Sir Walter and Mr. Jones: Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, and the Rise of American Golf [Hardcover]

Stephen R. Lowe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2000

As The Legend of Bagger Vance has inspired a movie, it has also inspired a book about its two most famous charactersWalter Hagen and Bobby Jones. Stephen Lowes Sir Walter & Mr. Jones is an amazingly detailed cradle-to-the-grave account of the lives and achievements of these two great players.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585360090
• ISBN-13: 978-1585360093
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,561,455 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Know what you're getting!, September 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Sir Walter and Mr. Jones: Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, and the Rise of American Golf (Hardcover)

This is a serious work by a professor of history. It ISN'T filled with anecdotes ("And then Walter said to Bobby ..."), descriptions of shots ("Bobby then drilled a quail-high mashie between the towering pines ..."), gossip, swing analyses, etc. If this is what you're looking for, you'll be sorely disappointed. It's fairly dry -- make that extremely dry -- but is well-researched (hundreds of endnotes) and will be fascinating for anyone with an interest in the history of American golf. The format is a dual biography of Jones and Hagen in which their respective careers are compared and contrasted to give the reader an understanding of the rise of American golf in the era 1900-1930. The two men were so different in virtually every respect that this approach is very effective. Those who think golf began with Palmer, Nicklaus or Woods will gain an appreciation of what "gods" Jones and Hagen really were during the era in which they played. Hagen especially tends to be overlooked, but this book is an important reminder that he was one of the true greats of the game in addition to being one of its two or three all-time "characters." I didn't have the feeling that the author was particularly knowledgeable or avid about the game -- instead, this is a work of historical research, just as you or I might produce a history of badminton if we were willing to spend the time to do the research. When you're done, you won't "know" Bobby Jones as well as you'd know him if you read his and O. B. Keeler's own voluminous writings, and you won't be a fount of anecdotes, but you will have a solid grasp of Jones' and Hagen's place in history, how golf became an American obsession and how American golf eclipsed British golf. All of this for the price of a couple of dozen Top-Flite x-outs.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Golf Biography Ever, December 30, 2000

By 

"[e-mail]" (Westland, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sir Walter and Mr. Jones: Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, and the Rise of American Golf (Hardcover)

Stephen Lowe's story of Hagen, Jones, and American golf in the 1920s is first-rate; it is a must-read for golfers and sports-history enthusiasts. As an historian, Lowe's research goes well beyond any golf book that I've read; as the end notes will indicate, Lowe's sources well exceed the dozen or so interviews on which many recent biographies are soley based. It goes far beyond anything that has been written on Bobby Jones and is the first work of substance on Walter Hagen that I have come across. The stories of the two champions are masterfully woven together in a seemless tale of how the state of American golf caught, and finally surpassed that of Great Britain, and how Hagen and Jones were the "Tiger Woods" of their day. While it is impressively detailed, it is an easy read, and golf-nuts will find themselves unable to put it down, feeling like they have been transported back to the "Golden Age of Sports." This book will prove to be a monumental work in this genre. We can only hope that Dr. Lowe gives us addtional books like this one in the near future.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read, May 17, 2001

By 

Mark Owen (Bourbonnais, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sir Walter and Mr. Jones: Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, and the Rise of American Golf (Hardcover)

After reading this book, I found that Dr. Stephen Lowe really brings to life the lives of Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen. This book is written in a descriptive oriented reading. Before reading this book, I found that golf was not much of a sport. I found that there is truly a rich history in golf that I have come to respect and want to learn more about. I applaud Dr. Lowe and hope to read future writings.