The New Ben Hogan Equipment Company

This posting includes one of several special treats I received from the Ben Hogan Equipment Company.  The fantastic group of professional equipment people at Terry Koehler's company have come together to produce the new 2015 Ben Hogan Irons.  The video provides some insight into the company and the clubs themselves.

You can get the new Hogan irons from Juan Gomez of Prestige Golf at the Mel Reese Golf Course in Miami.  He has a terrific reputation in the club fitting business and works with professional golfers from just about all the professional tours.  You can demo the clubs there and have them customized and fit at his shop.

Enjoy!

As promised here is another installment of 'On This Day in Hogan History':

by Mark Baron and Tom McCarthy

On August 8, 1955, Life Magazine released their interview with Ben Hogan with his that now he was semi-retired and would finally reveal his secret he discovered in 1946.  Several times after 1946 he would only admit that he had a “secret” and a number of professional golfers speculated about it in the April 5, 1954 Life Magazine, which only piqued the interest of golfers everywhere.

Life Magazine paid Hogan $25,000, a huge amount in that day, for this article, but many people believed Hogan did not reveal all that he knew in the article.  From time to time over the next several decades, he stated there was more to the “secret” than he had previously disclosed.  He reportedly offered to reveal his actual “secret” in a new article for a fee of $100,000.  No magazine wanted to pay that kind of money in those days and the deal was never finalized. 

Some believe that the actual “secret” went with him to the grave, but others claimed that he told them what it was and he made them promise not to tell.  One such person shagged balls for Hogan at his country club, Jody Vasquez.  In his book "Afternoons with Mr. Hogan" Vazquez provided some additional specific keys that Mr. Hogan gave him.  However, some believe, including Dan Jenkins the great golf writer and long-time Hogan fan, that his “secret” was simply to dig it out of the dirt through many hours of practice.

Pictured is the cover of Life Magazine from August 8, 1955 of Ben Hogan showing one of the secrets he more fully describes in the article.

See our next blog for more about 'Ben Hogan's Secret'!

Ben Hogan History - August 6: Hogan's Hole In One!

On This Day in Hogan History:

by Mark Baron with Tom McCarthy

On August 6, 1947 Ben made a hole in one at the 161-yard fourth hole during the final round of the Esmeralda Open played at the Indian Canyon Golf Course in Spokane Washington. The ball hit on the edge of the green and curled long across the green to drop in the hole. It was his second hole-in-one in his professional career, the first coming in 1934 at the 10^th hole in the Texas Open, held at Brackenridge Park Golf Course.  It is an unsubstantiated rumor that Ben had five hole-in-ones in his lifetime, (ie playing in practice rounds or in tournaments).  He ended up shooting a 68 to finish T-2 along with Johnny Palmer, Ed Furgol and Ellsworth Vines, taking home $1,066.66, one stroke behind the winner Herman Keiser.  Ben missed a putt for par from less than 2 feet on the final hole that would have tied Keiser and forced a playoff.   Hogan, who was battling the flu, praised Keiser as “the world’s greatest putter even though he does not like to be called it.”  

The Cow Pasture Tournament in Dublin Texas benefits The Ben Hogan Museum

http://www.yourstephenvilletx.com/sports/rec/cow-pasture-golf-classic-grows-to-two-days/article_d0804b6f-d1d3-5171-9bdd-ad978647937c.html

Spring and summer are here so golf is on the front burner for many more folks around the country.  Attached is a link to an article about the annual tournament in Dublin Texas that benefits The Ben Hogan Museum located there.  Quite a few new exhibits and activities this year.  While you are there you can visit the Dr. Pepper factory as a side trip.  Play golf in some extreme conditions and have a whole lot of fun.  The Ben Hogan Foundation staff will be there to answer questions about their projects and The First Tee Program they support in Ft. Worth.

Dress up for the occasion in cool clothing as it Texas hot that time of year.  Consider some knickers a broad brim hat or visor and wear some of the new Ben Hogan Apparel now available on the market.  The new line of performance wear is just now rolling out to market.  Play with some Ben Hogan golf clubs and leave your more modern clubs at home.  The golf experience at Mr. Hogan's early course should be very rewarding.

New Ben Hogan Accessories Available Now

New Ben Hogan Accessories

The new caps from the Ben Hogan Company (Perry Ellis) are finally out in the market.  Many of the styles are available at your local Walmart in the men's performance apparel section.  The styles are new and there are some new wrinkles in the modern fabrics used that are performance tech based.  If you can't get them at your local store contact me directly at mcctee@aol.com.

