Ben Hogan: the authorised biography

Ben Hogan is up with Jack Nicklaus as one of the greatest golfers of all time. He equalled the record of four US Open wins, once won five out of six major tournaments in one season, and is credited with effectively defining the modern game of golf. James Dodson’s magisterial biography, written by the bestselling author of Final Rounds, is the first to be authorised by Hogan’s family, and reveals the complex character behind a golfer legendary for his inscrutable, steely public persona.

Dodson shows how the dauntless determination that saw Hogan to four US Open victories masked a man ever haunted by a long-buried childhood tragedy, and brings out the miracle of his fightback after a catastrophic car accident to win the Masters, US Open and British Open all in 1953.

Above all, he lays to rest the notion of Ben Hogan as an austere, impassive golf-machine, uncovering a jovial man with a charitable spirit and sharp business sense. Intimate, eloquent and definitive, this is the final word on one of the greatest golfers of all time.