Down one path Vardon saw the poor meagre life of a gardener, which his father had endured. Down the other, a potentially decent living as a golf professional. He knew he was good, perhaps better than his brother but he needed to test the waters to see how good he really was. Deciding to take the plunge, Harry followed in his brother's footsteps and made his way to England.
Shortly after arriving, Vardon played in a small tournament and won. He entered another in Scotland, the home of the greatest golfers, and came second. That was enough for him. He knew he could compete with the best. His brother wrote a letter to say that there was a vacant position at Lord Ripon’s nine-hole golf course. So, at the age of 20 in 1890, against his father’s wishes and angry protestations, Vardon headed to Yorkshire, turned professional and duly became Green Keeper and Professional at Studley Royal Golf Club in Ripon. Further work followed at Bury and Ganton before Vardon settled at South Herts Golf Club in the south of the country.
In 1891, Vardon perfected the overlapping grip that is today used by 70 per cent of golfers. To be fair, it was not Vardon’s own invention – despite it being known as the "Vardon" grip – but one that he picked up from Johnny Laidlay, who used it before Vardon to win the Amateur Championship. It was undoubtedly Vardon though who popularised it.
The other thing that set Vardon apart from other players was his practice routine, his thought processes and his focused strategies. This was at a time when taking a practice swing on the tee at St Andrews was deemed inappropriate and there were only three minute gaps between tee times.
It certainly paid off.
In 1893, he won the Kilmacolm Tournament in Scotland. In 1896, at Ganton, Vardon won his first Open Championship after a play-off with the great JH Taylor at Muirfield. It was the start of what many call the golden era of the triumvirate. Together with Taylor and James Braid, they would dominate the game in a way that was not seen until the great Nicklaus, Palmer and Player battles. Over a period of 20 years between 1894 and 1914, either Taylor, Braid or Vardon won The Open on 16 occasions.
In 1897, Vardon won five tournaments. In 1898 and the following year he won the Open Championship again. He was at the very peak of his powers and became the first global golfing celebrity. How far the little boy from Jersey had travelled. To recognise his stature in the game AG Spalding created a new golf ball and called it the Vardon Flyer.
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