Classic Quote About Ben Hogan

[Shade Ruff]

This one was too good not to share:

 

"Tommy Bolt, who played with Hogan, was asked once if Jack Nicklaus might have been the greatest player ever.  Bolt replied:  "I've seen Nicklaus watch Hogan practice.  I've never seen Hogan watch Nicklaus practice."

 

Shade Ruff

[straightshot7]

Nicklaus probably never watched Hogan putt though. 😄

[EmperorPenguin]

This is my favorite quote from Ben.  This interview was taken when Hogan equipment was one of the best.  Listen to what Ben said about staying on the "straight and narrow" at the end.

 

 

 

[dlygrisse]

9 minutes ago, EmperorPenguin said:

This is my favorite quote from Ben.  This interview was taken when Hogan equipment was one of the best.  Listen to what Ben said about staying on the "straight and narrow" at the end.

 

 

 

A lot of people these days criticize Hogan for being a gruff surly SOB.  But when you grew up like him and had to work your a** off to put food In Your belly and then become successful it’s a different perspective.  Those who “throw stones” are typically those who never had to fight for much. 

[double_d]

On 10/10/2020 at 3:54 PM, Shade Ruff said:

This one was too good not to share:

 

"Tommy Bolt, who played with Hogan, was asked once if Jack Nicklaus might have been the greatest player ever.  Bolt replied:  "I've seen Nicklaus watch Hogan practice.  I've never seen Hogan watch Nicklaus practice."

 

Shade Ruff

A simple explanation for that might be that Hogan was born in 1912 and Nicklaus in 1940.

When Nicklaus was coming up, Hogan was already in his late 40s, of course a 20 year old Nicklaus is going to watch Hogan.

[teevons]

Hogan did take time to watch Trevino play

[Foozle]

Although it was said that Hogan didn't speak or say a lot, what he did say was often pure gold! There are many great Hogan quotes and he was particularly adept at the concise put down.

A favourite was when Nick Faldo secured an audience with Mr Hogan at Shady Oaks. Tradition was that you showed respect by using "Mr Hogan" until approval was signalled by Hogan using your Christian name rather than "sonny".

Faldo's somewhat inflated ego by passed that courtesy and he sailed straight in with, "Ben, how do you win a US Open?". Mr Hogan replied, "You shoot the lowest score". Faldo persisted, "Aw, c'mon Ben, how do you win a US Open?". Hogan simply replied, "Sonny, I promise that if you shoot the lowest score, they will give you the trophy on Sunday". Audience over! 🙂

I agree with Emperor Penguin that to understand the man, you need to understand where he came from and how he achieved what he achieved. Nothing came easy to Hogan, he worked incredibly hard and through grit and determination overcame much that would stop lesser men in their tracks. I have nothing but respect and admiration for him. 

[st1800e]

“

There was a round at Cypress Point, where on the 13th fairway (Sandy) Tatum’s description of what he’d observed in his several rounds with Ben Hogan gave me a more palpable sense of what Hogan was like than anything I have ever heard.

“When it was Hogan’s turn to play, it was on the basis that he had been accorded the privilege of playing that particular golf shot,” he said. “And that privilege carried with it a responsibility. And that responsibility was to give that shot all the thought and effort that he could, and to make it as effective as he could. It was a very distinct characteristic.”

[st1800e]

There’s another story, a name pro asked for a meeting with Mr. Hogan. One of his staff advised Mr. Hogan of the request, who asked “Does he play our clubs?”. No was the answer and no meeting took place.

[bcstones]

I came across a number of stories, two that stick are about his drive for perfection and the other about his concentration:
 

The first was at a practice setting prior to some tournament - he using the same iron, he placed a number of shots within a couple of feet of each other. The watchers all oohed & aahed about the great shots...Hogan turned around & rather gruffly that they weren't great shots, couldn't the croud see the trajectory was different on each shot?! (yup, his desire to have every swing produce the same perfect shot).

 

The second was on the 17th at the Old St Andrews (that's where the railroad line come close isn't it?), anyway he stood over the ball, lining his putt & a train went puffing by. He putted in & as he was leaving the green, one of the referees apologized for the noise of the train...Hogan responded "What train?"

 

[rufus mangler]

Someone approached Ben Hogan on the driving range and asked "Mr. Hogan, what club are you hitting?"

 

Hogan replied, 7 iron.

 

How far do you hit a 7 iron?

 

162, 164.

 

You know how far you hit it within a couple yards?

