Mr. Ben Hogan -- The Man, the Human Side of him

[LYG]

Such a giving person, kept it private

Mr. Hogan (like Mr. Bobby Jones) had an incredibly human side....usually not written about. Thought I'd start a thread with some stories.

I was engaged in 1985, my wife knew how big a fan I had been of his all my life. She wrote him a letter, he sent me one of his "Hogan hats" (new, white, linen, flat top "Hogan" style hats) and autographed it. He put the autograph in a place you had to look for -- understated --had to unsnap the brim to see it. Wow!

Around 1987, I sent him, for his birthday, our family crest tie...got a very gracious letter on his personal stationary.

I was just some schmuck, a kid from Memphis...and he was so kind in his replies.

THAT is The Mr. Hogan -- the man -- that people rarely hear about.

Thanks, Lawson

Thoughts by others?

[jak_bot]

[color=#1C2837]Here are some short snippets from the "Ben Hogan" chapter from the book [u]"And Then Tiger Told the Shark...[/u]"


"Ben Hogan was a legendary competitor, and he was also known as a consummate gentleman. In fact, he took great pride in the way he handled himself and could be a stern critic of players who didn't behave as he felt golfers should.
In his playoff with Jack Fleck in the 1955 US Open at the Olympic Club, Fleck was clearly--and understandably--nervous. On one of the opening holes, Fleck hit two poor shots and told Hogan--who had a putt for a birdie--he'd mark and get out of his way.
"Take your time, Jack," Hogan said. "We've got all the time in the world." [/color]
[color=#1C2837]___________________________________________________________________[/color]
[color=#1C2837]
[/color]
[color=#1C2837]"Much has been made of the rivalry between Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, and there's no doubt that they were both fiercely competitive. But when Hogan died in 1997, Sam Snead traveled to Fort Worth for the services. When he saw Hogan's widow, Valerie, he approached her and offered his condolences.[/color]
[color=#1C2837] "Valerie, Ben's gone now," he told her. "You've lost a husband, and I feel like I've lost a brother."[/color]
[color=#1C2837]___________________________________________________________________[/color]
[color=#1C2837]
[/color]
[color=#1C2837]"After Ben Hogan died, his wife, Valerie, looked back on their life together and captured the pure essence of the man:[/color]
[color=#1C2837] "I had the great honor of being with Ben in both the best of times and the worst of times, and he never disappointed me. Not Once." [/color]

[fabulous67]

Please bear with me on this.

Back in the early 90's when I first started to swing a club, I played at a little 9 hole track in south Texas. I was a 12-pack handicap. I drank just as much as I was swinging (there were other recreational substances in the mix, too). I accidentally hit "the shot" one day and I was hooked. I was hitting balls all day.

One day, an older gentleman rode up to me and said "Boy, here's a book, I want you to read it 10 times in a row. Practice the grip, study the stance and posture and learn from those chapters. Here is my phone number, I want you to stay away from the course until you have read the book 10 times, call me when you finish." I asked in disbelief "But why?" He looked at me and smirked a bit, then said "Son, you are wasting your time trying to hit balls the way you do, you seem to have a natural rhythm to hit a ball, but you have no clue with anything else. If you read that book like I said, you'll be shooting in the 90's rather than the 120's."

So I went home read the book, I read it 10 times in 2 days, I called him as soon as I finished. He told me to keep reading it, I felt a bit angry, but then he said you need to learn patience, call me back in two days.

Two days later, I rang him up. He quizzed me on the book. I mean he grilled me pretty hard on everything Hogan said about the fundamentals. He was a former school teacher and educator, so it was in his nature to teach. He was a hardass too.
The golf course was 40 miles away, so I didn't get to play everyday like I wanted. He finally told me to come play golf with him, but that I had to play his way. When I asked what that meant, his reply slapped me in the face. "Son, you are goddamned stupid if you think you'll ever play golf well under the influence of whatever you're doing. Beer and pot only make you stupid, if you cut that s*** out and wait until after you play to drink, you'll do better. So I expect you to be sober."

I got to the course and went to practice for a bit, he worked on my swing for about 45 minutes. His swing was very graceful looking to me, especially after reading the book and knowing what to look for, sort of. South Texas in June is very dry and warm to say the least. We teed off, I didn't hit a spectaluar shot, but off we went.

I shot a 93, I couldn't believe it.

Because he got me to understand that golf was more than just swing at a ball and getting drunk, I was able to play better.

Claude was genuinely thrilled. He made me promise to play sober. He also scheduled Thursdays to be our regular playing days. He would work and tweak my swing as he felt it need to be. He was about 65, but he could hit the ball very, very well. As time went on, he made me a regular team member on the scrambles played at the course. I was his regular partner during the Saturday/Sunday twosome matches. He was a scratch player as far as I know, he usually shot par or slightly better. I would say my pockets got a bit fuller because of the pairing. We didn't play for big money, but there were so many people there on the weekends that the payout was nice.

Claude's wife was somehow friends with Valerie Hogan. He met Mr. Hogan and they became semi-friends. Claude played at Shady Oaks and Colonial with Mr. Hogan, apparently there were a few matches that they were paired together. I never got all the details because I moved to Dallas. I also didn't really know Mr. Hogan's legacy. Claude passed away while I was in the Army, I never really got back in touch with him. Don't think I don't regret it.

Claude was always looking forward to his trips to Ft. Worth, they only happened about two or three times a year. He always came back eager to play. He always referred to Mr. Hogan as my good friend in Ft. Worth. My friend in Ft. Worth showed me how to shift my weight, my friend showed me how to get my swing on plane. I only came to find out that he was friends with Mr. Hogan shortly before I moved to Dallas. He said something to the effect that I could learn a lot more from his friend in Ft. Worth, Mr. Hogan if I was ever in the neighborhood. I never understood the value of that statement until later on.

Although this post isn't so much about Mr. Hogan. It was one of his friendships with a gentleman that shared a passion for the game, who made a lasting impression upon me. I cannot verify anything that Claude told me, but I have no reason to doubt it. Either way, it was Claude giving me the book "Five Fundamentals" and sobering me up on the course that made me appreciate Mr. Hogan. I do miss Claude.