Opinion & Analysis
Hole 2: Gene says “Let’s go see Ben”
After my train wreck with Mr. Hogan in locker room at Shady Oaks, I knew I had better get some coaching before I was near him again. A few days after the debacle, I gathered myself enough to tell Gene in detail how I had introduced myself to him. Gene sat and listened to my story. I was embarrassed, but also knew if there was anyone that could coach me up it was Gene.
When I finished telling him what happened, I saw Gene roll his eyes and cover his face with an expression that wordlessly said, “Tom you are our new department dumb a**.” After he was sure his lesson was fully absorbed, Gene could not help but to chuckle as he fully savored his new boss’ colossal failure with the man. I was hoping Gene would offer me up a scrap of comfort and tell me things would get better, but on that day he gave me nothing but grief.
A few weeks later, Gene shared with me his cunning plan.
[quote_box_center]“So here is what we are going to do,” Gene told me. “The next time I go see Ben, I will take you with me.”[/quote_box_center]
Gene is the only man I’ve known who could actually call Mr. Hogan “Ben” without it sounding fake. I’ve heard others try to use only his first name, but something about it just sours the ears. I promise that if you were ever around Mr. Hogan for real, you would understand what I mean with that “Mr.” thing. Even now when I hear someone call him “Ben” without “Hogan” within range of my gun blast-damaged and 70’s rock music-depleted hearing, you might as well say “Ben bla, bla, bla.” I’m not going to hear anything you say.
Back to Gene’s cunning plan. One spring morning, months after the Shady Oaks experience, I was working in my drab, windowless Pafford Street office. Gene stuck his head halfway way through the door. His throat was scarred by smoker’s cancer, and when he spoke it was with the roughest pitched voice on the planet. He blew a “Phisssssh” at me to get my attention, a mouth sound only he could do. It sounded like something between a leaking tire and a full mouth spit.
[quote_box_center]“Let’s go see Ben, but keep your mouth shut while we are in there,” Gene said. [/quote_box_center]
Gene was holding a prototype wedge that Mr. Hogan would take later in the day to Shady Oaks. I was nervous as I followed behind Gene as he walked to the West End offices of the factory, marching past Mr. Hogan’s guard dogs, Pat and Sharon. They were very sweet office administrators, but they could and would become armor-plated pit bulls if you had no business in that part of the building. They eyed me as if to say, “Who are you,” and Gene told them we were were going in to see “Ben.” Did he say we? It was impossible for me at that moment to get my head around the fact I was actually walking into Mr. Hogan’s office.
I heard that he always wore a tie. Yep, there it is, I thought. It was the first time I had seen his Windsor knot in person. I knew his business dress code was enforced on all managers, and we were expected to always wear slacks, a button-up shirt and a tie at the office. I and many of the younger golf geeks wanted our threads to say “golf,” but Hogan insisted on business attire. “Dinosaur,” I thought at the time.
As we walked in, I noticed that he had a map of West Texas oil fields on his desk and he was peering over a huge black magnifying glass. I later learned he had interests in a number of Texas oil wells. Gene greeted Mr. Hogan, but within a microsecond he was firing his intense blue eyes toward me. I’m sure he remembered my stupid ambush at Shady Oaks. There were no words from him though.
Gene went around the edge of his desk with the prototype wedge and into Mr. Hogan’s personal space. That was a space I would never enter lightly again. I stayed two steps behind and in front of the huge desk. Hogan looked at me again. “Why are you here?” was what I inferred from his stare. I was thinking, “How does he do that?” He just changed all the air in the room. My arms just fell limp at my side and digestion ceased (except that I felt like I was crapping bricks).
Mr. Hogan stayed in his seat as Gene showed him the shafted wedge. Hogan then reached out, grabbed it and put it on the floor next to his chair. He golf gripped it and held it out and down to approximate the playing lie angle and club position. Over the next several years I would see him take his first look at every prototype golf club this way. If it was the first time he had seen a specific prototype, he would consider at length the bounce and juncture. I heard him once say the juncture, which is the transition area from the flat face of the club to the cylinder of the hosel, was the hardest part of a club to get right.
“Building a club is like building a house,” Mr. Hogan said on one of my trips into his office. “Get the foundation (the sole of the club) right first, and then the rest of the house can be right.”
On that day, however, he didn’t say much. I was a new person in his office, and his eyes bounced from me to the wedge, and then to Gene and me again. I winced each time he looked my way. After a few cycles of Mr. Hogan’s eyes, I was relieved that he started to ignore me and I became invisible again. Only then did normal lower-track digestion kick back in and I started to breathe.
