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39
B
orn at the turn of last century, Edith Cummings
came from money and knew how to enjoy herself.
Cummings was famous in east coast circles as the
daughter of wealth, and once in her twenties she had
already developed a love for golf.
As a young, rich woman in the 20s, she in many ways
epitomised the recent liberation that women enjoyed
in this period between wars. She had a graceful and
patrician air about her, which helped with her swing.
She was such an excellent golfer that she became
the first female athlete to be on the cover of Time
Magazine, in 1924.
She was so iconic that F. Scott Fitzgerald would come
to base one of his characters on her. Jordan Baker from
The Great Gatsby was a Cummings clone, right down
to the love of golf. One thing that Fitzgerald did invent
was Baker’s habit of cheating when she got the ball into
trouble: Cummings would not dream of such unsporting
behaviour.
Cummings the golfer and Baker the character would
come to define that period of American history. And golf
played a crucial role in their mythology.
EDITH CUMMINGS:
THE FAIRWAY FLAPPER