Ben Hogan

photo credit: nsaplayer   Facing an early hardship with the suicide death of his father, Ben Hogan helped to raise money for his family by selling newspapers from a very early age.  He began caddying at the Glen Cargen CC. in Fort Worth, TX., where he be-friended Byron Nelson.

After turning professional at 17, it took Hogan more than 10 yrs. to win his first professional tournament.  Prior to 1959, he achieved a total of 63 tournament wins.  His career was nearly ended in 1949 by a near fatal car accident.  All in all, Ben Hogan won 9 Majors and went on to win, what is now called “The Hogan Slam,” (The Masters, The US Open and the British Open).

Jack Nicklaus once described Ben Hogan as “the best-ever ball striker!”

Who was Babe Zaharias?

photo credit: no lurvin here.   Babe Zaharias was the greatest female athlete of the first half of the 20th Century.  Her nickname Babe came from her love for the infamous baseball player, Babe Ruth. 

Born in 1914, in Port Arthur, Texas, she started in sports as a basketball player.  She competed in National Track & Field  Championships winning six of eight events entered the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics where she competed in javelin, hurdles and the high jump.

She turned golf professional in 1948 and went on to win three US. Opens for Women and won four tour events in the same year after her surgery for colon cancer.  She died in 1954 at the age of 42. 

Babe played many exhibition matches with Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones and Joyce Wethered all across America.

Golf Celebrities

photo credit: Leon Maia  Bing Crosby- Played in the U.S. and British Amateurs.  Died walking off the 18th green.  His last words were “that was a great game of golf fellas.”  Clint Eastwood – is a co-owner of Pebble Beach G.C.  Bill Gates – the richest man in the world, is a member of Augusta National G.C.  He often plays with his friend Warren Buffett for $2 per match.  Al Capone – the most famous U.S. gangster, played golf with 25 bodyguards following him around the links.  Rev. Billy Graham – once said “golf can turn an extrovert into an introvert and vice versa.”  He also said, “it brings out the boy in the man and the man in the boy.”  Bob Hope – was elected to the World ?Golf Hall of Fame in 1983.

Hank Haney

photo credit: CST 13   The names Hank Haney and Tiger Woods are synonymous with great golf.  Hank Haney is one of the world’s best know golf instructors who developed his desire to teach while majoring in education at Tulsa University.  He has taught more than 200 tour pros from the PGA, LPGA, and European, Japanese, and Asian tour.  For the last four years he has coached the world’s best player, Tiger Woods.

Haney is a member of  the advisory staff for Golf Digest Magazine, Nike Golf, and the PGA National Teaching Committee.  In 1993 he was was the PGA National Teacher of the Year.

In 2009, the Golf Channel featured him in their hit show The Haney Project where Haney’s job was to teach Charles Barkley.  The show was one of Golf Channel’s most popular presentation.

Meeting Jack Nicklaus

photo credit: nsaplayer   If you had an opportunity to talk to Jack Nicklaus, on his 79th birthday for just 5 minutes, what would you say?  Here is what I would say:  “Jack, I met you for a handshake in the early 1960′s when you were relatively new on tour.  You were leaving the practice green and I stopped you as you headed towards the first tee.”

“Jack, I want to thank you for giving me all of those exiting moments throughout your long career.  For being such a great representative of the game throughout your career and for just being a genuinely nice guy.  At first I was ticked at you for challenging the ‘king,’ Arnold Palmer but you made a true believer out of me.  Thanks again, for all the memories !

What would you say to Nicklaus, we’d like to hear your comments ?

Moe Norman

photo credit: kulicki   Moe Norman was one of the few players that could be described as a cult figure.  He had an unusual way of expressing himself.  he spoke in a repetitive manner but with keen insight.  Here are a few of his personal quotes from a by-gone era: 

1)  “Fairways look like deserts to me, even if they are 30 yards wide.”  2)  “Let your body memorize your swing.”  3)  “Everybody swings around their body except for Hogan, Trevino and me.”  4)  “Golf is a hitting action, it is a pulling action and there’s no work whatsoever.”  5)  “I’m not ball oriented, I’m divot oriented.”  6)  “I never think of hazards.  Oh no, never.  They’re not in my jurisdiction, not in my vocabulary.”

Famous Nicknames

photo credit: MCHart   Tommy Armour:  Silver Scott – he had silver white hair.  Tommy Bolt:  Terrible Tommy – Known for his temper.  Julius Boros:  Moose or Papa – seemed like every-body’s papa.  Gay Brewer:  Hound Dog – he looked like one.  Brad Bryant:  Dirt – he looked unscrubbed.  Billy Casper:  Mr. Cool – never said much.  Bob Charles:  Sphinx of the Links – said very little.  Ben Crenshaw:  Gentle Ben – Mild mannered.  Bruce Crampton:  Iron Man – never stopped playing.  John Daly:  Wild Thing – No explanation required.  Ernie Els:  The Big Easy – loping and gangly.  Paul Goydos:  Happy - happy-go- lucky.  Walter Hagen:  Sir Walter – Regal.  Ben Hogan:  The Hawk – cold blooded competitor.  Miguel Angel Jimenez:  The Mechanic – His former job.

Why so few nicknames amongst today’s players?  It says a lot about how boring the game has become on the PGA Tour!

Know how to Read Your Opponent

photo credit: Matti Mattila   Sam Snead, the master of gamesmanship; on how to read your opponent:  1)  “Watch their eyes.  Enlarged pupils mean fear, big pupils lead to big scores.”  2)  “Watch your opponent’s lips on the first tee.  Check throughout the round to see if they become white, if they do, the nervous system is acting up.”  3)  “Watch to see if your opponent scratches or acts like his clothes are uncomfortable, he’s nervous.”  4)  “When your opponent takes two waggles and then suddenly takes three or four, he’s hurting inside.”  5)  “Notice the natural rhythm of your opponent’s stride.  When he speeds up and charges toward the ball, he’s losing his cool.”

Knowing these unmistaken signs can mean the difference between winning and losing.

Lefty did it Again !

photo credit: commish96   Phil Mickelson now holds the record for the most runner-up finishes in the US. Open Championship with five second place finishes.  He’s in good company with the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods and Bobby Jones, all with four second place finishes. 

Lefty just can’t shake the US. Open demons, the tournament that he wants to win so bad keeps eluding him. Many now think that Mickelson will never win a National Championship.

The 2009 Open was probably as close as Mickelson will ever get without winning.  When you get something implanted in you like a US. Open jinx you’re cooked ! 

Mickelson is one of the most well-liked players on the PGA Tour.  Fans love this swash-bucking golfer, maybe he’ll surprise them someday and take “the big silver trophy,” home.

Payne Stewart

photo credit: shaunpsullivan   Payne Stewart sunk a 15 ft. putt on the last hole for his second US. Open title, four months later he would die in a plane crash.  The PGA Tour has never recovered from the loss of  the colorful, flamboyant, wild tempered and boyish, Payne Stewart.

Stewart wore plus-fours and always wore colors that commemorated the area”s NFL football team.  He was one of the most popular players in the world but never failed to remember his fans.

Each Sunday, the Pinehurst grounds crew places the hole on the 18th green of No.2, exactly where it was on that Fathers day a decade ago.  The idea, is part tribute and part challenge.  Golfers have the opportunity to make the same historic putt that Payne made in 1999.  — it also reminds them never to forget.

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