I WAS LUCKY TO TALK to Tommy Bolt, a Hall of Famer who led after the first and second rounds of the 1955 U.S. Open. (Bolt was an important figure in my first book, THE LONGEST SHOT: Jack Fleck, Ben Hogan, and Pro Golf’s Greatest Upset at the 1955 U.S. Open.) They called him “Thunder … Read more
From the archives. By John Coyne Copyright © John Coyne. All rights reserved. Used with permission. WORLD WAR II WAS CALLED the last “good” war and Tom Brokaw wrote of the men and women who fought in it as, “America’s greatest generation.” They came of age during the Great Depression and served their country in … Read more
Shelley Mayfield told me, “I played a lot of golf with Ben Hogan … maybe more than anyone else.” In this new series, I’ll share Mayfield’s memories of Hogan as a golfer and a person. Along the way, I’ll tell you about Mayfield and his long and rewarding life in golf. Shelley Mayfield in 1963. … Read more
Ben Hogan (Cueto) YESTERDAY WAS THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY of the birth of Ben Hogan in Stephenville, Texas. Hogan, as you probably have heard many times by now, was born the same year (1912) as Byron Nelson and Sam Snead, an amazing fact. And he and Byron came out of the same caddie yard at Glen … Read more
Jack Fleck at the 1959 Hesperia Open. LEADERBOARD GOLF (UK) RECENTLY published a Q&A with me about THE LONGEST SHOT: Jack Fleck, Ben Hogan, and Pro Golf’s Greatest Upset at the 1955 U.S. Open (St. Martin’s Press, May 2012). Q: How did you meet Jack Fleck? NEIL SAGEBIEL: A reader of my ARMCHAIR GOLF BLOG … Read more
Editor’s note: I’m at the Olympic Club in San Francisco all week for the 112th U.S. Open Championship. SHADES OF HARVIE WARD. AN AMATEUR by the name of Beau Hossler is leading the U.S. Open on Friday afternoon at the Olympic Club. The 17-year-old Hossler is currently 2 under on his second round and the … Read more
(Editor’s note: This is another in a series of stories and interviews about how I wrote THE LONGEST SHOT: Jack Fleck, Ben Hogan, and Pro Golf’s Greatest Upset at the 1955 U.S. Open.) TOMMY BOLT, BOB ROSBURG, SHELLEY MAYFIELD. They’re all gone now, but I had the pleasure of interviewing them, along with several … Read more
(Editor’s note: This is another in a series of stories and interviews about how I wrote THE LONGEST SHOT: Jack Fleck, Ben Hogan, and Pro Golf’s Greatest Upset at the 1955 U.S. Open.) At left: Tommy Bolt. TOMMY BOLT, BOB ROSBURG, SHELLEY MAYFIELD. They’re all gone now, but I had the pleasure of interviewing … Read more
From the first days of World War II, players put away their sticks and picked up rifles to defend America. By John Coyne Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF Copyright © John Coyne. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Lloyd Mangrum won the 1946 U.S. Open. WORLD WAR II WAS CALLED the last “good” war and Tom … Read more
By John Derr Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF AT THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP in Louisville, won by Jim Turnesa, the morning of the first round, I arrived at Big Springs Country Club in the car with Sam Snead. He parked in the first open parking space. As he got out he noticed the car parked beside him … Read more