So what was his secret? Hogan said that he had the rare ability to play under pressure, for example he linked fifty side bets on a game at Galveston in Texas, and won $12,000, a fortune in those days.

At a time when the best professional tournament players were making $25,000 a year, Titanic, touring the country called it a rough year if he did not pocket one hundred thousand dollars. Though it is said that some of it came from dice, pool, card games or bizarre bets. There are many examples.

The gallery, though small was hushed, almost mesmerised, Titanic was playing a match against Nick 'The Greek' Dandalos, a single figure golfer, 'The Greek' on the last green, was twenty five feet from the hole, so Titanic bets him $10,000 that he cannot hole the putt. He took his stance and struck the ball, dead on line, but as it neared the hole it started to slow, it almost stopped, but then an invisible force seemed to push it forward and it dropped into the hole.

Titanic dismissed his huge loss with a shrug, then said - ' I' ll bet you double or nothing that I can hit a silver dollar with my pistol, eight times out of eight from fifteen feet.

Another fantastic bet had been made, and Thompson recouped another loss. The Greek paced off fifteen feet, Titanic pull a revolver from his golf bag, hit all the shots, retrieved the silver doller and gave it to Dandalos for a souvenir. A dollar that cost ten thousand.

On another occasion Titanic had had a disastrous afternoon at cards and dice, so he bet one of the players that he could drive a golf ball over 500 yards. The drive could be made on a course of his choice. They all headed for a course out on Long Island. When they got there the bet had increased to $8,000, against other doubting parties.

Titanic cleverly picked a tee which had a water hazard some two hundred yards from the tee. The hazard was covered in ice. He hit his drive so accurately that it hit the ice bounced and kept rolling. It came to a stop nearly half a mile away.

Toney Penna, a PGA star and famed club designer, said that if Ti had devoted half as much time to serious concentration, as he did to baiting and outwitting his opponents, he would have been a Bobby Jones and Ben Hogan combined.

In 1928, Leo P Flynn , who Jack Dempsey's manger, introduce Titanic to the members of Grassy Sprain Golf Club. He arranged a match between Titanic and the pro, George McLean. He did not play well and lost easily, then said 'George, I am not in your class, but give me a handicap and I'll play you for big money'

The members raised $13,000. On the 17th tee, a par three, the shots were gone and they were all square, McLean had the honour. He hit tee shot to six feet and stood back. Titanic hot his shot four feet closer, a tap in birdie and one up. They halved the last in par, and Titanic was $13,000 richer!

Despite that, his strangest bet was against a long hitting golf star from Tulsa, he bet him that he would let him make three drives on every hole and then take the best to pay against Titanic's lone ball. He lost six holes on the front nine, on the back he swept to victory, as the pro got a little arm weary.

When players became aware of his hustling, he offered to play a fourball match with his caddie, a young black boy as his partner, the boy happened to be Lee Elder.

The key to his incredible success, was his application and concentration when the big money showed, no emotion and no nerves, win or lose, and he rarely did the latter.

He died on the 19th May 1974 at a nursing home in Euless Texas, but he had lived long enough to see his one time caddie, (and later playing partner) become the first black player to play in The Masters. Lee Elder arrived at Augusta National to play his first round of golf there, in a chauffeur driven car sent to collect him by Clifford Roberts, Chairman of the Tournament. Lee Elder definitely became the most famous of the two, though it is questionable who won the most money.