Vardon was born at Grouville, Jersey, Channel Islands, to Philip George Vardon (1829–1914) and Elizabeth Augustine Bouchard (1837–1920). In 1894 he married Minnie Stevenson. They had two children, Stella F. Vardon and Leonard Harry Vardon.[1] Vardon was the head professional at a number of golf clubs including Ilkley Golf Club from 1893 to 1900 and Royal St George's Golf Club.[5]
In 1909 Vardon emigrated to the United States, departing Southampton, England, aboard the SS Majestic[6] on 16 June 1909 and arrived on 24 June 1909 in New York City. He had been given four months leave from Royal St George's to work at the Onwentsia Club in Lake Forest, Illinois. This was part of a deal that allowed Vardon to enter that year's U.S. Open held at Englewood Golf Club, New Jersey.[7] He finished his career at White Bear Yacht Club, located at White Bear Lake in Minnesota, arriving in 1916 and remaining there until his death in 1938, although he retired on pension one year before his death.[8]
Golf course architecture
Vardon was involved in golf course architecture, designing or helping with the design of 40 courses. Pamphlets that survived the clubhouse fire at White Bear Yacht Club in 1937 record that although the original golf course design was by William Watson, there was further development by Vardon and Donald Ross.[9] Along with Robert W. Diehl, Vardon also wrote a how-to manual on golf, the Diehl-Vardon Golf Manual which was published in 1927 by the Western Golf Publishing Company.[10]
Vardon designed courses
A group photo of the 1903 English golf team prior to their international match against Scotland. Vardon is seated in the front row, third from the right.
^Brenner, Morgan G. (2009). The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of the Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008. Vol. 1. McFarland. ISBN978-0-7864-3360-5.
