Ben Hogan Apparel at The Masters with Marc Leishman

Marc Leishman will be sporting the Masters Tournament clothing selections for the new Ben Hogan Apparel from Perry Ellis.  Below is a picture of what he will be wearing each day of the tournament.  This is the performance apparel category with other lines forthcoming in the coming months according to sources.  Looking forward to watching the Masters and seeing Marc out trying to win it from all the other major contenders like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Keegan Bradley, Bubba Watson, all those South African players, and the 14 year old prodigy from China!

Ben Hogan's Masters Tournament Gift - 1965

Ben Hogan received this gift from the Masters Tournament in 1965.  It must have been a tradition for the tournament host to give various gifts each year.  This one looks like a tope measure, a pair of pliers, and a little hatchet.  I wonder if Mr. Hogan ever used them around the house.  This was part of a display by the his family at Shady Oaks Country Club, site of the Ben Hogan Invitational, a yearly even held in September each year and benefitting the Ben Hogan Foundation and the Henry House Charities.  Look them up, they deserve support for the wonderful things they are doing in Fort Worth.

I took the picture and you can see some of my shadow on the glass case.  It was a great day for the tournament at Shady.  Colonial Country Club is also close by and the clubhouse has a terrific new exhibit about Mr. Hogan. 

WWW.BenHoganFoundation.org.

Ben Hogan's 5 Lessons iPad and Tablet app

Here is Ben Hogan's backswing as shown in the 5 Lessons application.  For the life of me I don't know why so many golfers listen to TV golf announcers instead of golf teaching professional instructors.  I am certain most would agree that the fundamentals and the drawings Hogan introduced in 1957 are still valid and a terrific standard to accomplish.  It makes golf FUN to hit the ball better. 

New Ben Hogan golf swing on YouTube posted

I just posted a video clip from the 'Ben Hogan Collection' archives to YouTube. Mr. Hogan is practicing in front a group of admirers prior to a tournament. The view is from behind Mr. Hogan and he is using his driver. A great viewpoint for golf professionsl on the PGA Tour (e.g., Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, etc.) and amateur golfers to learn from. Mr. Hogan almost always hit the fairways and greens even in the demanding course setups of the US Open he won.

Here is the YouTube link:

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 Foundation charity on Ebay

I wanted to again provide notice that now the Ben Hogan Foundation, a not for profit organization, founded to keep Ben Hogan's legacy current in the world of golf, can receive direct donations on sales through Ebay listings.

Sellers have a choice to include a portion of their proceeds from a sale to automatically be sent to the foundation with a partial match from Ebay from their fees. Its an easy way to contribute but alternatively one can contribute to the Foundation by calling them or going to their website at http://www.benhoganfoundation.org/. There are contact numbers there and a direct donation link.

The Foundation is also accepting donations of Ben Hogan memorabilia that it can display or use to generate additional funds for its charitable work. The website also provides information on its charitable initiatives including the funding of the Ben Hogan Center in Fort Worth, Texas. This will operate in conjunction with the area's First Tee Program located at a local municipal golf course complex.

Ben Hogan Collection Video Vault

The Ben Hogan Collection has a video vault on its website. The vault is open for inspection on a free two week trial basis before a reguest for payment of a subscription fee is sent to the customer. The vault is competing with YouTube for containing the most viewable film clip images of Mr. Hogan swinging various golf clubs in various settings from differerent years in his career. Many of the clips are also found the in the 3 DVD pack 'The Ben Hogan Collection' that includes the Swing Interactive Software that features Mr. Hogan.

Web traffic is consistent at the site and there are a significant number of customers of the vault that signed on over the past year since it went active on the website.

The idea of getting a site sponsorship has been discussed. The producers are open to turning the video vault into a free web service when sponsorship arrangements can be made allowing extensive enhancements to the content of the site. Contact should be made with the producer at sales@thebenhogancollection.com.

