Ben Hogan: An American Life

I first learned about Ben Hogan watching the Golf Channel. Oh, I'd heard his name before but other than that, knew next to nothing about him. I was intrigued by someone who--long after his retirement--loved spending his free time on the golf course driving balls. For him, a lifelong workaholic, it was a way to relax. For this reason I picked up and read "Ben Hogan: An American Life", by James Dodson. It's a lovely portrait of one of the golfing greats that I found endlessly fascinating. I particularly enjoyed Dodson's descriptions of the great golf courses, and how Hogan performed on them. Indeed, Dodson has the unique gift of recreating the drama of playing some of the world's most difficult holes in golf, under terrific pressure, and of how Hogan attacked them. My one complaint with Dodson's book is that it doesn't have a word index. THE HOGAN RECORD Before Tiger Woods, before Jack Nicklaus, indeed, before Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan was the best golfer on the planet. Between 1940 and 1959, excluding nearly two years he was in the U.S. Air Corps during World War II, and one year in the hospital recovering from a near-fatal car crash, Hogan won sixty-eight golf tournaments and dominated professional golf as no one before ever had (including the great Bobby Jones), a total that included four U.S. Opens, a pair of PGA Championships, two Masters Championships, and the only British Open Championship he ever played in. Only four times has a PGA Tour player achieved double-digit victories in one calendar year. Hogan did it twice--thirteen wins in 1946, and ten wins in 1948. THE HOGAN STYLE Ben Hogan was a sharp dresser. None of the garish colors and loud plaids for him. Writes the author: "His chosen attire was simple, expensively made, immaculately maintained, and almost always muted in shade . . . flannel gray and muted blues . . . and no commercial logo ever graced a garment Hogan wore in the public eye or in competition . . . " The author quotes golfer Tom Weiskopf's reaction in seeing Hogan: "The first thing that struck me about Ben Hogan . . . was his perfect clothes. His shoes were immaculate, his belt always looks brand-new . . . The creases in his pants looked as it they had just been pressed . . . Nobody ever looked the way Hogan did." Hogan favored driving a black Cadillac Fleetwood. Interestingly, Hogan was a natural left-hander, until taking up golf, when (inexplicably) he switched to being a right-hander. Like most golfing greats, Ben Hogan stood just under six feet tall, at a trim and fit five-feet-nine inches. He wore a fedora in public, and a white flat-hat on the golf course. THE FAMOUS HOGAN PHOTOGRAPH The most famous photo in all of golf was taken of Ben Hogan on the 72nd hole at Merion Golf Club, during the 50th United States Open Championship. Writes the author: "The elegant black-and-white photograph provides rich visual detail of what many consider to be the most marvelous clutch shot ever played in the throes of Open competition." It's a photo taken from behind Hogan, at the moment he follows through on a long drive, with upraised hands clutching his one-iron driver over his head, while before him lays the down-sloping fairway, and distant flag on the eighteenth green, with fans lined three-deep on all sides. After a near perfect drive, Hogan would go on to birdie the hole and win the tournament. THE HOGAN WORK ETHIC Because Hogan was among the least athletic of golfing greats, he had to practice relentlessly to compete and win. Tournaments were won or lost, he believed, almost entirely in how well he prepared. "The more I practice," he said, "the luckier I get." Between tournaments, he hit at least six hundred golf balls twice a day; three balls every minute for three-and-a-half hours in the morning, followed by three-and-a-half hours of practice in the afternoon. Playing in the actual tournament, he said, was "almost secondary," an anticlimax--"simply going through the motions," as he put it. He once told the Dallas Morning News: "I always wished the days were longer so I could practice and work (more)." THE GREAT AMERICAN TRIUMVIRATE It was golfing great Bobby Jones who said it: a golfer is only as good as the players he's up against. In Hogan's time it was fellow Texan Byron Nelson, and the Virginian, Sam Sneed. Together, the three of them officially collected 208 golf tournament victories and 17 majors and, more lastingly, says the author, "transformed American golf from a largely sleepy rich man's country club game into a national obsession and major spectator sport--quadrupling post World War II purses and galleries in less than two decades