All the time we were in there, Gene was telling Mr. Hogan with his raspy voice what had been welded, brazed and done back in the model shop to the wedge per Mr. Hogan’s directives. The boys had fixed it and Gene told him why it was now perfect, just like he ordered. Mr. Hogan nodded his head at Gene. “OK” he said. With that, Mr. Hogan leaned the wedge against the side wall of his desk and picked up his magnifying glass again.
We had been in his office a total of two minutes, maybe.
Without a word, Gene looked at me and rolled his index finger in a circle to tell me to turn around and leave. We were done, and were long past Mr. Hogan’s office door before anything was said.
“Is that the way it goes with him,” I asked. “Yes,” Gene said. “Never go see him or approach him without doing your work first. He does not like fools or loafers. Have a purpose, be brief, be all business and be prepared.”
That morning was the second time I was in the same air and room with Mr. Hogan. It was intense, but some better than my first crash-and-burn encounter at Shady Oaks. Gene showed me how it should and could be done. I would (with my mouth shut) go again and watch Gene and Mr. Hogan conduct that ritual a couple of times each month. Sometimes there was a bit more talk, but not much. There were different prototypes and music, but the same dance. It was priceless to observe. Slowly, Gene kept putting me out there with Mr. Hogan. And slowly, Mr. Hogan would tolerate me a bit more each time.
It would, however, be a full year before I would utter a single word in the presence of Mr. Ben Hogan.
Related
- Introduction: Why I’m writing 18 stories for GolfWRX
- Hole 1: The Day I Met Ben Hogan
- Hole 2: Gene says, “Let’s go see Ben”
- Hole 3: Ben Hogan: “I had a dream”
- Hole 4: Ben Hogan had his own math
- Hole 5: Ben Hogan’s “Prototype” fly swatter
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19th Hole
Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again
After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.
Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.
Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”
Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.
“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.
Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.
“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”
“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”
As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.
In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.
“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”
Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.
Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:
Fairways Hit
1.) Louis Oosthuizen
2.) Anirban Lahiri
3.) Jon Rahm
4.) Brendan Steele
5.) Cameron Tringale
Greens in Regulation
1.) Brooks Koepka
2.) Brendan Steele
3.) Dean Burmester
4.) Cameron Tringale
5.) Anirban Lahiri
Birdies Made
1.) Brendan Steele
2.) Dean Burmester
3.) Thomas Pieters
4.) Patrick Reed
5.) Carlos Ortiz
LIV Golf Individual Standings:
1.) Joaquin Niemann
2.) Jon Rahm
3.) Dean Burmester
4.) Louis Oosthuizen
5.) Abraham Ancer
LIV Golf Team Standings:
1.) Crushers
2.) Legion XIII
3.) Torque
4.) Stinger GC
5.) Ripper GC
LIV Golf Singapore Picks
Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)
Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.
This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.
Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)
Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.
This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.
It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.
Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)
Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.
Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.
Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.
Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)
Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.
Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.
If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.
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In Tampa, there is a golf course that boasts carts that do not work, a water range, and a group of players none of which have any chance to break 80. The course is overseen by a staff of crusty men who have succeeded at nothing in life but ending up at the worst-run course in America. However, this place is no failure. With several other local courses going out of business — and boasting outstanding greens — the place is booked full.
While I came for the great greens, I stayed to watch our resident instructor; a poor-tempered, method teacher who caters to the hopeless. At first, it was simply hilarious. However, after months of listening and watching, something clicked. I realized I had a front-row seat to the worst golf instructor in America.
Here are some of my key takeaways.
Method Teacher
It is widely accepted that there are three types of golf instructors: system teachers, non-system teachers, and method teachers. Method teachers prescribe the same antidote for each student based on a preamble which teachers can learn in a couple day certification.
Method teaching allows anyone to be certified. This process caters to the lowest caliber instructor, creating the illusion of competency. This empowers these underqualified instructors with the moniker of “certified” to prey on the innocent and uninformed.
The Cult of Stack and Jilt
The Stack and Tilt website proudly boasts, “A golfer swings his hands inward in the backswing as opposed to straight back to 1) create power, similar to a field goal kicker moving his leg in an arc and 2) to promote a swing that is in-to-out, which produces a draw (and eliminates a slice).”
Now, let me tell you something, there is this law of the universe which says “energy can either be created or destroyed,” so either these guys are defying physics or they have no idea what they are taking about. Further, the idea that the first move of the backswing determines impact is conjecture with a splash of utter fantasy.
These are the pontifications of a method — a set of prescriptions applied to everyone with the hope of some success through the placebo effect. It is one thing for a naive student to believe, for a golf instructor to drink and then dispel this Kool-Aid is malpractice.
Fooled by Randomness
In flipping a coin, or even a March Madness bet, there is a 50-50 chance of success. In golf, especially for new players, results are asymmetric. Simply put: Anything can happen. The problem is that when bad instructors work with high handicappers, each and every shot gets its own diagnosis and prescription. Soon the student is overwhelmed.
