For over 65 years, Ben Hogan’s “Secret” has been a cottage industry for writers, publishers, teaching pros, training aid inventors, equipment manufacturers, and anyone else looking to exploit Mr. Hogan’s reputation as golf’s greatest ball striker.
Franklin Fetlock, Historian Emeritus for the Farriers Association of America, claims to have discovered Hogan’s true “Secret.” The following is an excerpt from a column Fetlock wrote for the February issue of Horseshoe Weekly:
“Most people know that Hogan’s father was a blacksmith. What they don’t know is that Ben began to learn that trade at an early age. Here we have a photo of a seven-year old Ben Hogan — along with future Our Gang members — watching the elder Hogan at work:
“Hogan struggled on tour for several years, battling a nasty hook. Much has been written about how his weakened grip change was his salvation. Through recently discovered documents at the Fort Worth Stockyards Institute, we now know that Hogan turned his game around using the blacksmith knowledge he gained as a child.
“Hogan believed that a heavier club would prevent a hook, but he couldn’t find a club with a swing weight heavier than G10. He had a ‘eureka’ moment when he remembered the iron horseshoes from his youth. He visited a local blacksmith and had him pound four horseshoes on an anvil until they were perfectly straight. Then he had the smithy forge them into the length of a golf club shaft. Hogan affixed a driver head to the shaft and the hook was gone, replaced with a gentle fade.
“Now armed with heavier golf clubs, Hogan went on to become one of the greatest golfers of all time. Horseshoes were certainly lucky for him.
“As for the ‘Horrible Horseshoe’ (holes 3-5) at Colonial Country Club — the home of the tour event that Hogan won 5 times — it was not ‘horrible’ for Mr. Hogan.”
Mr. Fetlock hopes that his “horseshoe revelation” will put to rest all of the speculation about Hogan’s “Secret” … once and for all.