on the job." The three so dominated American golf they became known as "The Great American Triumvirate." HOGAN'S SLOW RISE TO THE TOP Ben Horgan was born in the sleepy West Texas frontier town of Stephenville, on August 13, 1912. His childhood was relatively happy, until his ninth year, when his father--whom he worshipped--took his own life with a pistol shot to the heart. After that, the emotionally devastated family moved seventy miles northeast to Forth Worth. The author says his father's suicide helps explain Hogan's reticence around strangers, and his tightly held emotions. At age 11, young Ben took a job as a caddy at the nine-hole Glen Gardens Country Club, outside Fort Worth, thus beginning his life-long obsession with golf (among his fellow caddies at Glen Garden was Byron Nelson.) In his spare time, Hogan practiced his golf swing relentlessly, in the hope of becoming a teaching pro. While his swing improved markedly, he learned he had little patience teaching others. Indeed, once he was famous, the requests for private lessons skyrocketed, and while Hogan turned down one and all, he would offer advice to a new touring pro, if asked. Hogan and Nelson entered a few local tournaments, one of which Nelson won in a playoff with Hogan (shades of things to come). Encouraged, Hogan dropped out of high school during his senior year, and turned pro six months shy of his 18th birthday. At some point, Hogan met his future wife, Valerie Fox, in Sunday school. However, any plans of getting married depended on Hogan making a living, which he found very difficult playing golf during the Great Depression. He was always broke, worked various odd jobs, and continued to work hard improving his game. With help from friends, he managed to rent his first place, and in 1935, married Valerie Fox, in a quiet ceremony at her parents' home. Of the two, the naturally flamboyant and outgoing Byron Nelson found success early on the tour, while Hogan struggled. Indeed, Nelson was winning majors long before Hogan. It was painful to read about the many occasions Hogan came close to winning, and fell short, often in a playoff. Hogan's breakthrough year was 1940, when at age 27, he won his first tournament, the first of three consecutive events, in North Carolina. After these three wins, coupled with a few endorsements, life became much easier; Hogan bought his first Cadillac, and his wife joined him on the tour. Hogan's next obstacle, was winning his first major. Once again, he came close many times, until his breakthrough win, which didn't come until after he had enlisted in the U.S. Army Corps, taking the PGA title in 1946. Two years later, he won his second PGA title, and his first U.S. Open. Those two years--1946 and 1948--were among Hogan's most dominant years, accruing a total of 23 wins. However, the best was yet come. TRAFFIC ACCIDENT AND RECOVERY Such was Hogan's success on the golf course, in early 1949, he was the subject of a Time magazine cover story. The magazine appeared on newsstands while Hogan was playing in a golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, a tournament he had dominated so thoroughly they referred to the golf course as "Hogan's Alley." Hogan played poorly that year, commenting afterward: "It was just one of those things." After a brief stopover in Phoenix, Hogan pointed his Cadillac toward his home in Fort Worth, Texas. Two days later, on the final leg of his journey, motoring in a light fog on route 80, he was struck head-on by a Grey Hound bus. Had he not been driving at a reduced speed of about 30 mph (due to the fog), and taken quick evasive action, it's likely Hogan and his wife would have been killed. Writes the author: "At the last possible instant before impact, Ben released the wheel and dove headlong to his right, hurling his body protectively over Valerie's terrified ninety-eight pound frame." An hour-and-a-half after the accident, an ambulance arrived to take the couple to a hospital in El Paso. While Hogan suffered several broken ribs, the worst of his injuries was to his legs. The examining doctor predicated Hogan would never walk again, let alone ever play golf again. However, once out of the cast, ever goal minded, Hogan set his sight on winning the 1950 U.S. Open. He fought off excruciating pain, and managed to take his first steps. When he returned to the golf course one month after the accident, it was not to practice his swing, but to walk the golf course to regain his leg strength. One year after the accident, Hogan returned to the PGA Tour at, where else? -- Hogan's Alley--for the Los Angeles Open. While perpetually tired from walking the hilly course, his golf game was as sharp as