AFTERNOONS WITH MR. HOGAN: A Boy, a Golf Legend, and the Lessons of a Lifetime

Despite legendary golfer Ben Hogan's reported gruffness, reluctance to give interviews and inability to make polite small talk, people liked him. Especially first-time author Vasquez, who, at the age of 17, got a job shagging practice balls at Shady Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth, Tex., for the four-time U.S. Open champion, whom many still consider the greatest golfer in history. This slender volume, penned 36 years later, contains enlightening personal anecdotes and astounding golf tips that will thrill any enthusiast, including the secret to Hogan's legendary golf swing (hint" it's in the stance). "The Secret" was not revealed in Hogan's enormously popular book Five Lessons , or, apparently, to any other person than Vasquez before or since Hogan's death in 1997 (with once excetion: Vasquez secretly shared it with golfer Nick Faldo in 1989), but it is revealed to all here with the blessing of Hogan's widow, Valerie. Outstanding chapters include the meeting between Faldo and Hogan, with the latter intimidating the "out-of-town guy," and a poignant explanation of why Hogan was such a bad putter later in life. Hogan was "[d]riven to excellence, focused on winning, relentlessly hardworking, bent on improving, intensely competitive, intimidating and aloof to opponents, analytical, consumed by detail and equally dependent on skill and power." He was also quietly generous, intensely loyal and brimming with personal integrity. Vasquez's unique position and 20-year relationship with the champion allowed him access to all of Ben Hogan. In an easygoing, conversational writing style, the stories Vasquez relates here are the rich fruits of that relationship and should not be missed. (Apr.)