Currently the producers are in the pre-production phase of developing the new dvd from 'Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf', by Ben Hogan and Anthony Ravielli and Herbert Warren Wind. The 3D computer graphics to be employed in the production will include motion capture technology for a truly exciting, instructional, and entertaining experience. A Ben Hogan Avatar will be created that demonstrates Mr. Hogan's golf swing from unlimited points of view using Ravielli's pen and ink drawings as a basis for the renderings. Additional high definition art work on some renderings will make the various renderings truly life-like.

Mr. Hogan's Avatar will be able to show in detail his 'Secret' and all the fundamentals he describes in his book. Production will begin once a suitable production company is selected by the parent companies, Classic Sports Brands and McTee's Champions LLC.

More on these topics later.

Left Handed Golfers - National Left Handers Day

Today is National Left Handers Day I am told by the media folks. I guess us right handers get the rest of the days of the year? Just kidding with you.

I would like to point out a couple of great video resources for those left handed golfers out there that would like to see THE GOLF SWING ROLE MODEL, instead of Phil or Steve who are on the PGA Tour now.

I have posted a video of Ben Hogan swinging the a driver in a left handed view courtesy of some computer software magic. It is on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5swNm6SofQ.

I have also included several left handed versions of the video clips of Mr. Hogan in the 'Video Vault' located on our website. There is a free trial period so it won't cost anything to view them for a couple of weeks. You can then opt out of the credit card payment at that time and you won't be charged if you choose not to continue the service.

The left handed version is nice if you are able to look in a mirror at the same time as your reflection looks just like Mr. Hogan on the video clip. Pretty neat instructional perspective.

I wonder who looks like Mr. Hogan from the left hand side that is on tour now?

Olympics in the future for golf?

The debate on golf in the Olympics is taking a more serious turn it seems now that China is showing some growth in facilities and people who enjoy golf. Golf in the Olympics seems like a natural. It is now a game that is truly enjoyed world wide in so many countries and seems to be growing at a rapid pace outside the US. There are some questions.

The biggest questions is when? 4, 8, 12 years from this summer's games?

What would the format be? Stroke play, match play, teams?

How does a country select its teams? World golf rankings, competitions as qualifiers?

Would they have to be amateurs or allow professionals to compete? Now there's an easy answer!

What about the ball? Will there be an Olympic ball with specific requirements that allows each manufacturer to produce it for their sponsored player? Logos on the ball? This one could be tricky as there are patents and legal issues to resolve. Maybe in 8 years the legal battles would be resolved. What about other equipment?

What will the governing rules be for the games? USGA or a special set of rules for the Olympics? They change a lot of rules for basketball. Will they need to do so for the Olympics?

Will Tiger Woods be there?

What country will Ernie Els play for?

Will the rules and venues be the same for women?

Will the top players in the world show up? Some players don't like to travel the world, others love it as a way of life. Kenny Perry comes to mind as does Ben Hogan. Perry sits out the British Open. Ben Hogan was finally convinced by his friends and legends of the game to play the Open Championship in 1953 before it was revived as a substantially well known and respected event in the US. Gary Player used to spend most of his sleeping time during any given day on a plane travelling the world to play and win his beloved game. Phil Mickelson is now becoming a globe trotter for the game. The fellows that play on the PGA Tour have not been heard yell a resounding yes to the Olympics even though the Commissioner has endorsed golf in the Olympics.

What will the role of the PGA, PGA Tour, USGA, LPGA, PGA sections, NCAA, etc. be in the selection and rules process?

Will there be 'official' Olympic training site(s)? Will they be selected based on the types of grass used, the types of greens, their championship venue characteristics? Bent or Bermuda?

Where will the competitions be held? A good guess would be a Jack Nicklaus design golf course and if not his, the Pete Dye will have his mark on it.

Who will be the coache(s)? What will the coaches teaching philosophy and technique? Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf, Stack and Tilt, McLean's 8 Step Swing, Faults and Fixes?

And last but not least, will I get to go and see this wonderful event!?