ever. He tied Sam Snead over 72 holes, but, having run out steam, lost in an 18-hole playoff. While he didn't win a single tournament that spring, the level of his game was such that he was among the favorites to win that year's U.S. Open. Just outside Philadelphia, the course at the Merion Golf Club, was devilish, and presented particular problems for Hogan, because the final 36 holes were to be played in one day, which for Hogan meant walking the 18-hole golf course twice, and being on his feet for six hours. While Hogan's game was as good as ever, the question was whether or not his legs were up to the challenge. Hogan struggled while walking between holes, but kept his focus, and put himself in a position to win. And thanks to his miraculous play on the eighteen hole (the subject of the famous Hogan photograph), came from two strokes behind to win by a single stroke. BEN HOGAN, THE MOVIE Hogan's auto accident and miraculous comeback, was the stuff of Hollywood. Sure enough, in 1951 Hollywood came calling, and with Hogan's cooperation made a movie about his career, entitled "Follow the Sun", with Glen Ford in the starring role. While Hogan personally coached Ford to mimic his swing, he was never satisfied and, to give the movie greater authenticity did several stand-ins for Ford, as himself. While the movie did well in the box office, the critics generally panned it. Hogan's golf career was far from over, he gave himself several goals to shoot for: winning ihis first Masters, and his third U.S. Open. Both of which he accomplished, capping his best season to date. However the best was yet to come. In 1953, he won both the Masters and the U.S. Open, and set his sight on a new target--The Open Championship (a.k.a. the British Open), which was being played that year at the Carnoustie golf course, in Scotland. CARNOUSTIE AND LINKS GOLF Links golf in Great Britain was a decidedly different game than American golf, and those who didn't know Hogan well, predicted he would fail. However, those familiar with Hogan's thorough preparation, believed he would adjust his game and find a way to win. Hogan's preparation called for him to arrive early in Scotland, get a hotel room near the course, find a local caddy, and spend the week before the tournament, practicing from sunup to sundown. Typical of Hogan, while he employed a caddy experienced with the vagaries of the Carnoustie links golf course, he did not seek or want advice, wishing to avoid anything that might interrupt his laser-focus. While Hogan was a quick study on mastering the art of links golf, the best he could manage on the opening round was 73, which was very good for a first-timer on the toughest links golf course in Scotland. With each round, however, Hogan played progressively better, with a 71 on day two, a 70 on day three, and a sparkling 68 on day four, to cap a remarkable win. Writes the author: ". . . missing only one fairway in 108 holes of golf, Ben's Carnoustie triumph matched any championship in Open history for drama and courage. . . ." After winning, Hogan and his wife boarded an ocean liner to New York. Like a conquering hero returning from an oversea's war, Hogan was welcomed in New York with a ticker-tape parade down Broadway. BEN HOGAN GOLF CLUBS Being something of a fussbudget with his own golf clubs, it was probably inevitable Hogan would form a company to manufacture golf clubs, which is what he did in 1953, producing Ben Hogan Golf Clubs. SEEKING THE ILLUSIVE FIFTH U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP Hogan's next goal was to win a record fifth U.S. Open, which in 1955, was being held for the first time at the Olympic golf course in San Francisco. Hogan played exceedingly well, well enough to win the tournament outright. That said, he was outplayed by a young Jeff Fleck, who had come from seven strokes back to tie Hogan on Saturday, after a grueling thirty-six holes of continuous golf. In a playoff, the following day, Fleck bested an emotionally-drained Hogan by three strokes. Ironically, Fleck beat Hogan with golf clubs bearing Hogan's name, which Ben had given him gratis mere days before the tournament began. Golf is a maddeningly difficult game. The general idea is to hit a very tiny ball down the fairway, avoiding the tall grass and trees on either side, then strike it safely onto the putting green, and sink it in the cup. And do it with the fewest strokes as possible. Thanks to his incessant practice on the driving range, Hogan was a master at keeping the ball safely on the fairway. As he grew older, however, and especially after his car accident, which impaired his vision slightly, his difficulty was in sinking the ball in