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The Vardon Invasion: Harry's
Triumphant 1900 American Tour is the new book by Bob Labbance, with Brian Siplo,
and including a foreword by Tony Jacklin. The 204-page hard-covered, dust
jacketed book was published by Ann Arbor Media
Group of Michigan in February, 2008 and is available in book stores
nationwide.
The book features a complete account of Vardon’s travels in America during 1900, playing matches in nearly every region of the country against all the best amateurs and professionals in American golf.
The book
includes a wealth of photographs depicting the courses, the opponents and the matches, completing a portrait of the game in its infancy in America and the world’s greatest player of the time.
In 1899, Harry Vardon had a Tiger Woods-type year. The 29-year-old dominated the competitive scene, winning nearly 75 percent of the challenge matches and professional tournaments he entered. His five-stroke triumph in the Open Championship was his third in four years and the first time any golfer had led wire-to-wire in a 72-hole event. A home and away challenge match with Willie Park, Jr., ended in a humiliating defeat for Park and a ₤200 prize for Vardon—part of a year in which he made more money from golf than anyone ever had before. The Englishman was at the top of his game and the pinnacle of the sport. |
The Vardon Invasion
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It was with this background that the American-based Spalding Company offered him a lucrative endorsement contract and a chance to tour America and display his skills against all the top players of the era. Although Park had come to America five years previous, his public displays were confined to a few courses in the Northeast, while most of his time was taken up with business pursuits. Vardon’s tour was to be the first of its kind—a year-long extravaganza that would bring the best golfer in the world to as many outlets as possible—or at least those that had the $275 appearance fee Vardon commanded. |
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From February to December, with six weeks off in May and June to defend the Open championship back at St. Andrews, Vardon toured America playing nearly every top golfer, amateur or professional. He played the three previous U.S. Amateur champions and four of the first five U.S. Open winners. He played transplanted Scots such as Alex Findlay who had been in the country since the 1880s and the most recent arrivals like Robert White in Cincinnati. Vardon compiled an amazing record during his tour, often beating the best ball of two quality professionals by a substantial margin. Bernard Nicholls was the only man to beat him head-to-head, and that happened twice. |
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He played matches in places that were barely recognizable as golf courses. Most were nine holes; many were less than 2,500 yards. They had clay greens, sand greens or dirt greens—some had little grass anywhere on the layout. Few were turfed like the British courses he had grown up on, and many of the bump-and-run shots he had relied on were useless given the nature of the ground. After his initial shock, Vardon adapted and still dominated. |
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Vardon was a trendsetter in more ways than one. In the 1890s, knickers were not unknown, but they mostly reserved for children’s garb. When Vardon appeared at a tournament in Ireland wearing plus-fours, knee socks, Norfolk jacket and tie he was ridiculed. Not only did it become his signature outfit, within a few years it had become the standard golfing attire of the day, and remained so for decades to come.
The book is a snapshot of one year in early American golf. It was a time when you put on a jacket and tie, took a train to your club, grabbed a bag full of wooden sticks, found your regular caddie, set off for a quick walk chasing a ball made of tree sap over a golf course that was less manicured than today’s highway median. |
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