Curt Sampson

Hogan Curt Sampson

Golf hero Ben Hogan bore a mystique that still captivates golfers: a silent, almost eerie concentration that intimidated his opponents, a presence any politician or actor would envy, and an ability to hit a ball so squarely it sizzled as it left his club. Hogan won four US Opens in six years, three after a near-fatal automobile accident. His injuries limited him to six tournaments in 1953, but he won five. It was arguably the greatest year ever in the history of professional golf. But in the midst of the acclaim, myth distorted and obscured Ben Hogan. No one knew what drove him to practice until his hands bled, or what private demons built the high walls that surrounded him. Here at last is the Hogan no reader has ever encountered. Sampson draws on interviews with fellow golf legends Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, and Sam Snead to present an in-depth portrait of a man with bullet-proof confidence and single-mindedness, a man who turned the negatives he encountered into a life of glory and achievement. From the poverty of his youth and the suicide of his father to the failure and conflict that stalked him into middle age, Hogan traces an unforgettable portrait of an amazing man.