis and Wilfred hacked out of a cow pasture behind their house. They had one club to use between them, and a stockpile of balls that Francis had kept when he had found lost balls.
In typical Disney fashion, the protagonist (Francis) is faced with a seemingly overwhelming series of circumstances that stand in his way of success. In this case, it’s his immigrant father, who sees no value in golf for Francis, and expects him to start earning a living.
I got the impression from the movie that Francis had given up golf, as he promised his father he would, got a job, and didn’t play again until he somehow became entered in the U.S. Open at The Country Club in 1913, three years later. That’s not actually how it happened. Francis had continued to play, although his parents were not pleased, and won many local events. In 1913, he won the Massachusetts State Amateur, and finally qualified for the U.S. National Amateur Championship and did very well, but lost a match to the eventual winner, Jerry Travers.
Part of Francis’ success can be contributed to his employer. In 1911, he found work as a salesclerk in a sporting goods store in Boston called Wright and Ditson. The founder of the company, George Wright, was an ex-shortstop and executive for the Cincinnati Red Stockings and the Boston Red Stockings in the 1870s. He was an advocate of the game of golf, as he and four friends buried nine tomato cans in Franklin Park in 1899, and introduced golf to Massachusetts. This first layout eventually became the city’s first eighteen-hole public course. Wright soon began manufacturing his own clubs to sell in his store. (An old baseball friend named Albert Spalding eventually bought him out.) George Wright took an interest in Francis’ golf game, and was happy to give Francis the time off to play in the Massachusetts Amateur, and then in the U.S. Open.
A bigger boost to Francis’ win, though, probably was his 10-year old caddy, Eddie Lowery. Eddie skipped school in order to caddy for Francis, and had to use some evasive maneuvers to elude the truant officer when he caught the trolley out to Brookline. Eddie’s main duty, besides carrying Francis’ canvas bag with 10 clubs, was to say two lines before just about every shot, “Take your time: you’ve got all day,” and “Keep your head down and your eye on the ball.”
When you watch the movie, you will find Josh Flitter’s portrayal of Eddie particularly charming, and you’ll like Francis even more when he turns down the offer of a more experienced caddy at The Country Club, and keeps Eddie on his bag for the playoff. You’ll not be surprised to learn that Eddie Lowery grew up to become a millionaire auto dealer in San Francisco either! Ouimet remained an amateur golfer and a businessman. Today, the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund rewards young people who have worked as caddies or golf course employees for two years.
“The Greatest Game Ever Played” is the kind of heartwarming story that Americans love, the one that lets you cheer for the young underdog, and in this case, his even younger caddy. It is the stuff that legends are made of, especially because it really did happen.
Jennifer Myers can be reached by email at jfmyers@xsthe.net.
On & Off the Course
On and off the course: A film that’s more than golf
- On & Off the Course
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Death Notice: Feb. 7, 2013
• Gary R. Wright
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Donna Lynn Strahla Bown
Donna Lynn Strahla Bown passed away early Friday morning, Jan. 25, 2013, with her children by her side.
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‘The Match’ pitting amateurs vs. pros recalled 62 years later
Quote of the Day: “I play golf with friends sometimes, but there are never friendly games.” — Ben Hogan.
Bubba Watson has had a busy fall. Not only did he play all the way to the final round of the FedEx Championships, and in the Ryder Cup, he also played in an event commemorating a very famous match played at Cypress Point in 1956, pitting two of the greatest golf pros at the time against two of the best amateurs.
Come to think of it, all four were some of the best golfers of all time. This year’s event was celebrating The First Tee’s exceeding $100 million in pledges to reach 10 million new young people. It wasn’t televised and kept very quiet; only 225 people were in the gallery.
One of the people in the gallery was Mark Frost, the author of a book titled “The Match,” which is about that match played 62 years ago that was re-enacted in modern terms last week. The pros in 1956 were Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson and the amateurs were Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward. It was supposed to have been a private affair, built around a wager by two millionaires, George Coleman and Eddie Lowery. -
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf from the wrong side of the brain
Imagine this scenario: a woman, small in stature (possibly freckled), walks into a hospital emergency room and says, “I have an emergency, I need a doctor quickly!” The admitting nurse, ever trying to be helpful, asks what the emergency is.
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Farmers looking at widely varying yields
Combines will roll through fields this weekend, bringing in the harvest from a summer with nearly no rain.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf debut in London would have been nice
As the Olympics get underway in London this weekend, I was thinking it’s too bad that the Olympic committee decided too late to add golf as one of the sports for this event; instead it will be added to the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Getting to Hoosier country’s best golfing venue part of the fun
If you are looking for Indiana’s premier golfing destination, then you should look no further than French Lick.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Indiana's Pete Dye courses worth the drive
You’ve probably heard of the Robert Trent Jones Golf trail throughout Alabama, but you might not be aware that Indiana has its own “Pete Dye Golf Trail” comprised of seven courses.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Fathers typically a big influence on golfing sons
Some events fall naturally into place around holidays. The Fourth of July always falls somewhere during Wimbledon, giving all of the Yanks in attendance something to be boisterous about, to the chagrin of their hosts; The Masters often, but not always, ends on Easter Sunday, which is fitting since golfers find it such a reverent occasion.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Memorial just one of many visions of Jack Nicklaus
When Jack Nicklaus was a young man, the golfer he most admired was Bob Jones.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: With some tricky rules, golf is not a walk in the park
Golf is not a casual sport, even though it has a term called “casual water.”
