The Making of the Masters: Clifford Roberts, Augusta National, and Golf's Most Prestigious Tournament

This was a great book. I read it in record time for me, just under a week. The pictures are great. I thouroughly enjoyed it.

Over the years many untrue articles have appeared concerning Augusta National Golf Club and The Masters. This was probably due to the very private nature of the club which I'm sure rubs some people the wrong way. So to get back at this secret rich man's club, some journalists made up stories and repeated them for years. Now that the archives have finally been opened we are better able to judge the facts. Mr. Owen clears up many of these past inaccuracies in the last third of the book. He also shows us just how "touch and go" the whole enterprise was in the early years. The photographs and maps are worth the price alone and the history of the club is interesting to read. If you have ever been to Augusta you understand what the word "perfection" really means. This book is similar to Curt Sampson's "Hogan" in that it finally dispels much of the nonsense that has been written about these two remarkable gentlemen.

The Making of the Masters cleans out a whole library of rumor and legendary rubbish that has been written about Roberts, the club and the tournament. It will remain the classic work: a masterpiece of fairness and enlightenment. -- Alistair Cooke

As someone who doesn't play golf, and who habitually changes the channel when golf tournaments are on, and for whom the wearing golf clothes could substitute for a sentence of hard labor, should I be convicted of a felony -- let me say that David Owen has done the impossible: He made golf interesting. And not just golf, but Clifford Roberts, the Augusta National -- I've completely revised my opinions on the entire idea of golf, which I see now is far more than just a pastime. Now that I've read this book, I've taken three golf lessons. This book makes the perfect gift for any woman (or man) who thinks they're stuck in a relationship with a golfer! Their tune will change, let me tell you, and for the better.

David Owens has scored again! For anyone who is not familiar with his books, he has an uncanny ability to take a popular subject, and through careful research and brilliant writing, make it engaging and fun.His newest book on Augusta, The Masters, and its founder is no exception. Unlike other golf related books, which tend to be more shallow and aimed at the purely popular crowd, this one actually holds its own against any painstakingly researched history.And the outcome of this never before granted access to Augusta are a series of revelations. Almost unthinkable today, the Club and the Tournament, almost went belly up. It was not only the legendary, well known Bobby Jones who put Augusta on the map. It was probably more the intensely private and very unusual Cliff Roberts who conceived the Club and fanatically nurtured it.Every controversy and major event surrounding the Club and this uniquely American event is surfaced, and treated comprehensively and fairly. No issue is ducked; nothing is sugar coated.On top of great content, the writing is magical. In this day and electronic age, it is a pleasure to read someone who has such a command of the English language that he can make it stand up and bark. Anyone who appreciates great writing and is even remotely interested in golf or America, for that matter, should buy this book. I know they will like it!