THE QUESTION: Who is the greater golfer, Ben Hogan or Sam Snead?
DENNY SHUTE
Golf pro at Portage CC
Akron
They're two different types. Snead is a natural golfer. He always swings the same. Hogan made his swing, and he knows where the clubhead is at all times. He doesn't make too many mistakes because he practices hour after hour. But Snead has won more tournaments, so he must be the better golfer.
BOB TOSKI
Golf pro
Miami
In choosing, you must consider physical, mechanical and mental ability. I choose Hogan because Snead lacks the one quality that would make him the greatest player of all time—concentration. Hogan has greater nerve control, is a better judge of distance and performs better under championship pressure.
WILLIAM C. FORD
Vice-president
Ford Motor Co.
Dearborn, Mich.
Snead. Golfers everywhere concede that he has a greater swing than any other professional or amateur who ever played the game. He has won more tournaments than Hogan, and he beat him in last year's tournament at the Greenbrier. Year in and year out Snead plays the better game.
MRS. W. C. FORD
Housewife
Grosse Pointe, Mich.
I couldn't disagree with my husband more violently. This is an old family argument, and it is the only topic on which Bill and I have ever argued. Hogan won the Open four times. The best that Snead has done is to finish second in the Open three times. That is the great difference between the two.
CECIL UNDERWOOD
Governor of West Virginia
Charleston
As Governor Al Smith of New York used to say, "Let's look at the record." Snead and Hogan have tied twice in tournaments. In the playoffs Sam beat Ben both times, the 1954 Masters and the 1950 Los Angeles Open. I think Snead is greater because he's always beaten Hogan in head-to-head play.
MRS. DODIE HENRY
Former Sleepy Hollow CC champion
East Hampton, N.Y.
Hogan. He's a "made" golfer. Most golfers would quit after an accident like his, but through sheer determination he came back and he was as good as ever. Just watching him has helped my game. No one has Snead's wonderful swing, but I can swing like Hogan, and that helps me a lot.
HOLLY STOVER
Railroad executive
Chicago
Sam Snead. The great golfers I've known, Gene Sarazen and the rest, say that Sam has the greatest form of any golfer they have ever seen. He will be a great player as long as he lives because he has the best natural swing in golf. Hogan is so near him only because he works so hard at his game.
PORKY OLIVER
Golf pro
Denver
No one comes near Snead hitting the ball. In concentration, Hogan has it on him. The way Ben slaves and sets himself up for a tournament makes him tough to beat, and I'd bet on him. But if Hogan quit for six months he'd be nothing. Snead could quit for a year and still be a great golfer.
A. FRED KAMMER JR.
Former member U.S. Walker Cup team
Detroit
Hogan. Golf came easily for Snead, but Ben had to work hard at it, and he deserves a lot of credit, particularly after his auto accident in 1949. Playing with damaged legs, he carried Sam into a playoff in the Los Angeles Open in 1950 before losing. I believe that was one of the incredible feats in golf.
ED TUTWILER JR.
Eight-time state amateur champion
Charleston, W.Va.
That's like asking who is the greater football player, Bronko Nagurski or Red Grange. Nagurski had dogged drive. So has Hogan. Red Grange had grace and style. So has Snead. Ben and Sam have had more than their share of top honors and are equally great, but I'm partial to Sam because he is more colorful.
ELEVEN PHOTOS