The Jody Vasquez

A conversation with Jody Vasquez It was my great pleasure to have a conversation with Jody Vasquez. I remember thinking after reading Jody's book in 2005, wouldn't it be nice to talk with Mr. Vasquez? A mere 17 years later, and with the birth of my YouTube channel, I finally decided to do just that. With the help of Christo Garcia, who was nice enough to introduce me to Mr. Vasques. He graciously agreed to spend some time talking with me. It was a treat for me to listen to the remarkable personal stories of a gentleman who spent so much time with the reclusive legend. You could feel the passion, respect, and love that Mr. Vasquez had for Mr. Hogan. I was so lucky I had the opportunity to speak with him. You can find his book "Afternoons with Mr. Hogan." on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Afternoons-Mr-... Here is the description of this delightful book on Amazon: Ben Hogan's former ball shagger recounts firsthand stories of the golf legend—and reveals, for the first time, Hogan's Swing Secret, a source of mystery to golfers for more than fifty years. Ben Hogan's pro golf record is legendary. A four-time PGA Player of the Year, he celebrated sixty-three tournament wins and became known as a man of few words and fewer close friends. However, unfortunately, most of what we know about Hogan has been based on myth and speculation. Until now. In the 1960s, though Hogan's competitive career was over, he kept the practice habits that made him famous and remade modern competitive golf. He hired seventeen-year-old Jody Vasquez to help. Each day, after driving to a remote part of the Shady Oaks Country Club course, Hogan would spend hours hitting balls, and Vasquez would retrieve them. Throughout their twenty-year friendship, Hogan taught Jody the mechanics of his famous swing and shared his thoughts on playing and practicing. Course management—unknowingly revealing much about his character, values, beliefs, and the events that shaped them. In Afternoons with Mr. Hogan, Jody Vasquez shares dozens of stories about Hogan, from how he practiced, selected his clubs, and interacted with other star players to his little-known humor and generosity. Comparing Tom Kite's A Fairway to Heaven(which recalls Kite's golf education under Harvey Penick) with the sage perspective of Penick's own Little Red Book, Vasquez's tribute is funny, poignant, and full of advice for golfers of all levels.