There are more accessories in the design stage.  I spoke with the marketing and design teams recently and the excitement level is quite high and the items are going to represent the Hogan legacy very nicely.  I will post photos as soon as I can release them.  

If you notice on two of the hats they used the iconic Merion photo as the model for the logo on the cap.  Very innovative of the design team.  

As you may have already noticed Mark Leishman on the PGA Tour has been sporting the apparel line.  The shirts are the Ben Hogan Performance Collection line.  

Not only did Marc Leishman perform in an excellent and honorable fashion at the Masters Tournament last week, now he is again in contention at Harbour Town with a 4 birdie and bogie free round.  He is two shots off the pace set by Brian Davis.  A steady performance throughout the week might land him another win on the PGA Tour.  A very nice outcome for the new Ben Hogan PERFORMANCE apparel brand.  Leishman is the Tour Staff ambassador for the Hogan Brand.  Hope to see him wear one of the new Hogan headwear soon!  

Announcing 'The Complete Hogan' by Jim McLean

The new 'The Complete Hogan' by Jim McLean from Wiley and Sons is now available in Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million, etc.  The hard copy is terrific and it is also available for digital downloads on the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook.  The instruction emphasis is descriptive of Mr. Hogan's prime swing motion from the late 1940's when he was winning everything and called Mr. Golf by the press.  There is well over 100 photos taken as stills from actual film from that time period.  Its the best swing photo sequencing of Mr. Hogan's classic legendary swing.  It took over two hears from concept to completion of the work. 

Anyone who has ever swung a golf club will enjoy this photo sequence analysis of Ben Hogan's golf swing.  Whether its wishful thinking, nastalgia, or part of an effort to improve a golf swing I think the book will provide lasting benefits, enjoyment, and appreciation.

This is the cover and back cover slides.  It should be on the shelves in bookstores by now and can be downloaded digitally at any time.

Ben Hogan's Legacy shines brightly in 2011.

The city of Fort Worth is beaming this December with the announcement that their municipal golf course complex is the site of their successful First Tee Program and the location for the Grand Opening of the Ben Hogan Learning Center.  Several press releases over the past few weeks point to a December 10 opening date and a funders dinner on December 8.  It should be quite a gala on both dates.  You can access more information about it from the Ben Hogan Foundation website at www.BenHoganFoundation.org.  

New Book!  We have been diligently working on some projects that will complement Mr. Hogan's Legacy.  The first is the publishing of the new instructional book The Complete Hogan (Wiley and Sons) in January 2012.  Author and renouned golf instructor Jim McLean presents a complete description of Mr. Hogan's excellent golf swing from the golden years of 1946-49 prior to the catastrophic accident.  Its a terrific accounting and visual demonstration of his swing from multiple views.  There is a view for the 'lefty' golfer as well.  I am excited that we are bringing this out for everyone to enjoy and learn from. Also included are numerous interesting stories that Jim has picked up over the years from taling to Mr. Hogan's friends and fellow competitors. 

Sports Talent Agencies engaged for Ben Hogan swing model casting call

The original casting call has become more official and organized.  Our Michigan production company, Pixofactor, has engaged sports talent agencies to conduct the casting call to enhance the talent search for an accomplished golfer.  One agency is based in Michigan, Sports Studio Casting.  Here is their link.
http://sportsstudiocasting.com/

The other agency is in Los Angeles, Athlete Source Casting.  Here is their link:
http://www.athletesourcecasting.com/


Details of the casting call can be accessed from either agency.  The Michigan agency has an online signup and video upload system (free) which is convenient.

The LA agency is both local to LA but does cater to out of state talent.

Generally, the what is being searched for are accomplished male and female golfers who can demonstrate/imitate Ben Hogan's golf swing from 1948.  Samples swings can be found on YouTube and some links are found in this blog in earlier posts.  The physical characteristics of the golfer is also very important due to the nature of the data to be used from the motion capture process.  Height range from 5'5" to 5'10" and weight no greater than about 160 lbs. 

Currently, the motion shoot in the studio is scheduled for mid-December and will run about 4 days with prepratation and studio time involved.  This is the same technology used to develop graphic action in movies and for realistic video games. 

All of this is part of the development and production process for the modern evolution of Ben Hogan's 'Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf'.  A lifelike 'avatar' of Ben Hogan will star in the dvd version of the golf instructional book, on the interactive instructional website, and in the Wii game as well as mobile device applications (Iphone,iPad, Droid, etc.). 

If you are interested, you should contact these two casting agencies directly.  I know we attempted to manage this a few weeks ago but this new method is certainly much better for all involved.