 

No. I hit one 162 and the next one 164.

[smashdn]

On 1/26/2021 at 11:55 AM, Foozle said:

I agree with Emperor Penguin that to understand the man, you need to understand where he came from and how he achieved what he achieved. Nothing came easy to Hogan, he worked incredibly hard and through grit and determination overcame much that would stop lesser men in their tracks. I have nothing but respect and admiration for him. 

 

Give the man truth serum and I think you would find he was to a certain level jealous of those who had natural golf talent at the level of a Nicklaus or Faldo.  Hogan was no doubt talented but his talent was not near enough to get him to the top.  He was not as naturally gifted as Nelson or Snead.  His talent coupled with that crazy work ethic/love for practice enabled him to understand his swing incredibly well in an age without cameras and tools to understand spin, angle of attack, etc.

 

I think he respected you when you put in your dues so to speak.

[bcstones]

50 minutes ago, smashdn said:

 

Give the man truth serum and I think you would find he was to a certain level jealous of those who had natural golf talent at the level of a Nicklaus or Faldo.  Hogan was no doubt talented but his talent was not near enough to get him to the top.  He was not as naturally gifted as Nelson or Snead.  His talent coupled with that crazy work ethic/love for practice enabled him to understand his swing incredibly well in an age without cameras and tools to understand spin, angle of attack, etc.https://www.pgatour.com/player/01528/ben-hogan

I think he respected you when you put in your dues so to speak.

Excuse me!!!! "Jealous"!!!!  I can't think of anyone who respects you if you don't put in your dues. Here are the PGA profiles of Hogan, Snead, & Nelson.....
https://www.pgatour.com/player/01528/ben-hogan

https://www.pgatour.com/player/02119/sam-snead

https://www.pgatour.com/player/01863/byron-nelson

 

I totally disagree w/your "diagnosis" of "a certain level of jealous of thos who had natural golf talent...", for sure he was flabergasted at the level of $$$$ paid out - after his retirement, & at his office, he was asked by a Pro for help tweaking his stroke. Hogan asked what the winner's purse was. the Pro said "1 million dollars", Hogan said "No, what is the winner's purse"...the Pro said that WAS the winners take. Hogan sat back in his chair....he'd NEVER come any where close to playing for such a purse. Not Jealous, just Astonished...

[miamistomp]

 Interesting how one accident changed Hogan into a legend and another car accident changed a legend into a has been

[smashdn]

2 minutes ago, bcstones said:

I totally disagree w/your "diagnosis" of "a certain level of jealous of thos who had natural golf talent...", 

 

Read American Triumvirate: Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, and the Modern Age of Golf.  There was definitely a level of jealousy.  Or maybe jealousy is not the right word, maybe resentment.  Those two had something Hogan wanted and could not get (early on).  Snead was athletically gifted.  Nelson was just bigger, older and a little bit better.  Neither had the bumps in the road that Hogan was faced with, whether it be their childhood, the early part of their professional careers, the terrible hook, the car crash, etc. 

 

Hogan didn't like Snead because he was uncouth.  I could see Hogan not caring for Nelson A) because they were childhood rivals and B) because Nelson didn't have to work at golf like Hogan did.  Once Nelson was financially stable he cut back his schedule and played events and when he wanted and did quite well despite not devoting himself to the game.

 

I certainly can see jealousy and resentment.  Has little to nothing to do with money or purse sizes. 

 

Which event?  The Masters didn't pay out more than a million to the winner until 2001 and Hogan passed in 1997.  The Players paid out more than mil in 2000.

[bcstones]

@smashdn I hope we can agree to disagree....I'll check the book out, I have Dobson's book "Hogan", I catch no resentment nor jealousy in that treatise. I've a couple of other books on Hogan which don't concur w/the resentment or jealousy. It was in one of those books or other articles that that million dollar story popped up...I don't remember the timeline, I could even have the amount incorrect - could have been $100,000 to the winner, Hogan never played that much for a 1st place purse...

btw - I wouldn't call Hogan's crash "a bump in the road"...I was in a MVA that put me in the hospital for 5 months & both PT & OT for over a decade...that was no bump in the road. 
I'll track down that book....and see how it feels to me...

Edited April 10, 2023 by bcstones

[mocokid]

On 1/26/2021 at 11:56 AM, teevons said:

Hogan did take time to watch Trevino play

Did Trevino test Hogan clubs for him?

