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 Locker

I took this photo a couple of years ago when visiting the Golf House Museum at the USGA.  Its part of the Ben Hogan Exhibit.  They have expanded the museum to add a large Arnold Palmer exhibit as well.  I would guess that someday there will be a Jack Nicklaus Exhibit as well as a Tiger Woods Exhibit.  The clubs in the photo are tournament used by Mr. Hogan and the wardrobe was donated by the Hogan family.

Ben Hogan on the Ed Sullivan Show

I just found this terrific old clip that was posted on YouTube a few weeks ago. It is from the Ed Sullivan Show that originally broadcast in the 1950's and 60's. I actually watched this show when it was originally shown but was not a big golf fan at that time. I was just a kid then.

Hogan beats on Ed Sullivan a little by doing an impersonation of Sullivan's golf swing. It is very funny and shows a side of Hogan that was never really appreciated by the public or the golf writers of his time. This was a comedian Ben Hogan, a role he enjoyed with his close friends.

Also, and another really great part of this is a swing drill Hogan used and demonstrates here. It is similar to the one shown in the 'Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf' and is a good way to get rhythm and a sense of what a good golf swing should feel like before all the technical swing thoughts jump into it.

This is the URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr-b7OsZjF0

Hogan Swing from 'The Ben Hogan Collection' on YouTube

I have seen many of the swing clips we used in 'The Ben Hogan Collection' set appear in YouTube.com over the past couple of years. We produced the dvd in order for all golfers to enjoy Mr. Hogan's swing. Here is a link to one of the postings that actually did some justice to our original and copyrighted production.

This posting does not condone the illegality of the postings on YouTube of copyrighted material.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNgMNK3CtWU

Check it out. It is a really good sequence of swings by the legendary Mr. Hogan.

Ben Hogan - Long Drive Contest Winner

Another amazing bit of golf swing lore comes to us from the 1952 Masters Tournament. Ben Hogan who was known for his excellent ball striking and course management expertise is also the winner of the long drive contest at this Masters. Hogan often won long driving contests in his earlier years on tour against all takers during exhibitions prior to tournaments but this was the grand stage at the Masters!

Hogan's flawless technique translates into both distance and accuracy. I really do recommend that new golfers and established players study Mr. Hogan's golf swing and try to emulate the fundamentals of the swing as he displayed them on film. The analysis provided by Jim McLean in 'The Ben Hogan Collection" is the best to date and far surpasses what has been published in various golf books on the subject. You can see Hogan and learn from Hogan by viewing the dvd's as they are programmed to give the golfer the best instructional presentation available. There are repetitive clips, various angles presented, and detailed guidance on what to look for and use in the golf swing from McLean.

Hogan hit it straight and liked to use the fade as his go to finesse shot. He could also drive it past other professionals on tour on a regular basis. Golfers should be learning Hogan's techniques, not trying to figure out what some of the modern swing gurus are selling. Even the pros seem to fall for this nonsense. Its a good thing they can putt and chip or their scores would be like the rest of us amateurs.

Tiger Woods is constantly trying to improve his swing and my hunch is it will look different when he gets back on tour after rehab. I am also confident it will look more like Hogan's!

Tom McCarthy

Praise for Ben Hogan Collection

A while back we received this wonderful bit of praise for 'The Ben Hogan Collection' 3 dvd set and Interactive Software. It was unsolicited and was appreciated by all involved in the planning, production, and funding of the 'Collection'.


Please forward my congratulations to Jim for putting together The Ben Hogan Collection. The collection is by far the biggest bargain of information and price ever.
The guest speakers were all fabulous, a treasure. Your work finally puts to rest all of the silly "Hogan's Secret" claims by some rather lame teachers out there.
The way the DVDs are laid out, anything Mr. Hogan had to offer is right there to see. My favorite section is the "Y" factor as it also shows left shoulder and left elbow height as he reaches the back side/at/and a bit through the impact zone.

The Interactive EXE. file is a stroke of genius. Thanks for doing that.

Best Always,

Larry Mowry
1989 PGA Seniors Champion

Over the past couple of years we have received terrific reviews from golf publications. These can be seen in the media section at our website: www.BenHoganCollection.com.

It would be nice to hear from other satisfied customers.

We also have provided sample copies to quite a few tour players including the Callaway Tour Staff for both the PGA Tour and European Tour. I wonder how they liked being able to view Ben Hogan on the dvds and being able to control the swing speed with the software?

Please forward my congratulations to Jim for putting together The Ben Hogan Collection. The collection is by far the biggest bargain of information and price ever.
The guest speakers were all fabulous, a treasure. Your work finally puts to rest all of the silly "Hogan's Secret" claims by some rather lame teachers out there.
The way the DVDs are laid out, anything Mr. Hogan had to offer is right there to see. My favorite section is the "Y" factor as it also shows left shoulder and left elbow height as he reaches the back side/at/and a bit through the impact zone.

The Interactive EXE. file is a stroke of genius. Thanks for doing that.

Best Always,

Larry Mowry
1989 PGA Seniors Champion

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!?