page_title: Jack Hobens
section_title: Playing career
hierarchical_section_title: Jack Hobens / Playing career
caption_attribution_description: English: Jack Hobens 1910 Cigarette Card
context_page_description: John Owen "Jack" Hobens was a Scottish-American professional golfer. He was born in Dunbar, Scotland, to Thomas Hoben and Elizabeth Owen. He learned the game of golf by starting out as a caddie. Jack had five brothers and a sister.
  Both of his parents were alcoholics, so young Jack, being the eldest, was often tasked with caring for his younger siblings. From the age of eleven he was a licensed caddie and was granted his professional ticket at the West Links Golf Club on 13 December 1894 at the age of fourteen.
context_section_description: For seventeen years, Hobens—who was sometimes called "Pop"—served as the head professional at Englewood Country Club.  He would go on to enter many U.S. Open tournaments during his playing career, often finishing in the top ten. He was described as a long hitter of the ball and generally deadly on the green. He had a wonderful opportunity to win the 1907 U.S. Open at Philadelphia Cricket Club. He was the third round leader but finished poorly with a 12-over-par 85 in the final round. In the second round of the tournament he made the first ever U.S. Open hole-in-one by holing his tee shot at the 147-yard 10th hole.
  Hobens was victimized with some horribly bad luck in the 1904 North and South Open at Pinehurst, North Carolina. After 36 holes of regulation play he was tied for first place with Alec Ross. The two players went to a playoff where Hobens was one shot ahead with just a few holes to play. He hooked his tee shot into the left rough on a hole but had an easy, unobstructed shot to the green.  Upon making his backswing, his clubhead hooked a weed, or a "creeper" as it was called by Jerome Travers, which caused his ball to move.  Hobens, unable to stop his stroke, proceeded to miss the ball completely.  The unfortunate result was a one-stroke penalty for causing the ball to move and another stroke for the whiff. He ended up losing the tournament.
  Hobens won the 1908 Metropolitan Open at Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey by one shot over Alex Campbell and won the first prize of $150. In 1909, the U.S. Open was played at Englewood Golf Club where he was the professional at the time and he played well, finishing tied for fourth place. Hobens finished second in the 1906 Western Open which at that time was considered a †major tournament.
  In the Eastern Professional Golfers Association Four-Ball Tournament held at Rumson Country Club, Rumson, New Jersey, on 9 August 1911, Hobens was paired with Jack Dowling. They won the event easily by posting a round of 68 and beat the second place team of Jack Jolly and Tom Anderson, Jr. who carded a round of 74. The winners received a gold medal and $125 in prize money.
  While serving as the head professional at the Knickerbocker Country Club in Tenafly, New Jersey, Hobens provided golf lessons to the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh and his family.
caption: A 1910 artist's rendition of Hobens on a cigarette card
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