Afternoons with Mr. Hogan: A Boy, a Golf Legend, and the Lessons of a Lifetime

This isn't a golf book in the traditional sense but about someone who plays golf...really well. You won't learn any "secrets" in that you'll want to run to the course and try them. Instead you'll learn a little more about Hogan the person and not Hogan the golfer. To me Hogan comes across a somewhat shy in his personal life and as someone who doesn't know how to relate to people because of his fame. He doesn't see himself as anyone special, just someone who worked hard to be the best at something he loved. The book kind of takes Hogan off his perch when you learn he's like any other man and I think I would enjoy meeting this Hogan more than the one I previously had a mental picture of. The book is fairly short and broken down into short easy to read stories that you can read it in one sitting or a little over 2-3 days.

Readers of "Afternoons with Mr. Hogan" will not come away with great revelations about the game of golf, but they will find out a little more about the mysterious and very private golf legend, Ben Hogan. Written by Hogan's former "ball shagger", Jody Vasquez, "Afternoons..." is a short little book that is a one-afternoon read. Vasquez relates many stories about his days retreiving Hogan's practice shots at Shady Oaks Country Club. The reader will get a few snippets about Hogan's philosophy regarding the golf swing (including the famous Hogan "Swing Secret"), but will come away with a lot more information about Hogan the person. Well worth your time if you're a fan of the game or of Ben Hogan, "Afternoons with Mr. Hogan" is a innocuous look back at a young boy's chance encounter with one of the legends of the game and the positive impact that Hogan had on his life.