Ben Hogan, Golf Swing

What Hogan was showing you

First of all what he was showing you is where every great player is Past, Present and into the future of this game.  It is simple, fundamental and how you square a stick to a ball in any sport.  The great players just look different doing these things and even they get out of position from time to time, usually from working on some wrong information. 

Hogan Blog article Pictures 012 Now this first picture of Hogan’s old set up out of his first book Power Golf is typical even today from players that are taught awful information like he was, notice the stiff left arm and his right arm tucked in sounds familiar to anyone that has been around the game for more than a day.  He learned in late 1945 that he was Dead before he started from this position.  Sure you can play great from here, from time to time, but you will NEVER be consistent and last from this starting position. 

Hogan Setup2 Now here is where EVERY great player is, notice the width of his stance and his arms "laying" in front of his chest he learned only from here is where he could make his athletic powerful golf swing and only from here he could use his body correctly in the golf swing.  Remember Hogan had his first double digit win season and his first major in 1946 the year after he learned the truth about the golf swing. 

  Hogan Blog article Pictures 013Hogan had his left arm drawn this way for a couple darn good reasons.  First he felt like he had a half of a left arm in his golf swing after learning the correct information in his old swing he had a whole left arm.  In other words his left arm was always a problem and it started out that way in his old set up.  The second reason is he did not want everyone to "get it" or understand how simple this really is to do because he was still competing in the 50’s when this came out.  And those guys were fighting for every dime they could get back then, they did not have multi million dollar endorsement deals and giant purses back then. 

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Hogan Blog article Pictures 007 This is how the left side works and once a player understands this he or she can only then feel the right side working correctly in the golf swing.  And believe me you will really feel the right side working!!  Remember Hogan felt like he had half a left arm and as far as power goes he wished he had three right hands.  This was a feel, he should have said three right sides. 

Hogan Blog article Pictures 014 This is EXACTLY how the right side works in the golf swing.  He didn’t tell you to hold your head still tuck in the right arm stay behind the ball.  He said throw it!!  Hard!!!  Now in the second picture he is just showing you the fall in, people are fooled even by this saying he is telling you to tuck your right arm in.  THROW a ball, HARD and film it if you want.  You will see the fall in but you would never try to tuck your arm in or create lag or angles doing this simple task if you are any kind of athlete at all your left side would simply unwind and you would throw the ball with your right side firing to the target like nobody’s business.  Also look at his left arm in this picture sequence just laying there and getting the heck out of the way!!

Top Left Pictures 2 017 Here is another way to feel it, throw a ball down your line of flight with the left arm behind your back.  When Tiger had this PERFECT in the year 2000 he felt his right arm getting straight as soon as possible in his change of direction.  There is no way on earth he could do this without his left arm folding correctly as Hogan showed you in his half a left arm sequence.  You can not do one without the other!! 

Now get out there and play, and don’t be sucked into trying the new flavor of the month or try this and try that.  I see people all the time that chase their tales forever trying to find a golf swing.  It is simple and the players that do the fundamentals the best are always the ones that last and stand the test of time. 

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