Harry Vardon grew up in poverty, in a tiny cottage in rural Jersey. He would become a founding father of the modern game of golf.  He singlehandedly revolutionised its play; his innovative Vardon grip became the global standard. When he toured America, the world beat a path to his door. His duel with Francis Ouimet lit the touchpaper for the golf mania that would consume the USA in the twentieth century.

When Vardon took the radical step of sporting knickerbockers, the golfing world spun on a dime and embraced this novel fashion. With his obsessive practice regime, his consummate discipline, as much as his effortless style, Vardon was the shape of things to come. This is his story.