Was his 1953 season the greatest golf year of all time? Winning 5 of 6 pro tournaments while sweeping the major championships he entered, including the U.S. Open, the Masters and the Open (Britiish) is a remarkable record. He could not play in the P.G.A. Championship because of a scheduling conflict with the Open.
The only comparable feats in my mind are (1) Bobby Jones Amateur Slams (2) Byron Nelson's 11 victories in a row (3) Tiger Wood's Grand Slam (holding all the championship titles).
These are not quite comparable events in my mind, however it is hard to argue against Byron Nelson's streak as the greatest golf year of all time, regardless of those who denigrate the quality of the competition or fields.
Hogan's is likely second. I think Tiger's is third only because of the difference in schedule emphasis with the modern pros, who largely pace their schedule around the modern majors. Why would that be a factor in a consideration of the greatest season of all time? Consider that Hogan, Snead and Nelson, who won over 200 tournaments between them, only entered the Open (British) a few more times than Tom Watson won it (5). And Hogan batted a 1000 (1 for 1).
The big difference in my mind is the modern stars limit their schedule to focus on and stay fresh for the majors or big events. Hogan's limited play was obviously due to health reasons, playing in only about 32 events from 1950-1955 because of his health. Consider that he won the P.G.A. in 1946 and 1948 and did not play in it again until 1960. So of half of the major championships, including the P.G.A. and the Open, Hogan only played in them a total of 7 times over a 20 year span of time.
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Nobody has taken up the discussion here, but I would think that Harry Vardon's 14 tournaments in a row around the turn of the 20th century has to be up there somewhere!
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