The Carnoustie Challenges featuring Rick Shiels.
Rick takes on the first of our challenges as he attempts to match the feat of Ben Hogan, by hitting the narrow fairway of Hogan's Alley using one of Ben Hogan's clubs!
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Persimmon drivers .. just blooming lovely .. nothing feels as nice 🙂
To bad you could get any old golf balls
Wow Rick, awesome video. The old timers made magic with limited golf technology.
Hogan also won using the British ‘small ball’ of 1.62 inches diameter. He had to adjust to it, not just the type of course. Helped a bit in the wind but [from experience] not around the green, definitely not from bunkers and not from any lie even partly settled in the rough!
But nothing beats the feel and sound of a wound ball off persimmon woods.
Hogan was the man, that's why I use him in my profile photo.
Just makes you think how good he would of been with todays technology!!
The plaque says Hogan at the time of the 1953 Open was the greatest ball striker the game had ever seen. In 2018, that's still true. Gary Player said of Hogan that he saw Jack and Arnie watch Ben practice. He also said he never saw Hogan watch anybody practice. Hogan's wins after his accident are golf's greatest victories.
I have a Hogan Driver, 3 Wood and 5 wood, in an Oak finish. I used these into the 90's. Still take them out to get the "young superstars" to show me how good they are. If any survive, then my 2 degree strong Ballesteros blade 1 iron comes out! Had it regripped as it has become a popular challenge. They hate it when you give them flights and shapes though LOL . Was my favourite club
And think about the golf balls they had back then, no where near as good as they are today
Gotta hit it on the screws!
Did you get more respect for the Hogans and Sneeds records?
(don't forget Byron Nelson in there)
I saw Gary Player in 1965 US Open at Bellreive CC in St Louis hitting it well over 300 yards with a persimmon wood…
Game has changed a WHOLE bunch!
Thanks for doing this video…. Brought back some memories.
Would have been even tougher with the old ball….bring back the old woods i say….bring back the skill ?
I couldn't hit persimmon driver very well. I used a ram golden ram persimmon 3 wood. More loft. I could hit it in the mid 80s 235 plus. Those old timers were players. Crap balls and all.
Well done Rick! The tiny clubhead alone makes it tough to find middle but the added pressure of using a legend’s club on a legendary course…on camera…as I said, well done!
That was awesome! I will try it out myself in a few weeks!!
Hi Rick,
You should try to get a full bag of that era club and see how you score a full round.
Great video again mate.
Hogan's infamous automobile accident occurred in February, 1949 in which a bus that was passing, in heavy fog, hit Hogan's car head on. Serendipitously, Hogan threw himself across his wife in order to protect her; he would have been killed had he not done so, because the steering column punctured the driver's seat. While in hospital Hogan was told it would be unlikely he would ever walk again and competitive golf would be impossible.
Hogan played 2 majors in 1950, T4 in the Masters and won the US Open, In 1951 he again only played the Masters and the US Open, winning both. In 1953 Hogan won the Masters, the US Open (at Oakmont, considered the hardest US Open course) and the Open (at Carnoustie, considered, at the time, to be the hardest course in championship golf with the back nine still considered to be the hardest inward 9 by many pros). In Saturday's morning round at Carnoustie Hogan tied the course record then broke the Carnoustie's course record in the afternoon round. During 1953 Hogan was only able to play in 6 tournaments due to injuries suffered in the bus crash; he won 5.
Incidentally, Byron Nelson was a great player however, he acquired a great many of his wins while Ben Hogan, and other pros, were serving in the armed forces during WW2.
Too munch hype about Hogan . Great but not Byron good..Johnny Miller used to hit 5 fkagsticks every round.. nobody seems to remember his scoring feats over 2 years????
Think you should bag the hogan 1 it’s a badass club
Can we get a Hogan’s driver vs any modern Cleveland driver I bet that’d be close
Good challenge Rick, really interesting to see something different rather than just blasting todays equipment off the tee. Gives some real appreciation of the skill involved in years gone by.
Wow what a privilege to get that club in your mitts and you did Hogan proud Rick well done, loved it ?
Nice vid Rick.
Any truth in the rumour that Callaway are releasing that club next month?
How far did you hit your best drive?
I'm having a hard time believing that this is really Hogan's Alley, since you didn't even pull out your Nintendo zapper to shoot anything.
You done hogan proud rick
It's sad … but comparing Hogan's era to today's players with modern equipment is like comparing apples to oranges.
I grew up with persimmon woods and loved them. Videos like this help bring a greater appreciation of Hogan's accomplishments to today's generations.
Great challenge. Well done Rick.