the cup. And it cost him several tournament wins in the later half of the 1950s. He played well enough to win in the '56 Open, but on the closing holes was let down by his putting, with several near misses, and finished second once again. In 1958 and '59 he played well enough to finish in the top ten. In 1960, after 54 holes, he was in contention once again, with several pundits predicting that this time Hogan would win his record fifth U.S. Open Championship. However, a combination of tired legs and an errant putter let him down, and once again failed to win, but did finish in the top ten. The great Jack Nicklaus, new to the Tour , and in contention until late on the final day, found himself paired with Hogan in an early round. Later, he said, he'd been led to believe from other Tour players that playing with Hogan was a draining experience. "'He was cold,' they said, 'and he concentrated so explicitly on his own game that he was hardly aware that anyone else was on the course.' This, I discovered early in the day, was absolutely wrong. Ben couldn't have been pleasanter to play with. He didn't talk a great deal, but whenever I produced a better than average stroke, he'd say, 'Good shot,' and in a way that you knew he meant it. In a word, he treated me like a fellow competitor, and I liked him." BEN HOGAN'S FIVE LESSONS After retiring from the Tour, Hogan sat down and wrote "Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf". The book became an instant best seller, and today is considered a classic on the game of golf.

Pretty thorough tome. A bit tedious and tendentious as to be expected. Covered Hogan pretty well, I thought. A must read for any Hogan-phile. I suspect it might be a bit tedious for non-Hogan-philes. Don't read it expecting to get a golf lesson. It's about Hogan's life as an authorized biography should be... not an exposition of the five lessons. I'm still not sure it covered the essence of Hogan who pretty much went through his competitive golf life as an intensely & incredibly focused, almost mean, tough as nails, stoic, yet with barely-controlled-snarling-anger-simmering-under-the-surface competitor playing with a chip on his shoulder while reveling in the underdog role. But it did capture "An American Life." Hogan rose from the most difficult of beginnings in the Depression and despite lacking as much talent as some other, more gifted golfers (i.e. Byron Nelson and Sam Snead), rose to become arguably the greatest golfer of his generation thanks to single-purposed time, immense effort and incredibly hard work. The epitome of the American dream where hard work, time and effort results in success. (depending upon what your definition of success is... there certainly was a cost for Hogan's success and a tense married life with no children may have been a result). I should leave it at that but I'll take issue with Dodson's opinion of why Hogan did not like Oakland Hills following the Robert Trent Jones' makeover even though most people, including Dodson thought Jones made it right up Hogan's alley. Hogan thought it essential to use strategy in playing a golf course. Attack the pin from the left if it's back right and vice versa, etc. Robert Trent Jones removed strategy by forcing all competitors to hit balls to the same locations due to bunkering and needle thin fairways and high rough. That it played to Hogan's strength to hit the ball where he wanted to; better than any other golfer wasn't Hogan's point. His point was that it removed strategy from the game and that's why he didn't like what Robert Trent Jones did to Oakland Hills. A point that's even more valid today on most US Open courses than it was then. Enjoy.

Whewf. What a wild ride. The author wrote this book with such detail and passion. I tip my cap to Jame Dodson. It's a GREAT history lesson. Learning about golf legends from the depression era (20s-30s) All the way to the 90s, it's a fun and fantastic read for all golf fans. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Great story of Ben Hogan,s rise from simple beginnings to become the most celebrated golfer of his time. The book tries to explain away the Hogan wall of privacy, and paint the picture of a softer gentler man than the competitor the public saw. Seems that he was obviously more than his exploits on the golf course as would be expected, but was also as obsessed with golf and his swing as any obsessed perfectionist leaving quite a lot of gaps in the rest of his life. Book is about a marriage, a personal journey, and a lifetime center red around the game of golf at the highest level. As a fan of golf and it's history, my enjoyment was a foregone conclusion before I started.

