Matchless
Joyce Wethered, Glenna Collett and the Rise of Women’s Golf
by Stephen Proctor
£25.00
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Reviews
Finally — a book that truly captures the inspiring and uniquely gifted women from a largely forgotten golfing age. A wonderful read from start to finish
Iona Stephen, Sky Sports presenter, commentator and host
A generational "life and times" of women's golf. What we have here is not mere game narrative of major championships, but sportswriting embedded in a larger cultural contest
Wall Street Journal, 10 Books that Belong on Every Golfer’s Shelf
Brings the wonderful characters of the early days of women's golf to life in a way that makes you want to travel back in time to Turnberry in 1921 to watch the redoubtable Cecil Leitch take on the dashing young American Alexa Stirling. A must read for all golfers and history lovers
Jim Hartsell, author of When Revelation Comes and The Secret Home of Golf
Matchless brings to life the fierce rivalry and enduring legacy of two titans of women's golf whose brilliance helped shape the game’s golden age . . . Essential reading for anyone who cherishes the history of golf
Connor T. Lewis, founder of The Society of Golf Historians
Another peerless gem from the best writer of our times. The lives of these golfing luminaries and the excitement they could instil is vividly captured. A triumph from start to finish!
Roger McStravick, golf historian
The story of trailblazers and disrupters on both sides of the Atlantic. Women's golf, amateur and professional, would be in a far different place without their courage, passion and prowess
Dottie Pepper, LPGA legend and lead walking golf reporter for CBS
An eye-opening treatment of the world's greatest women golfers, of their early struggles for equal treatment and of the truly matchless golf they played. Impressive, humbling and a joy to read
The Golf
Stephen’s work as an author is exceptional — meticulously researched and told with a compelling narrative thread. Matchless is no exception
The Cookie Jar Golf Podcast
Matchless is an exceptional read but it will also serve as a superb reference work that will grace any library of those with an interest in golfing history... the level of scholarly research is exceptional
Golfshake.com
Matchless is a stunning piece of work . . . Elegantly written and painstakingly researched, it deserves every award it will surely win
Bunkered Magazine
About the Book
Winner of the USGA Herbert Warren Wind Book Award
'Finally – a book that truly captures the inspiring and uniquely gifted women from a largely forgotten golfing age. A wonderful read from start to finish' – Iona Stephen, Sky Sports presenter, commentator and host
From the moment women began hosting championships of their own in 1893, one of golf's burning questions became whether any woman would ever approach the mythical ideal of playing perfect golf. It took three decades of striving – at a time when Suffragettes were stubbornly fighting for women’s rights – before Joyce Wethered and Glenna Collett delivered an unequivocal answer to that question.
From their first meeting at Troon in 1925, through a decade highlighted by their breathtaking match at St Andrews, the Englishwoman and the American brought out in one another golf so sublime that rare was the player, man or woman, who could perform as brilliantly.
The rivalry between Wethered and Collett generated such widespread interest and respect that it paved the way for the birth of a women’s professional tour. Matchless tells the story of these two incomparable golfers – women who personified the ambitions of their age.
The Author
Stephen Proctor
Stephen Proctor has served as a senior editor at The Baltimore Sun, The San Francisco Chronicle and The Houston Chronicle. He is an avid golfer and has spent the past decade studying the history of the royal and ancient game. He is the author of Monarch of the Green (Shortlisted for The Telegraph Sports Book Awards Biography of the Year) and The Long Golden Afternoon (shortlisted for the Sunday Times Sports Book Awards for Best Sports Writing, and the USGA Herbert Warren Wind Book Award) and Matchless which won the 2025 USGA Herbert Warren Wind Book Award. He lives in Malabar, Florida.
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