Review of "The Wee Ice Mon Cometh"

With October starting, that means several new releases for the fall season are out, and this was one of those copies I have received.  While I and any other golf fan would be familiar with the comeback story of Ben Hogan, I learned a lot about his spectacular 1953 season in this book. 

Title/Author:

“The Wee Ice Mon Cometh: Ben Hogan’s 1953 Triple Slam and One of Golf’s Greatest Summers” by Ed Gruver

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Ben Hogan is one of most legendary golfers the game has ever seen.  Most noted for his comeback from a near-fatal auto accident, he put together one of the most magnificent seasons in 1953 as he won three of the four “Grand Slam” event in golf.   His three wins in those major tournaments is the subject of this book by Ed Gruver.

After Gruver gives a mini-biography of Hogan (with an excellent account of the auto accident), the book has an easy-to-follow format of Hogan’s three victories to make up his Triple Slam.  Gruver starts with a description of the course where the tournament takes place.  For the Masters, which is of course Augusta National.  Then for the U.S. Open in June, which took place at the Oakmont Country Club.  Finally, the third major win for Hogan, the Open (formerly known as the British Open) took place at Carnoustie.  For all three of these courses, a great explanation of the layout is given where the reader can feel himself or herself walking the course.

In these sections there is also information on Hogan’s main competitors in the tournament and here is where it was a bit of an issue for me as a reader as it was difficult to keep the golfers straight. That, however, wasn’t an issue when Gruver would get to the actual golf as his accounts of each tournament were excellent.  The descriptions of Hogan’s shots, his demeanor on the course and even the agony of his competitors was all captured in a manner that puts the reader right in the gallery.  Because of these sections, I genuinely enjoyed the book and would recommend it for any golf fan or historian.

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book.  The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: Amazon.com: The Wee Ice Mon Cometh: Ben Hogan's 1953 Triple Slam and One of Golf's Greatest Summers: 9781496238986: Gruver, Ed, Williamson, Trevor: Books