Omen,Hogan stats

[dave.]

Being serious for a moment,and I hope this thread doesn't descend into caos with ridiulous Hogan is gay comments, (lets leave that sillyness in the one thread and start again).

You asked why Hogan is revered by golfers worldwide,inc Tiger and Nicklaus,who both rate him the gretest striker of all time,and you wanted 'stats' to hold this theory up.Well they didn't keep stats in his day,so there aren't any.But he won 47% of all the tournaments he entered,which isn't bd.

Anyway,check here if you are genuinely interested in broadening your mind on the subject;

Ben Hogan Golf Legends - Ben Hogan Bio

A short quote from this site;

"Where does Hogan rank amongst golfers? As anyone knows, comparing sportsmen from different eras is a futile effort and statistics alone cannot be conclusive. However when people sit around and ponder the ‘greatest ever’ golfer, three names should never be omitted from any ones ‘short’ list! Bobby Jones - the most successful ever amateur and possibly the greatest of all, winning 13 major championships before retiring at 28 years of age. If natural brilliance and denomination of an era is to be measured, look no further. Jack Nicklaus, second on the all-time USPGA tour victories and holder of 20 major titles. If Majors tally alone is the criteria, Nicklaus is your man. What of Ben Hogan? He won 62 PGA tours events - third on the all-time list; inc nine majors. If you place credence upon a golfers courage ‘under fire’, ability to overcome injury, set-backs, achieve greatness after virtually no amateur career to speak of, to be able to win majors approaching the forbidden age of 40 years and beyond with infirmities, Hogan will get your vote"

Just to add,I won't enter into any juvenile banter in this thread,we've had enough of that.If you want to seriously debate the subject and demonstrate and intent to join the forum then fine,lets discuss Hogan and Jones.

[Sandpiper3]

No doubt in my mind Hogan is the epitamy (sp?) of a ballstriker.

Absolute best ballstriker bar none. Nicklaus emulated him, and so does Tiger, considering they're considered the top 2 in the game, that definately means something.

[LeftyHoges]

Fantastic post Dave.

As a relative "Young 'un" didn't know a huge amount about Hogan but that article certainly filled in the gaps. No doubt in my mind that he is easily in the top 5 greatest of all time.

[cabinessence]

"In 292 career PGA Tour events, Ben Hogan finished in the Top 3 in 47.6-percent of them. He finished in the Top 10 in 241 of those 292 events."

That's a 'wow' stat.


And really, can you imagine the media hagiography that would result if Tiger got in the same kind of car crash as Hogan -- and then came back just as strong? The slurping would never end.

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by cabinessence;153101And really, can you imagine the media [B

hagiography[/b] that would result if Tiger got in the same kind of car crash as Hogan -- and then came back just as strong? The slurping would never end.

There's very few words I don't know, but this one got me. Had to look it up.

Good one.

[Rockford35]

dave,

Omen can't hear you where he is. However, posting for the good of the forum is still a good thing.

R35

[Bravo]

Originally Posted by Rockford35

dave,

Omen can't hear you where he is. However, posting for the good of the forum is still a good thing.

R35

Yes, Omen is in a better place now....bless his heart.

[Shea_Butler]

two stories the Head Pro of my course shared with me yesterday about Hogan (hes like mid 50's).
1. Back when Hogan played there were no range pickers so you had to shag your own balls, and during a news interview hogan's caddy sat about 265 or 270 yards out while hogan repeatedly hit his two iron. Caddy not moving an inch just bending over and picking up the balls that consistantly landed within hulahoop range of his right side... (definately the most remarkable ball striker ive heard of)

2. Hogan was indicated by a sprinkler head that he was 154 out. He pulls nine iron, hits it flush goes two yards by... Later he tells the head pro that every time he hits that club flush it goes exactly 154 yards and he should remeasure that sprinkler head. Being the legend Hogan was they did as he requested and come to find out it WAS TWO YARDS OFF! it was only 152 not 154... Just thinking about consistancy and being able to tell that minute of a difference baffles me, its truly mind boggling.

[JEFF4i]

That's an awesome post Dave.

[dave.]

ta

Hogan's secret....................hmmmmm.lets have a good debate.Lots of theories,but probably the best bet is from his shag caddy,Jody Vasquez.He said Hogan shared his secret with him,and never mentioned it again.Its the secret to his unbelievable distance control.It came from his right knee.His fave iron was his 8 iron,its the only iron he had with flat bounce,all the rest were negative.Using his right knee to kick different disances he demonstrated he could land the ball within a foot of the previous one.He once did this when he saw a fellow pro look in his bag on the tee of a par 3 during a practice round.Hogan took every club,inc driver and putter and put 14 balls on the green.

He controlled his distance using more or less right knee flex.I don't know why he kept it secret because no one else would understand how to do it or have the talent to actually learb it.It wasn't a secret at all,it was a superpower.

Btw my first round in 8 weeks since I was hospitalised with a trapped nerve...........76.Well happy.No control of distance below 110,which isn't surprising,had no doubles though.Just couldn't wedges close at all.Still,a good strt back.

[MoeNormous!]

Moe Norman is the best ever. He used to hit a board stuck in the dirt from 220 yds out 9 out of 10 times. Hogan is second best.

[dave.]

You might be right

[Sandy]

Glad to hear you had such a successful return from your injuries, Dave!

I always believe that the evolution of a sport goes through distinctive phases, and that in most sports you have a formation phase, a 'settling down' phase (usually when the rules are written, leagues and tournaments established, etc) and then this is often followed by an artistic or aesthetic phase, which in many sports is later viewed as the 'golden era'.

In golf you obviously have the pre-rules era when the game was being formed and messed around with, then the era in which the equipment and rules began to be standardised, leading to people like Old Tom Morris as the game's early leading lights.

But the interesting period starts after that, when people get involved with refining the game, and turning into an art. That's where you find you Harry Vardons and later the Ben Hogans, Sam Sneads, Bobby Jones, Byron Nelsons, etc. Players who were not only the first real stars of the competitive golf era but who were the flagbearers for defining the technical and aesthetic aspects of the game. It can't be any coincidence that when you think of those names the images you get are of technically perfect swings, but also swings that have an inherent beauty to them.

As the game evolves, those players set the technical foundations for the game to build on, and what has come after them has been an increase in the competitive side of the game, the pressure on the players that gives rise to, and the unprecedented amount of 'baggage' that now comes with making your career as a tour golfer, something the flagbearers of the past never had to deal with.

So there can never be an answer to 'whose best' because not only has the game and its equipment evolved, but the players from different eras had totally different goals and aspirations that they performed around. Modern players are judged by tournament wins more than the beauty of their swings, while the players of the 20s and 30s were pioneers for the beauty and the grace of the game that made it what it is.

[Clugnut]

And they both couldn't putt for poop. Darn shame.

[dave.]

Hogan could putt well enough to win 9 majors