Golf lovers and Ben Hogan enthusiasts from across the United States gathered in Dublin to play in the annual Ben Hogan Legacy Golf Series.
Twenty-four teams participated in the golf tourney with players from five states.
The event kicked off with a catered dinner Thursday, June 1 at The Station with a meal prepared by Grafton Market.
Hogan Foundation founding member Karen Wright reported Grafton Market and Dublin Bottling Works were professional and attentive, providing quality food and cold drinks at both The Station on Thursday and PAR on Friday.
“They really became part of our team,” Wright said of their first partnership with Grafton Market. “Kudos to them.”
Guests were treated to moving memories shared by Paul Darwin, who spent time with Hogan, one of his lifetime heroes.
Their relationship began when Darwin saw Mr. Hogan play at a tournament at Colonial Country Club.
Throughout several years, Darwin kept trying to get an autograph from Mr. Hogan and was unsuccessful until Darwin’s aunt mentioned to Mr. Hogan at an insurance agency how much of a fan her nephew was.
Due to this exchange, Darwin received a personalized, autographed photo of Mr. Hogan.
As life moved on, Darwin was one of several young men who got to “shag balls” (pick up and return golf balls from a practice tee) for Mr. Hogan.
“He would always ask me, ‘How are you today?’ and I’d answer, ‘I’m just fine today, Mr. Hogan,’” Darwin said. “And that’s the last thing he would say to me for the entire day.”
His quiet countenance was famous, which is why one memory stuck in Darwin’s mind, much to the audience’s delight.
When Darwin was 16, after a morning of shagging balls, Mr. Hogan asked the teen to accompany him while he played a round of golf at Shady Oaks.
“I can remember watching professional players at the 1967 U.S. Open finishing early and then fighting crowds to go back and watch Mr. Hogan just play a single hole,” Darwin said. “Here I was at 16, getting to be the only one watching him play.”
As the duo approached a hole, there was another group in front of them that once they realized who Mr. Hogan was, began to slow play, hoping to catch up and play with the golf legend.
After this happened several times, Mr. Hogan let out a string of expletives, asking Darwin why they were playing so slow.
“I told him, ‘I have no idea, Mr. Hogan,’ but I knew exactly what was going on,” Darwin said.
The duo then decided to skip to a different hole to avoid the slow playing group.
As Darwin entered playing golf, Mr. Hogan followed his progress and encouraged the youngster.
“God has truly blessed me. How many of us truly get to know our heroes in sports?” Darwin said.
Audience members also heard from Bennett Litwin, a screenwriter with Laughing Dragon Entertainment, LLC. who is currently working on the movie “Ben Hogan: The Father of Modern Golf.”
“This is a story that needs to be told,” Litwin said. “It’s the greatest sports come back story ever.”
Wright expressed her appreciation to both of Thursday night’s speakers for their engaging presentations. “A huge thanks to Paul Darwin and Bennett Litwin,” said Wright. “We’re all excited about the new Ben Hogan movie. They’re working really hard to give it universal appeal so it’s not just for sports fans.”
“There’s nothing better to spread the Hogan story than a new movie since the last one (“Follow the Sun” with Glen Ford) came out in 1951,” said Wright.
Wright also expressed her gratitude to authors Martin Davis and Kris Tschetter for allowing them to provide their respective books, “The Man Behind the Hogan Mystique” and “Mr. Hogan, the Man I Knew” to everyone entered in the tournament.
As the dinner concluded, the golfers got a good night of rest to be prepared for the tournament on Friday at PAR in Proctor.
Friday’s activities included an auction with the big ticket item being a package for Starr Hollow in Tolar donated by the ownership of the exclusive golf course. “They always give a really nice package,” Wright said. “This year, it sold for the most it ever has.” Free golf lessons were provided by Michael Cestone and his sons with Cestone Golf Academy Worldwide who traveled to the area from Florida.
The winning teams were provided with trophies designed and produced by Jester Art Service of Lubbock. The winning team this year included two people who met the tournament’s namesake: Paul Darwin and Doug Payne (the author of “Here’s your Martini, Mr. Hogan”). They were playing with Harve Welch and Terry Sears and representing Bosque Valley Golf Course Second place went to the PAR Country Club team of Bill Thomas, Andrew Kinser, Mack Allison and Joe Murphy. (This group claimed second in a face-off after second and third place tied.)
Third Place went to the team of Larry Stipes, Danny Smith, Jerry Minter and Denny Isbell. The fourth place team, sponsored by Willard Mann included: Aaron Rodeffer, Justin Schulze, Ben Hammonds and Mitch Wilson. First National Bank of Dublin also hosted a ‘closet to the pin’ challenge on Hole 5, which was won by FNB employee Andrew Kinser. Kinser donated the prize back to the museum.