[aarontl]

On 4/10/2023 at 9:52 PM, smashdn said:

 

Read American Triumvirate: Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, and the Modern Age of Golf.  There was definitely a level of jealousy.  Or maybe jealousy is not the right word, maybe resentment.  Those two had something Hogan wanted and could not get (early on).  Snead was athletically gifted.  Nelson was just bigger, older and a little bit better.  Neither had the bumps in the road that Hogan was faced with, whether it be their childhood, the early part of their professional careers, the terrible hook, the car crash, etc. 

 

Hogan didn't like Snead because he was uncouth.  I could see Hogan not caring for Nelson A) because they were childhood rivals and B) because Nelson didn't have to work at golf like Hogan did.  Once Nelson was financially stable he cut back his schedule and played events and when he wanted and did quite well despite not devoting himself to the game.

 

I certainly can see jealousy and resentment.  Has little to nothing to do with money or purse sizes. 

 

Which event?  The Masters didn't pay out more than a million to the winner until 2001 and Hogan passed in 1997.  The Players paid out more than mil in 2000.

Sun city million dollar challenge the pro was faldo

[bcstones]

@smashdn I did finally get ahold of the Triumvirate and am about 2/3rds+ thru it...I stopped to read Snead's "Education of a Golfer" & Nelson's "How I Play the Game" & Dodson's "Ben Hogan, An American Life", for some Hogan insights from their perspective. I'll get back to it 

So far the ONLY times I could find that could imply 'jealously', 'resentment' or anything like that. It was the author, Dodson, who implied that, for instance, the caddie game between Hogan & Nelson, that Hogan would naturally felt some resentment & that it carried thu their professional paths....nothing that Hogan said or did, it was an inference that Dodson placed based on what Dodson felt anyone would feel. The same thing could be said about Snead's remark after Hogan/Nelson interview, when Hogan commented Nelson should practice more but he was lazy, the remark was that tourney play was stressful & someone you thought was a friend, that person stabbed you in the back...that was not about Hogan/Nelson, it was about Snead & his past history. Dobson mentions in the Hogan, an American Life, that Hogan was privately irritated w/Snead's showmanship, the lack of decorum/respect for the Spirit of the Game....AND so was Gene Sarazen & Bobby Jones Jr (read Jones' reason why he refused to go professional & the reason for irritation is totally understandable). Irritation is neither resentment nor jealously.

The Triumvirate really shows up the different focus' on Golf  of the three....all 3 came from hard scrabble backgrounds.

Snead's focus was money. He made no bones about it, he'd bypass a tour game, where top prize would only bring him a few hundred dollars & play somewhere else for a few thousand dollars. He was a sociable person, he liked people, liked to be around them.
Nelson's focus really became the Club Pro & instruction. He too was a sociable person who enjoyed being the Club Pro and the people there & enjoyed instruction. He toured when he had to. He even retired from the pro tour kinda early, to enjoy the Club Pro life. He practiced till he was comfortable w/his swing & practiced only enough to maintain that level.

Hogan's focus was entirely on perfection. He was a loner. He was never satisfied w/his swing. He practiced every single day he could...to perfect his swing so that each hit produced the exact same heighth, same distance for each club. From what I've read, Hogan's sense of humor reminds me of Groucho Marx - very dry, very astute, and often misunderstood. 

 

Reading both Snead's & Nelson's books, they each express their deep respect of Hogan - the man and his game. They each said that when they competed with Hogan, they knew they had to bring, not their best game, but better than their best game.

 

If ya'll have read this far, I guess ya've figured out Ben Hogan sits atop in my esteem....but not alone: Robert T Jones Jr, Joyce Wethered, Babe Didrikson, Ben Hogan, & Mickey Wright. No hierarchy. they are equal in my esteem of their Spirit of the Game.
 

 

Edited July 30, 2023 by bcstones

[smashdn]

18 hours ago, bcstones said:

@smashdn I did finally get ahold of the Triumvirate and am about 2/3rds+ thru it...I stopped to read Snead's "Education of a Golfer" & Nelson's "How I Play the Game" & Dodson's "Ben Hogan, An American Life", for some Hogan insights from their perspective. I'll get back to it 

So far the ONLY times I could find that could imply 'jealously', 'resentment' or anything like that. It was the author, Dodson, who implied that, for instance, the caddie game between Hogan & Nelson, that Hogan would naturally felt some resentment & that it carried thu their professional paths....nothing that Hogan said or did, it was an inference that Dodson placed based on what Dodson felt anyone would feel.