Very interesting book about Ben Hogan. Its well written.

James Dobson's An American Life is the definitive Biography of Ben Hogan, who won 9 Majors in his career and dominated the sport in his era. Hogan was one of the most beloved sports figures of his day, but was notoriously shy off the course, preferring the company of a few close friends to the prying eyes of an adoring public, because of this he was unfairly saddled with the nickname "The Wee Ice Man" Dobson has managed to penetrate the curtain of silence that has always surrounded Hogan, talking to many of those who knew him best. Along the way he unearths many facts that were widely unknown to the golfing public, such as the suicide of Ben's father Chester when he was 10 years old. Needless to say, this early loss profoundly influenced the young Hogan's character, and gave him the strength to triumph over later adversity. Dobson chronicles Hogan's inspirationial story, from Fort Worth caddy to beloved Major champion. In 1949, the car he was driving collided with a bus, he wasn't expected to live, let alone play again. Drawing on that deep well of inner toughness, he somehow willed his body back into playing shape. He went on to win 6 more Majors, including 3 in 1953 forever known as the "Hogan Slam" Even if you don't like golf, I think you'll be deeply moved by Ben Hogan's story.

I have to admit three things in the interest of full disclosure. One - I am an unabashed James Dodson fan - I have read everything he has written and have enjoyed them all. Two - If anyone other than James Dodson had written this book, I would have never read it. Three - I am now an unabashed Ben Hogan person, because I now know the story of his life which has been told in a truthful and powerful manner. I wish I had seen more of him and I wish that when I did see him on television that I would have appreciated what I was looking at. James Dodson has written several books about his own personal experiences which have been well received and rightly so, especially the book, Final Rounds, which put him on the literary map. He was also Arnold Palmer's "co-author" for his auto-biography, a pleasant book and which achieved Jim's goal of having the reader feel that he had the chance to sit down and have a few Scotches with "The King." In this book, he is working without a net. He has accepted the challange and the honor of being the family authorized biogapher of one of the greatest golfers of all time. In recreating "An American Life" he has devoted at least three years of his life to the research necessary to marshall the facts. Then he had to take the results of his research and do justice to the lives of Ben and Valerie Hogan. No easy chore. In judging how succesful he was I have to only look at my perception of Hogan before I read the book. He was basicallly a name from the past. (I am 66) His greatest accomplishments were not on TV. He was said to be aloof. A loner. A perfectionist. When he finally made it to TV, he was past his prime, but still playing well enough. He was a ghost hanging around in the early days of Palmer, Nicklaus and Player. He was a "black and white guy" in the early days of color TV. James Dodson peels that all away and exposes the heart and soul of the man. He does it honestly. Warts and all. But the image that is left with the reader is one of wishing that you could have met him and if not that, watched him play at the height of his career and if not that, been able to share a lunch and a "see-through" with him at Shady Oaks. If you consider yourself a golfer, you owe it to yourself to read this book. And you owe it to Ben Hogan.

As a former avid weekend golfer born during the war, I only had a fleeting memory of Hogan as his career was largely over by the time I took up the game at the end of the 60's. To think Hogan was 30 before he won his first professional tournament -- the LA Open -- but then dominated the pro tour for the next 20 years, winning 4 US Opens (he counts one of his former wins as a National Open win and thus claimed 5 US Opens) all between 1948 and 1953 and the first to complete the modern grand slam when he won the British Open on his first and only try. In 292 career PGA Tour events, the Hawk as Ben Hogan was called, finished in the Top 3 in almost 50% (47.6-percent) of them. He finished in the Top 10 in 241 of those 292 events. He finished his career with 64 total wins and 9 majors. Had his career not been interrupted by WWII and a near fatal car accident in the late 40's that left him with a severely injured leg and requiring over a year of rehab at the very peak of his career, he could well have won several more majors and who knows how many more regular tour events. This book could well make the case that Hogan was the best golfer of all time. He certainly was the most feared competitor of his day .