The Grand Slam: Bobby Jones, America, and the Story of Golf

I just finished reading Mr. Frost's exceptional new work, The Grand Slam. Not only does the author provide you with tremondous insight into Jones' character and personality (something he does, by the way, without engaging in the incessant psychobable that characterizes so many other modern biographies), he tells a great story. And even though you already know the outcome of the major tournaments in which Jones competed, Mr. Frost creates such suspense that you find yourself sliding forward on the edge of your chair as the players approach the 18th green of the final round. Also, Frost does an exceptional job of placing the evolution of Jones' career in the context of American and European history. His vignettes on World War I, the Jazz Age, Harding and Hoover, and the Great Depression add a great deal to his narrative. And his potrayals of Walter Hagen, the first prima dona on the American golf scene, are a joy to read. Even if you are not a golf fan, you will like this book. If you enjoy the sport, then you will love it. Well done, Mr. Frost.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book about the legendary Bobby Jones by Mark Frost. I particularly appreciated his providing a detailed historical setting of the events in Bob Jones' life. Reading this work leaves us with the feeling that we knew him and with an appreciation of his talent, his warmth and his integrity. Mr. Frost's only error that I detected has nothing to do with golf. He writes that Bob served in the US Air Force during WWII, but there was no Air Force until after WWII. He served in the Army Air Corp. No biggy. You will enjoy this beautifully written story.

This book is an excellent account of Bobby Jones the golfer, but more importantly Bobby Jones the person. It should be of particular interest to today’s younger golfers, to see how golf was played in the nineteen twenties.

It’s a great book to read if you play and like golf. Mr. Jones was an exceptional man and an extraordinary golfer. A man of honor and integrity. Mark Frost is a good writer and obviously did much research to give such a personal and honest and thoughtful account of Mr. Jones’ sacrifice to reach his golfing greatness and maintain his personal dignity and humility. Any young person beginning a career would be inspired by Mr. Frost’s telling of Bobby Jones’ growing and maturing as a man and champion athlete.

This book is more than a story about Bobby Jones. I learned more about how WWI started in just a few pages than any other book I've read on the war. I love American history and Mark Frost can really write. Great book!

This is a well written book about the needs to construct something as complex as a continental railroad. Not only do you live thru weather conditions you also encounter Indians, scheming financiers, construction problems and the ever present political problems. I needed a few more maps to better understand progress.

and had never heard of him although I like and watch golf fairly often. I was especially intrigued with the story because of his ethics and strength of character. There are too few movies and books about people that live beliefs that are admirable so I always like to have those books for both me and the kids I homeschool to read!This is a good book. One of Bobby Jones successes has stood the test of time and not been replicated since the 1930s. Once he had quit tournament play, he became "a professional" from the standpoint that he assisted in making a different type of golf club (that is still considered one of the finest), built golf courses and even was the creator of one of the best courses in Atlanta, which hosted the Masters. This is a terrific book and one that I believe most golfers would definitely enjoy...as well as those just interested in golf or reading about an admirable person.

An enjoyable read. Nicely tied the flow of history with the events in Bob Jones' life. I enjoyed the insights into his personal life, that he liked a drink now and then, his never switching to steel shafts from his hickory shafts, and the agonizingly cruel physical ailments that beset his middle and later years.

I like the way Mark Frost tells the story of Bob Jones and also ties in the history of that time and how it applies

Full of wonderful insights into the childhood, early years, glory days, and final courageous battle with adversity in his last days..truly a great man who played the ball as it lay to the best of his ability, and shaped & was shaped by the game

Cards on the table - I'm biased. Bobby Jones had been a hero of mine for an awfully long time before reading this book. As a long time student of the history of the game, how could he not be? The game has always honoured its heroes: Ben, Byron, Arnie, Jack only need a first name - but Bobby was on an elevated plane and this book crystallises why. What I also liked are the glimpses of his contemporaries - Hagen, Vardon and Ray for sure but also the lesser known men who shaped the game - Horton Smith, MacDonald Smith, Francis Ouimet. Yet at the last Bobby rises above all others - as a golfer, as the man who made the Masters but most of all as a man. A real pleasure to read.

Mark Frost writes historical golf books like thrillers. I’ve read The Greatest Game Ever Played, The Grand Slam and The Match, all by Frost. These books are all thoroughly researched and then that history is woven together to create an engrossing story. You will feel you are next to Ouimet, Jones, Hagen, Varden, Ray, Nelson, et al, as they play critical rounds and holes. You will also gain a really nice sense of who they are with their being careers well detailed. I just didn’t realise how good these players were.The only downside of these books is that I’ve finished them..

Very enlightening look into the game ,and a humbling look into the life of one of the true greats of the game.