I have been able to hope for the best, expect the worst, and take what comes along. If there has been one fundamental reason for my success, this is it.
Even when times were good, I realized that my earning power as a golf professional depended on too many ifs and putts.
The life of a professional golfer is precarious at best. Win, and they carry you to the clubhouse on their shoulders. Lose, and you pay the caddies in the dark.
My caddie 'Stovepipe' tried to talk me into hitting a 3-wood. But I took out the turf rider (4-wood) instead. The moment I hit it, I felt something in my bones. Walter Hagen was playing with me and Bobby Jones was on the green. 21 people were behind the green. The sun was going down. I wasn't sure it had gone in the hole until I saw all 21 people jumping up and down.
Scott Medlock's portrait of 'the shot heard around the world' from the 1935 Masters is still being celebrated as a moment in Golf History. Imagine that!
Oakmont possesses all the charm of a sock to the head.
Ben Hogan is the most merciless of all the modern golfers.