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On and off the course: Sycamores seeded sixth heading into MVC golf tourney
It wasn’t too long ago that Indiana State University didn’t even have a women’s golf team.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: A hard ticket to come by
This is the weekend of the Masters Tournament, the first of the four major tournaments.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Some things on golf course are worse than steep putts
It’s not often that anything gets more scary on a golf course than a steep downhill putt, but on some courses around the world, things a little more on the supernatural side might give you a bigger fright!
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The shot heard round the world
I don’t know if the Golf Channel will show a “Best Shots of 2011” highlight reel, much like ESPN does for baseball or football.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Red, White and Blue visits the Isle of Green
In 2006, the Ryder Cup was held in Ireland at The K Club in County Kildare.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Fall may be coming but golf season is far from over
Once the major tournaments are over with, what’s there to look forward to in the world of golf?
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf… simplified!
Golf is not a simple game. A golf course is made up of 18 holes, all different. There are par-3s, par-4s and par-5s; they all vary in length and elevation, and each has its own challenges. There can be water hazards, trees, sand bunkers, tall grass, hills, valleys — and then, if that’s not enough, there’s probably wind too.
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On and Off the Course: Northern Ireland builds on golf history
Northern Ireland is only about 5,452 square miles in area and has a population about the same as West Virginia, which is about 1,880,344.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Women’s Open at the Broadmoor
This is the weekend of the U.S. Women’s Open, and this year it’s being played at The Broadmoor, East Course, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Fort Golf Course: A Walk in the Park…
Indiana has some pretty spectacular state parks, but one of them gives you the ability to “spoil a good walk” by chasing a little white ball.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Father’s Day is a good day for golfers
Most people consider the time around Christmas to be the gift-buying season.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Playing with lead a difficult task
As exciting as last week’s Masters was, with six players being tied for the lead at one point on Sunday, it was very difficult watching Rory McIlroy fall apart to shoot an 80.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Masters a rite of spring
This is Masters weekend, the grand kickoff to the golf season for a lot of golfers. Sure, there have been tournaments on TV, because the professionals have been playing in Hawaii, California, Texas, Dubai, and other areas not so affected by winter as we are here in the Midwest, but to me, watching The Masters is a rite of spring.
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ON THE OFF THE COURSE: Some history on the Ryder Cup
I fell asleep in way too many history classes to ever qualify as a history buff. However, since I have grown up a bit (not much), I enjoy learning about all kinds of history. I often have questions about how something began, or how something came to be.
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On and Off the Course: Purdue's Kampen Course a gem in Indiana's rough
About a month ago, Indiana was still heavily mired in heat and humidity, making outdoor activities such as golf less appealing than usual. At that time it felt like the repressive heat would never go away, it would never rain again, and all of the grass was just going to continue to wither and die. And the month prior to that we kept getting rained out of golf events!
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On and Off the Course: Successful golfers know ... focus is the key
I have a good friend who coached his daughter’s basketball team for a number of years, and told me that his theme with the girls was always “focus”, until it was ingrained in their brains. Now when they play high school ball, if they hear “focus” yelled from the stands, they know the source.
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On and Off the Course: Technology adds even more fun to the course
You’ve hit a drive into some brush in an area marked as a hazard, but you can’t find the ball to prove it is there. And no one actually witnessed it go in the hazard. You just think that’s where it probably is. What is the rule for this situation?
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On and Off the Course: Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic a worthwhile charity event
On Monday, I worked as a volunteer for the Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic, Golf Tournament and Auction at Eagle Creek Golf Course in Indianapolis. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with clear blue skies, just a few wispy clouds here and there and a high temperature of about 76 degrees.
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On and Off the Course: Trends show golf in decline
You don’t have to watch the news or read the paper to understand that America is struggling on the economic front. The evidence can be witnessed at the local golf course.
- More On & Off the Course Headlines
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Death Notice: Feb. 7, 2013
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Oklahoma City Thunder Players Tour Moore
Iran's Rowhani Urges 'Path of Moderation'
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Inside Kim Kardashian's Premature Labor
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Paige Butcher Scorches on Hawaii Beach
Video: worst way to load cargo onto a plane
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See Lindsay Lohan in Rehab
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Caught on Tape: Teacher Accused of Beating Autistic Child
"Stay Classy" Campaign Aims to Curb Binge Drinking
Sesame Street Tackling Tough Topic Parents in Jail
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Deranged man claims Newark-bound flight was poisoned
Cameron Diaz and Kate Upton Show Off Their Amazing Bikini Bodies
NBA FINALS: Spurs Win Game 5, Lead Series
