Hogan

Two sports, golf and baseball are not time bound, i.e. they are not governed by a clock such as hockey, football, soccer and basketball. Rather baseball has 9 innings and golf has 18 holes; an entirely different way of measuring when the game starts and ends. Therefore, with a different pace than other sports, baseball and golf produces the best sports writing. This biography of one of the top 3 or 4 golfers of all time is such a book. I read this shortly after Hogan died and revisited the book recently. Good golf writing tends to get into the mind of a golfer and this biography attempts to understand the enigmatic Hogan, a driven man with less ability than most of his contemporaries, who willed his way to greatness through sheer effort and practice. Hogan did not have a reputation of having a generous, open personality and this book explores the issue, examining the trauma of Hogan's dad's violent death when Ben was young. There are great pictures including one of Ben at the end of his career when he realized he no longer had it and left the course in a golf cart in mid round. Sam Snead was always open and was quite a showman and was seen on TV all the time. In a sense, we got to know Sam through his interviews after television matches (the fore runner to "Shell's Wonderful World of Golf"). Not so with Ben, we never really got to know him. Accordingly, this book helps introduce us to a very private man.

No one knew Ben Hogan, but everyone seemed to revere him. Why? At face value, it's hard to understand because the man was aloof, arrogant - and, often, rude. Nevertheless, golf fans and most of his fellow professionals worshiped the turf he walked on. No writer has done a better job of capturing the Hogan mystique than Curt Sampson does in this fine biography, which is neither critical nor lavish with praise. It's an objective, smoothly written and compelling account of a complex man whose intensity and dedication were unprecedented.

If you like golf you'll love this book. If you enjoy reading about the singularly focused personal pursuit of excellence, you'll also love this book. I was motivated to not only work on my golf game but to focus on excellence in other areas of my life. Despite early frustrations with the game and his professional career he didn't quit. Despite a monumental physical setback during the early days of his growing success he didn't quit - he became better. The most revealing aspect of Hogan's character was the rigourous, continual pursuit of excellence he sought even after achieving professional success beyond his dreams - he never quit trying to achieve success as defined by himself instead of those around him. What a lesson!

Curt Sampson's "Hogan" is not only fascinating, it is beautifully written. On several occasions while reading this book I was struck in mid-sentence by the simple beauty of Sampson's prose. Sampson displays an uncanny ability to describe the enegmatic Hogan along with the people, places, and events that made up Ben Hogan's world. His desciptions of Hogan's early career and conditions on the PGA tour in the 30's and 40's were particularly interesting. An absolutely wonderful work. A must read for anyone interested in the history of American golf and one of it's most revered figures.

I found this book to be one of the best biographies I've ever read. Sampson leads the reader through the pivotal and formative events of Hogan's life, slowly revealing the character and personality of one of the most complex figures in the history of sports. Most people view sports legends as individuals blessed with an abundance of natural ability and instinct. I was inspired to discover this does not describe Ben Hogan. He was not, by any stretch of imagination, the most talented golfer on tour. To read accounts of his early struggles puts the stunning success he later enjoyed - and the work that enabled him to accomplish that success - in clear perspective. To often, sports biographies are superficial tributes that ignore the complexities of a sport and the men who play it. This is a book that digs deeply into the life of its subject, revealing both the noble and the base. Curt Sampson allows the reader to form his own opinion of the man based on a detailed and objectively rendered portrait. Anyone who truly loves the game of golf needs to read this book. Rick Mathes Thousand Oaks, C