New Ben Hogan golf swing on YouTube posted - Circa 1968

I was reading some discussions about the one plane and two plane swing recently and the discussion referenced Ben Hogan. Even though Hogan described the backswing plane and the downswing plane as slightly different in his book, 'Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf' the discussion was still looking for some clarification. It brought to mind this clip from my personal collection that shows the path of the club head and club shaft for Hogan's swing while he practice on the driving range. It is one of about 10 separate swing clips that show pretty much the same thing, some with irons and some with driver. Enjoy

Ben Hogan Trophy

As promised here are some more photos of the amazing trophy presented to the winner Dave Schultz and Colt Knost of the inaugural Ben Hogan Invitational in Fort Worth last month. The detail in the crystal is quite fine and duplicates the original casting very well.

The Ben Hogan Foundation is in the process of creating some new castings in bronze as well. The first photo is from an exhibit at Shady Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth where the original casting was shown to the public. Ben Hogan felt so strongly about the importance of a good grip on the golf club that he dedicated 17 pages in his book, 'Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf''. We should should take note of this precision when we put our hands on the golf club. Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods use an interlocking grip while the rest of their grip fundaments are the same as presented by Mr. Hogan.

There is a nice video clip on YouTube showing an older Mr. Hogan demonstrating the key points in setting his grip into place as well as some of the actual feelings he gets when its properly done.

Ben Hogan Foundation Charity White Hot Gala

The charity gala was a huge success for the Ben Hogan Foundation and the Henry House charities. The Foundation is building a Ben Hogan Learning Center in Fort Worth, similar in concept to the Tiger Woods Learning Center in California. It will be located at the local municipal golf complex that already serves approximately 10,000 kids in their First Tee Program. The Foundation also supports the First Tee Program.

We were one of the Gold Sponsors for the event. They ran a slide show of the sponsors in photo #1. Next is one of the floral arrangements using original Ben Hogan golf clubs from the 60's as part of the display. Next is one of the ice sculptures that served as a table. David Feherty was there with his wit and stories about Tiger Woods and one of our severely injured service men who was a star at a recent Tour event when he met Tiger. The two paintings are on 6 foot canvases. They were painted on the spot as the artist spun them around on their mountings to creat likenesses of Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan. A shot of the crowd pouring over the silent auction items and finally the Proprietor of JanKris Winery from California who launched Ben Hogan Label wine selections, Merlot, Chardonet, and a Cabernet. All very good and well spoken of in wine circles. My choice was the Merlot!

Ben Hogan Invitational Golf Tournament - Winner David Schultz

Last week The Ben Hogan Foundation and The Henry House Foundation hosted the 1st Annual Ben Hogan Invitational Tournament at Shady Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth Texas. The winner was Dave Schultz, a local prodigy that is currently 21st on the Nationwide Tour's money list. He and his partner Colt Knost put down a 9 under par round at the championship venue on a windy day that was just plain perfect. The galleries were treated to the antics of 8 tour professionals who enjoyed a fun round of golf while continually blasting each other with trash talk. PGA Tour champions Rory Sabbatini was a great instigator as was Harrison Frazar who sported a pair of shiny irridescent bronze golf shoes. Mark Brooks, past PGA Champion, held his own both on the course and with trading barbs.

The Invitational raised funds for The Ben Hogan Foundation that sponsors various charities in the Fort Worth area including The First Tee Program, Folds of Honor, Camp Bronco, and the Cook County Medical Center. The Ben Hogan Foundation plans to build the first Ben Hogan Learning Center in Fort Worth at the Rockwood Municipal Golf Course Complex. Already, a new practice area has been established that includes a large grass tee as well as mats, a putting green and deep sand bunker area. Also, a nine hole junior course is operational. The site of the building has already been marked off and a large rendering is displayed on an outdoor sign located next to the site. Contributions can be made at their website, www.BenHoganFoundation.org. I will upload some images in a later post.

Now, look at the prize trophy. It was made from an actual cast of Ben Hogan hands holding onto a golf club. The details are perfect and the professionals were simply playing for this coveted trophy. The respect for Mr. Hogan was evident throughout the event and especially when talking about winning this trophy. I took multiple photos of the 8 pounds of crystal in order to preserve the moment and be able to later do a detailed study of Mr. Hogan's grip. I will post that study here at a later date.

Also, on Sunday night before the tournament the two Foundations held a wonderful 'White Hot Gala' event. I'll share some of my photos of that event later. Everything was in white including everyone's attire for the eventing. The big suprise was watching 3 large (6'x6') paintings completed in the space of a half hour and later auctioned off to happy attendees.

More to come!