When Fleck arrived in the city by the bay to play his first practice round, he was astonished to see Hogan walking towards him with two brand new Ben Hogan wedges that he had created personally for Fleck in addition to the set of clubs Hogan had already given him. However, heading into the 1955 US Open, Hogan would still have been considered the clear favorite to win the event.īoth Hogan and Fleck arrived at the Olympic Club in San Francisco on the Saturday prior to start of the Open.
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#Pros hitting new hogan irons full
Whatever the reason, Hogan enthusiastically greeted Fleck in person at his golf club manufacturing plant in Texas and agreed to build him a full set of clubs free of charge.īy 1955, Hogan was five years removed from his near fatal car accident and was beginning to near the end of his career. Maybe it was Fleck’s innocent farm-boy persona, or maybe Hogan was just beginning to ease up during the later stages of his career.
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When Fleck first joined the PGA Tour, he would follow Hogan during his practice rounds trying to learn everything and anything he could about Hogan’s process of developing his renowned plans for meticulously managing a golf course down to the inch.įleck was also an admirer of the golf clubs Hogan created and decided to approach Hogan a few months prior to the Open and ask him for a set of clubs, a request many pros believed to be insane Hogan had a well-known reputation of being a ruthless competitor who would be highly unlikely to build a set of clubs for the an opponent. Within six months of qualifying for the tour, this assistant driving range pro from Iowa would pull off the greatest upset in the history of the game and arguably the greatest upset in the history of sports.įleck grew up idolizing Ben Hogan and as a young boy he relentlessly tried to imitate Hogan’s flawless swing.
![pros hitting new hogan irons pros hitting new hogan irons](https://mygolfspy-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/04/Ben_Hogan_EDGEEX_irons-1.jpg)
In 1955, Fleck finally qualified for full-time status on the PGA Tour and began playing in as many events as he could.