AUGUSTA, Ga. — New history is being made at the Masters, but as it’s Golf Digest’s 75th Anniversary year, we had to look back. The 1950 Masters was a particularly good edition. Playing in his first major since his near-fatal car accident, Ben Hogan was in second place after 54 holes though fell to T-4. Jimmy Demaret took it, becoming the first person to win the Masters three times. The late Texan was nicknamed “The Wardrobe,” so we know he would have been interested in the recent style makeovers of our staff.
The first issue of Golf Digest, a quarterly weighing in at 16 pages, printed that spring. On page 6, the story “Jones’ election as greatest stirs comment” details the results of an Associated Press poll on the questions of who the greatest golfers and athletes of the previous half-century were. Bobby Jones dominates the golf portion, receiving 293 out of 392 possible votes. Walter Hagen (29) and Byron Nelson (17) finished second and third. Among all male athletes, Jones placed fifth behind Jim Thorpe, Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey and Ty Cobb.
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But Demaret was having none of it. No doubt emboldened from his Masters win, he firmly argues against Jones, instead sticking up for his pals with a line of discourse that’s been prattling on and around pro golf since. “In those days a tournament was like going to a convention,” Demaret is quoted. “The players were not in shape. These golfers today are athletes, and I think Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson could have beaten any of the old-timers.”
Sounds familiar to anyone who has had the Jack vs. Tiger debate, or any other comparison across the generations. The story goes on to cite an interesting assertion from Gene Sarazen that Jones would’ve had to change his long, rhythmic swing to something shorter to meet the demands of week-in, week-out professional competition. But you got to love Hogan—5’ 9” and ripping cigarettes on-course, certainly enjoying his share of gin gimlets at 19th holes—being held up as the consummate athlete.
Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Bryson DeChambeau—all are disciplined physical specimens in the manner of 2025, but none has ever been measured for a green jacket … yet.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
