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

(Paperback)

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Ben Hogan's former ball shagger recounts firsthand stories of the golf legend-andreveals, for the first time, Hogan's Swing Secret, a source of mystery to golfers for more than fifty years.Ben Hogan's pro golf record is legendary. A four-time PGA Player of the Year, he celebrated sixty-three tournament wins and became known as a man of few words and fewer close friends. Most of what we know about Hogan has been based on myth and speculation. Until now. In the 1960s, though Hogan's competitive career was over, he kept the practice habits that made him famous and remade modern competitive golf. He hired seventeen-year-old Jody Vasquez to help. Each day, after driving to a remote part of the course at Shady Oaks Country Club, Hogan would spend hours hitting balls and Vasquez would retrieve them. There, and over the course of their twenty-year friendship, Hogan taught Jody the mechanics of his famous swing and shared his thoughts on playing, practicing, and course management-unknowingly revealing much about his character, values, and beliefs, and the events that shaped them. In Afternoons with Mr. Hogan, Jody Vasquez shares dozens of stories about Hogan, from the way he practiced, selected his clubs, and interacted with other star players to his little-known humor and generosity. Combining the gentle insight of Tom Kite's A Fairway to Heaven (which recalls Kite's golf education under Harvey Penick) with the sage perspective of Penick's own Little Red Book, Vasquez's tribute is funny, poignant, and full of advice for golfers of all levels.

Reviews

A charming memoir. (Dave Anderson, "The New York Times") Contains enlightening personal anecdotes and astounding golf tips that will thrill any enthusiast. ("Publishers Weekly") 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") It's a fantastic look into Hogan, the man. (Hal Sutton, 2004 USA Ryder Cup Captain) This book adds to what we know about [Hogan] 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. It's terrific that Jody shares these stories. (Lee Trevino, six-time major championship winner) Jody Vasquez has given us a fascinating and fresh perspective about such an unusual man, Mr. Hogan. (Ben Crenshaw, two-time Masters Champion and Ryder Cup Captain) [Jody Vasquez] sheds light on the complex personality of Mr. Hogan th

Author Bio

Jody Vasquez shagged balls for Ben Hogan for four years at the 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 for the annual Colonial, the longest-running site on the PGA Tour and the tournament Hogan won five times.