Hogan's Alley

My good friend John just returned from a temp job as an on-course spotter with CBS Sports Golf at the Colonial Invitational in FT. Worth, Texas. I had to sit this one out due to a bum knee but spotting major PGA Tour events is something that we have done together on numerous occasions over the last 20 years, from the British Open to the U.S. Open and numerous tournaments in between.

On his way home he stopped here for a round of golf at my club and since he had spent the last five days at Colonial and was on his way to play Riviera CC, the subject of Ben Hogan came up. Neither of us were sure how two different golf courses got the nickname, Hogan's Alley, so I promised to check it out.

Simple really, thanks to Wikipedia. In 1948 alone, Ben Hogan won 10 tournaments, including the U.S. Open at Riviera Country Club, a course known as "Hogan's Alley" because of his success there. Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, a modern PGA tournament venue, is also known as "Hogan's Alley" and may have the better claim to the nickname.

Reason being that Mr. Hogan was born in Texas, lived there, played there, won there and died there. Colonial and Dallas/Ft. Worth area are the real Hogan's Alley, just ask any Texan. 

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