Commonly referred to as the most legendary shot maker in the modern game of golf.
Ben Hogan, born August 13th, 1912, died 1997. His father committed suicide when Hogan was 9 years old.
He joined the PGA Tour in 1930 and eventually won 63 tour events during his lifetime.
Hogan almost died after a head-on collision with a Greyhound bus in 1949. Hogan had sprawled himself across the front seat and shielded his wife. She was relatively unhurt but Hogan was critically injured. After almost a year of recuperation, Hogan resumed a career that led to victories (among other tour wins) in both the 1950 and 1951 US Open, the 1951 Masters and, in 1953, the trio of American majors (US Open, Masters and PGA Championship).
Hogan's legend is one of great hope to golfers everywhere. He was not what one would call a "natural". He felt that the only method to success in golf was practice and his practice sessions are the stuff of legends. In a scientific and controlled intensity unseen to that point, Hogan disassembled and re-worked his swing with the painstaking care and detail of a great artist. The end result was a remarkably repeatable, powerful golf swing that withstood the rigors of world class tournament play.
His was a swing of energy and fluidity. The fundamentals of Hogan's powerful golf swing departed from the long and "hippy" swings of Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen. Hogan felt that a lack of hip turn on the back swing was a source of power.
Hogan's "Secret" is debatable as to its identity. It is believed that the "Secret" Hogan spoke of was his move to pronate or "cup" the left wrist at the top of the back swing. All golfers have bad shots and Hogan's bad shots tended to be low, duck hooks. Pronating the left wrist at the top opens the club face and makes it impossible to completely square it at impact. The result was Hogan's trademark power-fade.