Now here’s the sinister thing: The overwhelming information is by design. In this case, the coach is not trying to make you better, they are trying to make you reliant on them for information. A quasi Stockholm syndrome of codependency.
Practice
One of the most important scientists of the 20th century was Ivan Pavlov. As you might recall, he found that animals, including humans, could be conditioned into biological responses. In golf, the idea of practice has made millions of hackers salivate that they are one lesson or practice session from “the secret.”
Sunk Cost
The idea for the worst golf instructor is to create control and dependency so that clients ignore the sunk cost of not getting better. Instead, they are held hostage by the idea that they are one lesson or tip away from unlocking their potential.
Cliches
Cliches have the effect of terminating thoughts. However, they are the weapon of choice for this instructor. Add some hyperbole and students actually get no information. As a result, these players couldn’t play golf. When they did, they had no real scheme. With no idea what they are doing, they would descend into a spiral of no idea what to do, bad results, lower confidence, and running back to the lesson tee from more cliches.
The fact is that poor instruction is about conditioning players to become reliant members of your cult. To take away autonomy. To use practice as a form of control. To sell more golf lessons not by making people better but through the guise that without the teacher, the student can never reach their full potential. All under the umbrella of being “certified” (in a 2-day course!) and a melee of cliches.
This of course is not just happening at my muni but is a systemic problem around the country and around the world, the consequences of which are giving people a great reason to stop playing golf. But hey, at least it’s selling a lot of golf balls…
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The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.
TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.
Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.
However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.
Past Winners at TPC Louisiana
- 2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
- 2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
- 2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
- 2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
- 2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
- 2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)
2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks
Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)
Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.
This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.
McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.
Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)
Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.
Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.
Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)
Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.
NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.
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Nolanski
Jul 8, 2015 at 4:15 pm
I love Hogan stories. I dont know why some people get offended by his sternness. It was a different generation that had to fight for everything. They didnt have the safety nets my generation(born 1984) has. It was sink or swim everyday back then.
Hogan Fan
Jul 1, 2015 at 10:23 pm
please read Tim Scott’s novel Ben Hogan The Myths Everyone Know and The Man No One Knew….it will change your negative perception of one of the greatest icons in American history
cody
Jun 25, 2015 at 1:16 pm
You know, i used to be in love with this guy. that was until I started to read about what a total jerk he was. Typical napoleon small man syndrome. All the Mr Hogan BS is starting to wear on me as well. The dude is the paul bunyan of golf. !40 mph swing speed. could tell if a club was an once to heavy, could a hit a wedge onto a tea plate from 160, and that was with traditional lofts. blah blah blah. i am kinda done with it all.
Daniel
Jun 25, 2015 at 10:50 am
My hope is that after some time getting to know Mr. Hogan and him getting to know you Mr Stites, that the relationship warmed up. I can’t see how you would continue to hold a man in such high esteem after being continually treated this way. I look forward to seeing all the articles to see if Mr Hogan eventually became a more friendly figure.
Slimeone
Jun 25, 2015 at 7:38 am
Sounds like Mr Hogan would have been ripe for a good bit of trolling! Unfortunately it hadn’t been invented yet!
Barry Switzer
Jun 24, 2015 at 11:19 pm
Ben. And I’m not affraid to say BEN was just a man.! The competitions and courses back than were beyond easy. Heck, many of us on here could’ve beat BEN. I respect his accomplishments, but his era was full of hack golf pro’s. He had it too easy and would be a wash up in today’s tour
Me Nunya
Jun 25, 2015 at 12:50 pm
Oh, you….
Gary
Jun 26, 2015 at 2:47 am
You, my friend, have no clue what so ever. Have you ever even seen pictures of Oakmont, Riviera Country Club, Congressional. I doubt that you could break a leg there under tournament conditions, let alone PAR. And for you to think you could even measure up to Ben Hogan with a golf club, I would like to see you hit 6 balls in a row on the same trajectory!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bob
Jun 24, 2015 at 10:43 pm
What a ridiculous work environment and overwrought reverence. No wonder they went bust.
MichaelColo
Jun 24, 2015 at 7:15 pm
I think what allot of the posters may be missing is Mr. Hogan was protecting what he had built. It was the Ben Hogan Golf company and it was his name on each and every club that went out the door. Mr. Hogan came from humble beginnings and what he had, he had “dug out of the dirt”. He held his employees to a high standard in an effort to produce golf clubs of the highest quality, golf equipment symbolic with his name and the reputation he had built. Everything I have read and heard was Mr. Hogan’s employees loved him.
Christosterone
Jun 24, 2015 at 10:13 pm
Byron Nelson and Lee Trevino came from equally, if not more hardscrabble beginnings.
