Ben Hogan

Golfer

• Born: August 13, 1912
• Birthplace: Dublin, Texas
• Died: July 25, 1997
• Place of death: Fort Worth, Texas

Sport: Golf

Early Life

William Benjamin Hogan was born on August 13, 1912, in Stephenville, Texas, the son of a blacksmith who died when Ben was nine years old. When Ben was twelve, his mother moved the family to Fort Worth, Texas, and Ben got a job as a caddy at Glen Garden Country Club for sixty-five cents a round, more money than he could make selling newspapers at the Union Station. For Ben, good things always came the slow and hard way. The unspoken rule among the caddies at Glen Garden was that a new boy had to fight with his fists for his right to work there. Ben passed that test. He was a natural left-hander, but when he decided to learn golf himself, the only secondhand clubs available were right-handed.

The Road to Excellence

It came as a considerable surprise to everyone at Glen Garden when, at fifteen, Ben somehow managed to tie for first with Byron Nelson in the annual Christmas Day caddy tournament. At nineteen, Ben turned professional, and the next winter he set out for Los Angeles and the professional tour with less than a hundred dollars in his pocket, counting on winning enough prize money to keep afloat. He lasted a month. The following winter, 1933, he took another shot at the circuit, lasting a little longer before he had to return home again. The next four years he remained in Fort Worth. He supported himself with odd jobs, while working daily on his game, refusing to alter his intention to make golf his career. Ben was dedicated. He wanted to be the best golfer ever. Ben’s swing was not naturally flawless—he practiced for hours to perfect it. In 1937, he rejoined the circuit as an improved golfer.

The Emerging Champion

In 1942, Ben entered the Army Air Corps, serving for three years. When he returned to civilian life and competitive golf in 1945, he quickly reaffirmed his position. By 1948, Ben had won much money, but only one major title had come his way. In May of that year, he captured the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Championship, but the long week of matches wore him out. The slight, 137-pounder was no longer young. A dozen years had passed since he had qualified to play in his first U.S. Open. The 1948 championship was played at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, a 7,020-yard course perfect for Ben’s long shots and uncanny accuracy. Ben’s total of 276 was 5 strokes better than Ralph Guldahl’s eleven-year-old scoring record for the Open.

On the morning of February 2, 1949, Ben and his wife, Valerie, were driving their Cadillac across western Texas. Ben had started the new winter tour by winning two of the first four events. Now the Hogans were heading home to Fort Worth for a few weeks of rest. On the highway near the crossroad town of Van Horn, a Greyhound bus roared out of the morning haze and smashed head-on into the Hogans’ car. In the crash, Ben suffered grave injury: a double fracture of the pelvis, a fractured collarbone, a broken left ankle, and a broken right rib. He was hospitalized in El Paso. A month after the crash, his already-serious condition took a turn for the worse. Phlebitis was causing blood clots in his legs. To halt the phlebitis, doctors performed a two-hour abdominal operation and tied off the principal veins in Ben’s legs. The operation saved his life, but there was no chance of Ben defending his U.S. Open Championship.

Continuing the Story

By 1950, miraculously, Ben had returned. During the sixteen months since his accident, Ben had successfully completed a tedious and often painful convalescence. By June, Ben had won one tournament. The pain in Ben’s legs still showed in his walk, and in the late rounds of a tournament, his game obviously suffered from his exhaustion. Ben won his second U.S. Open, and the following year, in 1951, he won his first Masters and another U.S. Open.

From time to time after Ben’s recuperation, there were indications of a “new Ben,” a more mellow player. When there was no golf to play, his manner was more outgoing than it had been formerly, and his conversation revealed a new warmth and depth. The exploits of Ben Hogan were viewed from two perspectives by the American public. Some saw him as a scientist-golfer working miracles of precision; others saw him as the hero of a heart-warming human-interest comeback story. The interest in Ben had a great deal to do with the boom that golf enjoyed in the United States in the mid-twentieth century.

In the 1950’s, Ben found more ways to connect with America’s enthusiasm for golf. In 1953, he founded the Ben Hogan Company, a manufacturer of golfing equipment, and in 1957 he coauthored the classic Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf. In 1971, he retired from professional golf with an impressive sixty-three tournament victories, including nine majors. He died on July 25, 1997, at the age of eighty-four.

Summary

Ben Hogan set a high standard for his golf game. His ability to overcome a life-threatening injury and his superior skill on the golf course made him one of the most admired golfers in U.S. history.

Bibliography

Bertrand, Tom, and Printer Bowler. The Secret of Hogan’s Swing. Hoboken, N.J.: J. Wiley & Sons, 2006.

Coyne, John. The Caddie Who Knew Ben Hogan. Irvine, Calif.: Griffin, 2007.

Davis, Martin. Ben Hogan: The Man Behind the Mystique. Greenwich, Conn.: American Golfer, 2002.

Dodson, James. Ben Hogan: An American Life. New York: Broadway Books, 2005.

Frost, Mark. The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever. New York: Hyperion, 2007.

Hogan, Ben, and Herbert Warren Wind. Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006.

Leadbetter, David. The Fundamentals of Hogan. Chelsea, Mich.: Sleeping Bear Press, 2000.

Towle, Mike. I Remember Ben Hogan: Personal Recollections and Revelations of Golf’s Most Famous Legend from the People Who Knew Him Best. Nashville, Tenn.: Cumberland House, 2000.

Vasquez, Jody. Afternoons with Mr. Hogan: A Boy, a Golf Legend, and the Lessons of a Lifetime. New York: Gotham Books, 2004.