I just finished this new book last evening, and I would recommend it to golfers and to fans of golf history. The "triumvirate" of the title are identified in the subtitle of the book, "Sam Snead. Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and the Modern Age of Golf." The reason for this book now is that 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the births of these three giants of the game of golf, and American golf in particular. Even more remarkable than the fact that these three guys were all born within six months of each other is the fact that Nelson and Hogan both came from Fort Worth, Texas and were caddies together at the same country club, Glen Garden in Fort Worth.
In the 1920's, American golf was emerging from the shadows of the domination of the game by the Scottish and British professionals who came to America in the late 19th century to grow the game in the US. The game was dominated at that time by pros Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazin, and amateur Bob Jones. Jones retired from the game in 1930 at the age of 28, and Hagen was, by that time winding down his career in the limelight. A void was appearing in the game as the Depression was engulfing the nation when along came Nelson and Hogan from Texas and Snead from the hills of Virginia. Jim Dodson weaves the stories of these three men's lives and careers in a most entertaining and readable way.
Like Jones, Nelson walked away from the game at a relatively young age to become a rancher in Texas. Hogan, after suffering a near fatal car crash in 1949, dominated the game like no one, perhaps not even Nicklaus or Woods, has since (four US Open wins in a six year period, plus wins in the Masters, US Open, and British Open in 1953), then left the game and developed his own equipment company. Snead never did quit. He hold the PGA Tour record for 82 official tournament wins, played competitive tournament golf into the 1980's, and it was his his participation and promotion of the Senior Tour that allowed that circuit to become the success that it has been.
All three were interesting guys. From reading the book, it is apparent that Byron Nelson was the favorite of author Dodson. He makes him out to be a living saint, and maybe he was. I've never really ever read anything negative about Nelson over the years, though the guy that I found to be most interesting was Ben Hogan. So much so, that I plan on doing a separate post on Hogan within the next couple of days. I shall even draw some comparisons between Hogan and certain Mr. Eldrick Woods.
When we visited Southern Pines, NC last fall, I had the good fortune to meet Jim Dodson, and he was nice enough to sign a couple of his previous books of his that I had for me. In talking about "American Triumvirate" he mentioned that this might be the last golf book that he has in him. Too bad, because I have always enjoyed his writing. If you are a golfer, I would strongly recommend both "Final Rounds" and "The Dewsweepers" if you have not already read them. And you may not even have to be a golfer to enjoy "Final Rounds." It is a wonderful father-son story that is quite moving. I make it a point to re-read this one every couple of years.
Anyway, I recommend "American Triumvirate." Golfers didn't always play for multi-million dollar purposes every week, and that fact that they do so today can in large part be traced to the efforts of Snead, Nelson, and Hogan.
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