There is no disputing the fact that Tiger is as good as the commercial shows but let's talk about GREAT for a moment. Try to imagine yourself as a caddy and you have been assigned to shag balls for a Pro who prefers to hit his practice shots out at an unused portion of the course rather than the driving range. Now imagine the first day you are shagging and he tells you to go out 150 fifty yards as he wants to practice with his 8 iron. You go the distance and he fires the first shot. As it is heading for your head you grab the shag bag and run off to the side. After the ball lands you retrieve it and find the next shot is also coming at that space between your eyes! You repeat the shag dance you performed with the first ball, and so it goes with the third and forth etc. The pro finally tells you to leave the shag bag where it is and to move off to the side. No matter which club the Pro was using he would put over 90% of the balls into the shag bag.
Who was this pro who made life easy on the caddy by hitting the balls into the shag bag? He was Ben Hogan. Mr. Hogan (I don't feel comfortable calling such a great man by his first name without his permission) was truly a legend in his own time. He was a four-time PGA Player of the Year and had 63 tournament wins. This was a man who almost lost his life in a head-on collision with a bus. The accident did, however, impair his eyesight and depth perception with regard to short putts. This problem with his eyesight cost him many tournaments but he never complained - in fact he never mentioned he had a problem, he just kept trying to unsuccessfully overcome the problem.
Mr. Hogan ran a successful business making Professional golf clubs for other players on the tour and even today many years after his death you can still buy custom made clubs from the Hogan Company or you can buy off the rack sets for the serious golfer. There are several professionals on tour using Hogan brand clubs. Look for the logo the next time you are watching a major.
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