In early 1957 golf artist Anthony Ravielli was asked by Ben Hogan to illustrate a series for Sports Illustrated Magazine. Hogan chose Ravielli, because he had seen the artist's work in a 1956 Sports Illustrated series entitled 'Tips From The Top', which show-cased Ravielli’s clean scratchboard drawing style. After a photo shoot at Colonial Country Club, Ravielli used the images as templates to create the famous illustrations in 'Five Lessons'.

 

Hogan had in mind five core lessons that could be understood by the average golfer and applied to their golf swing. 'The Modern Fundamentals of Golf' was originally published by Sports Illustrated in March 1957, with Anthony Ravielli providing the drawing for the cover, based on his photograph. It was the first of five segments, each individual lesson being released in subsequent issues.

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'Five Lessons' quickly became the best selling issue in Sports Illustrated history. Hogan later commented that at the time of the initial article, he would see other PGA pros at events actually lay out the magazine so that the illustrations could be seen and emulated. Hogan realized at that point he had something special on his hands.

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'Five Lessons' was released in hardcover form later in 1957, using the same image from the cover of Sports Illustrated. The book went on to sell over a million copies and is recognized as one of the most important books in golf.

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These photos remained in the possession of the artist, unpublished and virtually unknown for over 40 years until their discovery in 1997. The photos and Limited Edition collectibles are now available for sale, as well as for licensing and publishing.

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