 

I have not read the other two books.  The only place I could have picked up that vibe was in American Triumvirate.

 

I'll stand by what I said in my quote regarding truth serum.  It is after all an opinion and I positioned it as such.

[bcstones]

1 hour ago, smashdn said:

 

I have not read the other two books.  The only place I could have picked up that vibe was in American Triumvirate.

 

I'll stand by what I said in my quote regarding truth serum.  It is after all an opinion and I positioned it as such.

It's okay...we can agree to disagree....oh, btw I came across the story of Faldo, as mentioned by @aarontl, as he was preparing to go the the South African Sun City Million Dollar Chalenge - it was 1992

[bcstones]

Came across another Hogan story....in the book "Different Strokes" by Mona Vold, she was a certified golf instructor & took some time off to interview some Women of golf, players & instructors - Women like Jackie Pung, Shirley Spork, Peggy Kirk Bell, and others. The Hogan story was told by Shirley Englehorn. She was playing in a tournament in Augusta, GA 16 March 1960, it snowed so round 1 was cancelled. So she went horseback riding w/friends. She was thrown, hitting a tree - concussion, busted nose, & 3 fractured dorsal vertebrae. She was strapped into an early type circle bed, being held imobile & bed flpped every hour . The docs didn't expect her to walk again, much less play golf ever again. The '60 Masters, in early April, was approaching. The week of the game, Ben Hogan walked into her room. She said he didn't say much & she could almost see his own accident being replayed in his head - and the same prognosis given him...would never walk or play golf again. But he did, with a lot of difficult work, & played in a tournament in a years time. Hogan sat there in quiet support. When he got up to leave, She told him "I'm going to get up out of bed and walk you to the door". She'd not walked since the accident, she couldn't....but she did. She walked Ben Hogan to the door & then back to the bed. She attended the Masters later that week in a back brace & wheelchair. She did play the LPGA tour again & became a gifted instructor.
 

Interesting story....

[bcstones]

Rereading "Different Strokes"...after watching a number of matches & videos, a story from the book came to mind. It was in the chapter devoted to Polly Riley, a Texas amateur, lived most of her adult life in Ft Worth in the shadow of the Colonial. She has a great history & stories about playing w/some of the great LPGA Ladies at the early beginnings.

In 1949, she'd have been in her 20s somewhere, this was just after Ben Hogan's crash 6 months prior & he came to her club (River Crest) to practice. Ms Riley said "I was young and green and at the right place at the right time". Once, as the story goes, she was attempting to be more aggressive w/her putting. Hogan said "You really ought to think about the dying putt. The dying putt has 4 ways to go in. The aggressive putt has only one: center of the hole, back, and it'll go in if it's not too aggressive. The dying putt can hit any corner, any side of the hole, and it'll go in." She took it to heart & never once attempted to be an aggressive putter again.

That idea of the dying putt came thru watching some of the Elder Pro's putt vs the rather aggressive Youngsters today....
 

[Michael Shanker]

And all of them stood and watched Moe Norman.

[bcstones]

1 hour ago, Michael Shanker said:

And all of them stood and watched Moe Norman.

I'd never heard of the man....so I looked him up. Interestingly there is a 16 year old topic here on Norman vs Hogan "Moe Norman vs. Ben Hogan The Ultimate Showdown"...it gets off track a number of times, but interesting all the same.
Seems Moe Norman hit consistent straight shots (Hogan thought they were all accidents, there is a YT segment where Norman says that is his only gripe w/Hogan). I'm thinking that at the end of the day - both were excellent ball-strikers. 

[bcstones]

not exactly a "Hogan story"....it's a Ken Venturi interview with Ben Hogan from 1983 (read the info - old VHS captured by video camera off the TV)....forget the video, concentrate on the audio - a fantastic glimpse of Hogan

 

 

 

 

[Pepperturbo]

What @dlygrisse said earlier I agree with. 

 

Yep, plenty of people throw stones, and assume, yet don't have a damn hint what drives accomplishment and success of some people.  Though I am not in Hogan's skill arena, I can relate having come from a welfare poor family, having to overcome personal challenges to reach where I am today.  Learning to play good golf in many ways was simple.

 

 

 

Edited January 2 by Pepperturbo

[bcstones]

16 minutes ago, Pepperturbo said:

What @dlygrisse said earlier I agree with. 

I do believe that is what Hogan is saying in this interview....