Table of Contents
Praise for AFTERNOONS WITH MR. HOGAN
Contains enlightening personal anecdotes and astounding golf tips that will thrill any enthusiast.... Vasquezs unique position and twenty-year relationship with the champion allowed him access to all of Ben Hogan. In an easygoing, conversational writing style, the stories Vasquez related here are the rich fruits of that relationship and should not be missed.
Publishers Weekly
A fans memoir recommended for all golf collections.
Library Journal
Much more interesting than anything written by people who didnt know Ben. Excuse me, Mr. Hogan.
Dan Jenkins, friend of Ben Hogan and author of Dead Solid Perfect
As a longtime Hogan PGA staff member, I welcome Jodys book. Most know Mr. Hogans life story, but few were allowed to see the side of the man I was able to experience. Its a fantastic look into Hogan, the man.
Hal Sutton, 2004 USA Ryder Cup captain
Like Bobby Jones and Old Tom Morris, Ben Hogan added something fundamentaland magicalto the world of golf. His devotion to practice, which for him was an art, and his magnetic, legendary presence at play are part of his legacy. This book adds to what we know about him and, for that reason, may become a golf classic.
Michael Murphy, author of Golf in the Kingdom and The Kingdom of Shivas Irons
Ben Hogan was the most private public figure I have ever known. Its terrific that Jody shares these stories. It would be a shame to look back and only see Hogans amazing record, yet know nothing of the man, his thoughts, or his beliefs.
Lee Trevino, six-time major-championship winner
Having represented the Ben Hogan Golf Company for over a decade I had a limited opportunity to get to know Mr. Hogan. But I had so many questions that I never had the opportunity to get answered. Jodys insight answers a number of these and sheds light on the complex personality of Mr. Hogan that few ever got to see. This is great reading for all golfers who are curious about the Hogan mystique.
Tom Kite, fifteen-time Ryder Cup winner and author of A Fairway to Heaven
Jody Vasquez shagged balls for Ben Hogan for four years at Shady Oaks Country Club in the 1960s. Vasquez is now a member of the Colonial Country Club, where he serves on the board of governors and the tournament committee for the annual PGA Colonial event, the longest-running site on the PGA Tour and the tournament Hogan won five times. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas.
INTRODUCTION
STORIES ABOUT THE GREAT Ben Hogan have become a stand-alone category in golf. There are hundreds of tales and anecdotes, most relating to some aspect of his unique personality, legendary work ethic, strong character and sheer genius as a golfer. Hogan stories invariably carry a delicious punch line that leaves the listener laughing, shaking their head in disbelief or simply quiet, struck with reverential awe. Hogan stories age well and are as relevant today as ever. They are rarely apocryphal, though many have become distorted in the thousandth retelling. The stories are a casualty of being passed from one person to the next, over the course of many years.
My stories about Mr. Hogan are personal and are the subject of this book. In the spring of 1964, when I was 17 years old, I began shagging balls for Mr. Hogan during his long, frequent practice sessions at Shady Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Out of this experience came a relationship that continued, with some interruption, until his death in 1997. Whereas most books about Mr. Hogan have been written by people who observed him from a distance, the experiences I relate were gathered firsthand.
When someone discovers that I knew Mr. Hogan, an endless string of questions ensues. Was he as aloof as people say? Did he really practice for hours on end? What did he have to say about the golf swing? Were his clubs as unusual as weve been told? After answering so many Hogan questions through the years and telling and retelling so many of my favorite Hogan stories, I decided to commit these stories to paper.
This is not an exhaustive recounting of Mr. Hogans life. Biographies of Mr. Hogan have been done before, and in truth, few facts about his personal history came to light during our association. This book is not instructional either, though some of the more interesting things Mr. Hogan had to say about the golf swingincluding his famed swing secretI think are fascinating, and merit revelation. Nor is this book a vain attempt to break down his mystique. The quasi-psychology stuff isnt my cup of tea.
My purpose is simply to reveal the same stories I have been telling people for many years. To this day I never tire of telling them. One of my dearest friends, Dale Hansen, and I, on our first meeting, began discussing Mr. Hogan one late afternoon and ended up closing the club bar at five oclock the following morning. The more Hogan stories the better, I say.
I knew Mr. Hogan in a variety of settings. He had four distinct parts to his life: family, golf, business and social. Each was compartmentalized. If you were social with Mr. Hogan, you knew him socially only. He didnt talk business within that setting and he certainly didnt discuss golf. By the same token, he kept business matters with his business associates and golf matters with a carefully chosen few or only to himself. As surprising as it may seem, his wife, Valerie, knew very little about his golf life inside the ropes and practically nothing about his business side. When visiting with Mrs. Hogan one afternoon, I mentioned that Mr. Hogan had passed on his swing secret to me years before. She told me she didnt doubt it at all, but I could tell in her eyes she had no clue what it was. I never told her.
Because of the length of time I spent with him and the circumstances under which I knew him, I was lucky enough to cross the boundaries of all these areas. I saw his social interactions with his friends and acquaintances at Shady Oaks, where he was most relaxed. In later years, through knowing his associates at the Ben Hogan Company, I gained knowledge of his approach to business. And through the course of shagging balls for him, I gathered insight into his existence as a golfer that few others experienced. Finally, by observing his interaction with his family, I gained a unique perspective on his character and values.
I was not a close or personal friend of Mr. Hogan. While he and Mrs. Hogan were exceedingly generous to me, I never counted them among my intimate friends. In the end we simply shared some moments in time, the result of which was an association and mutual respect that, for me, has lasted a lifetime.
When Mr. Hogan passed away, I sometimes found myself wishing I had asked him more penetrating questions. Reflecting more on that, I realized how fearful I always was of being too intrusive. In a way I still am. On balance, however, I am revealing nothing that would upset the Hogans. This especially applies to my decision to reveal his famous swing secret. My feeling is that, if he didnt want anyone to know about it, he wouldnt have shared it with me to begin with. I have a feeling he knew I would one day discuss it freely with others, and perhaps even write about it. Im very happy and proud to discuss it openly here.