Yet neither of them treated SO many with profound disdain and an air of hubris laden dismissal.
This is the hallmark of a narcissist….many greats posses this quality but as Byron Nelson proved in his lifelong dismantling of Mr Hogan on the course at every level, it was not a prerequisite to succeed.
I do not allow someone’s childhood hardships to excuse boorish behaviors as an adult. It is indicative of a personality flaw at worst, bad self control at best…
-Christosterone
May be typos
Jun 25, 2015 at 1:00 pm
Lee was only nice when the cameras were on him.
Christosterone
Jun 26, 2015 at 10:02 am
As a lifelong Texan I have had the pleasure of meeting Lee…he was and has always been an absolute joy.
Heck, we even chatted at baggage claim in Palm Springs a few years back.
I asked him mostly about his charge at the 72 open which IMHO is the greatest display of Links golf ever…take a look at the link below…lee was a god on the links and I promise you was and is nice in person.
http://youtu.be/urdUwammrEM
His membership at Royal Oaks through the 80s furthers this as my wife’s family was a member and my father in law had dozens of interactions with Lee. All extremely positive,
Christosterone
Jun 26, 2015 at 10:18 am
Possibly the coolest story in 60s golf lore…
http://youtu.be/9sojAI7s160
SBoss
Jun 26, 2015 at 9:47 pm
I knew the clubhouse guys at an annual tour event and they told me that Lee Trevino was the biggest fraud on the tour. He was completely rude and dismissive of anyone that he deemed “below” him….
He complained CONSTANTLY about anything that he came across in the clubhouse area. They despised Trevino.
When I see how animated and “fun” he is when the cameras are on him? I know the truth. BTW, Jack Nicklaus wasn’t as bad as Lee Trevino but he wasn’t the best either.
Arnold Palmer? Now that’s a guy who treated people fabulously and he treated everyone the same. He’s the genuine article…and then some.
Christosterone
Jun 28, 2015 at 10:04 am
I can only speak to my experiences and Lee was a consummate gentleman in our interactions.
This is not second hand, it is how he treated me…
As for my father in laws interactions, I trust those more than anything.
But I concede that I am not a friend of Trevinos so do not truly know his heart…all I know is how he treated me and how he treated people when televised…which seemed absolutely congenial…
But my point remains that with Hogan there seems to be zero stories of positive interactions with him…
Heck, if I was Nicklaus I would’ve punched him after what he said about Jacks cherry hills final round and his “stupidity”….yet Mr. Hogan gets a pass…
Kevin
Jun 24, 2015 at 6:58 pm
Not sure if we are supposed to like Ben Hogan after reading these articles or if we are supposed to come to realize he was kind of a grump with a huge stick up his bum.
Double Mocha Man
Jun 24, 2015 at 6:13 pm
An aside: I was once involved in a Kohler/urinal encounter that breaks your Dad’s men’s room advice. But the other gentleman, at the Eaglemont Golf Course, dressed in blue suit and red tie made the first move. He was there after giving a speech to the local Chamber of Commerce. He was running for the office of Governor of Washington state. We exchanged pleasantries and I wished him luck in the upcoming election. Then, as planned, I voted for the other guy.
Double Mocha Man
Jun 24, 2015 at 6:05 pm
Tom, I love a good story. Well-written. Keep ’em coming.
talljohn777
Jun 24, 2015 at 4:47 pm
When you are at the top it takes very little effort to be kind and magnanimous and it costs nothing.
Seth
Jun 24, 2015 at 4:35 pm
Mr. Hogan… Deserves respect for his accomplishments and dedication the the game but your article is just sad dude. He wasn’t God. He was just a man. Have respect, learn from him, appreciate his legacy. I’m sure he was more uncomfortable with you around because of how you put him on a pedestal for worship.
Christosterone
Jun 24, 2015 at 3:42 pm
Tom,
First off, great articles.
I am not a fan of Ben Hogan, the man…but want to be!!!
My main issue with him is his almost sociopathic behavior towards fellow pros he deemed to be “below” him…Arnold Palmer, Johnny Miller, and Lee Trevino to name a few…
It was not necessary to be so rude to be great.
As I recall, one of the kindest men in the history of golf routinely curb stomped Ben Hogan until his 60s….Byron Nelson….
Please continue to write these as I love them and hope to slowly change my disdain for Mr. Hogan though it’s not looking good so far 🙂
May be typos
Jun 24, 2015 at 1:48 pm
Thanks to these articles I have found someone I like less than moe…I imagine hitler was a more approachable person
Sprcoop
Jun 24, 2015 at 1:04 pm
Holy sphincter cramp Batman! That sounds like a lot of fun. Not!