Young Yoda

[Daryl]

"The wicked flee when no one pursues. But the righteous are bold as a lion." --Proverbs 28:1

"Yes, but didn’t the Lions eat the Righteous? A few of them anyway." Daryl, 2006


"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."
(Theodor Seuss Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, 1904-1991)

[lordreigns]

Yoda, just curious----did Golf Digest or Mr. Nicklaus ever reply to your letter???

I was going to ask the same question.
The letter was so well written that they probably didn't have any comeback.
Yoda- you must have a great filing system seeing that you are able to easily retrieve a letter written 24 years ago. I can't even recall where I left my TGM book that I read last week.

[Yoda]

By the way, what word processor did you use for your letter?

No word processor, Jim. Just an old IBM Selectric typewriter with a Courier 72 ball. My how things have changed!

[Yoda]

Here's a letter dated May 9, 1967, that I received from Ben Hogan in reply to my request for private lessons. At the time, I was a 21-year-old serviceman who was doing the best he could to get the information he so desperately needed.

The Golfing Machine was still two years away from its first edition, but what I would have given to have known of Homer Kelley way back then. Short answer: a lot! But, alas, that road was not to be, and another fifteen years would pass before our paths would cross.

In any event, I may not have gotten Ben's lessons, but at least I got his letter. And that ain't all bad!

[Daryl]

Here's a letter dated May 9, 1967, that I received from Ben Hogan in reply to my request for private lessons. At the time, I was a 21-year-old serviceman who was doing the best he could to get the information he so desperately needed.

The Golfing Machine was still two years away from its first edition, but it sure would have been great to have known of Homer Kelley way back then. And, knowing Homer, I'm sure he would have been happy to help.

In any event, I may not have gotten Ben's lessons, but at least I got his letter. And that ain't all bad!

A wonderful letter. I'd keep it in the Frame.

[birdie_man]

Cool!

How did he hit it anyway? What do you remember?

[neil]

Here's a letter dated May 9, 1967, that I received from Ben Hogan in reply to my request for private lessons. At the time, I was a 21-year-old serviceman who was doing the best he could to get the information he so desperately needed.

The Golfing Machine was still two years away from its first edition, but it sure would have been great to have known of Homer Kelley way back then. And, knowing Homer, I'm sure he would have been happy to help.

In any event, I may not have gotten Ben's lessons, but at least I got his letter. And that ain't all bad!

PS For best viewing, click on the thumbnail, then go to 'View' on your task bar and click 'Full Screen.'

Wonderful Boss,

[Yoda]

Cool!

How did he hit it anyway? What do you remember?

I watched Ben Hogan practice at the Masters. As everyone knows, he hit a fade. Most of the time, the ball went pretty straight and just fell to the right. But sometimes, one would get away from him, and the ball worked hard left-to-right. He used to practice only on the tee to the right of Magnolia Lane (looking from the Clubhouse), a tee no longer there. (It is now a dedicated short game area.) And he would practice only from the far right side of that tee. If another player was there, he would wait for that spot!

One morning, Ben arrived and found some poor devil hitting in 'his' spot. Ben stood with his caddy some 6-8 yards back of the offender. Ben lit a cigarette, cupping it in his hand between draws. He stared ahead looking at nothing...and waited.

But not very long!

With the way cleared, the caddy laid Ben's bag flat on the ground—It was just a plain, black leather bag; no fancy logos like all the other pros had; it didn't even have his name on it. Then he dumped the shag balls and hustled out into the range to be used as both a ball retriever and target (not exactly without risk when your boss is Ben Hogan!). In those days, there used to be a hedge down the right side, and Ben would curve the shots back toward it. Most of them landed at the caddy's feet, but the ones that got away...well, it was over the hedge and 'adios amigo' .

As I recall, Ben wore the same outfit every day. Or at least it looked like it: all black laceup shoes (without the kilties or buckles that were popular back then); navy pants; white or powder blue shirt (with a navy sweater if it was chilly); and a white cap (Hogan-style, of course!). Or maybe it was gray pants and a navy shirt. Anyway, he always looked the same...blues and whites and grays.

Another memory:

In the 1964 Masters, Ben was in the hunt late in the 3rd round, and I caught up with him on the 17th tee box. He was registering red numbers like crazy on those big scoreboards, and everybody knew that 'ol Ben was takin' care of business. The next day, he would fade into a tie for 9th behind the winner, Arnold Palmer. But on this glorious Saturday, he would shoot 67 and beat The King by two shots.

Anyway, the roars were echoing through the pines big-time, and even though I was only 17 and a mere spectator, my nerves were jangling with the electricity that can come only at Augusta. As Ben assumed the tee, I distinctly remember wondering if the aging Hawk was feeling it, too. Surely he had to be!

He addressed the ball, waggled once and then stopped abruptly. Without moving out of his stance, he raised his driver a few inches above the ball and proceeded to tap the teed ball down. One tap. Another tap. And then one more. The ball never wavered on its tee. It just went down, down, down. Satisfied that the ball was now at the correct height, the great Hogan waggled once more, and with all the authority and 'swoosh' of his whiplash swing, sent the ball whistling down the middle of the fairway.

I could not believe what I had just seen. I can't do that lttle trick when nothing's on the line, much less under the gun of the most intense competitve pressure. Add one more reason to the list why he was Ben Hogan...

And I'm not!

[tongzilla]

He addressed the ball, waggled once and then stopped abruptly. Without moving out of his stance, he raised his driver a few inches above the ball and proceeded to tap the teed ball down. One tap. Another tap. And then one more. The ball never wavered on its tee. It just went down, down, down. Satisfied that the ball was now at the correct height, the great Hogan waggled once more, and with all the authority and 'swoosh' of his whiplash swing, he sent the ball whistling down the middle of the fairway.

I could not believe what I had just seen. I can't do that lttle trick when nothing's on the line, much less under the gun of the most intense competitve pressure. Add one more reason to the list why he was Ben Hogan...

And I'm not!

That is awesome.



I want to learn that!

[birdie_man]

As everyone knows, Ben Hogan hit a fade. Most of the time, the ball went pretty straight and just fell to the right. But sometimes, one would get away from him, and the ball worked hard left-to-right. He used to practice only on the practice tee to the right of Magnolia Lane (looking from the Clubhouse), a tee that is no longer there (it is now a dedicated short game area). Furthermore, he would practice only from the far right side of that practice tee. And if someone else was there, he would wait for that spot!

He could of done that so everyone could watch him hit balls....to build fear.

(muwahhahaha)