If you ask the next 100 golfers you meet about Ben Hogan’s swing and what he was trying to achieve, you are likely to get the same answer from each golfer. The question is, what was Hogan trying to do with his swing? And the invariable or inevitable answer will be that he was trying to cure his hook. Hogan was a bit dogmatic about answering questions, often pausing for embarrassing amounts of time to give even the most rudimentary of answers. He did not suffer fools and was ice cold to those who misquoted him or who published a story without careful scrutiny of the facts. There is a story told about a dialogue he had with a German professional golfer that involved the topic of hooks and causes and cures. Hogan did not react well to the question of the cause of a hook and the dialogue became somewhat tense when the German pro was a bit insulted at Hogan’s insinuation that if the German golfer was indeed a pro, then he certainly knew what caused a hooking ball flight action in the swing. The German pro had to acknowledge that he did indeed know and a pleasant conversation ensued thereafter.
The somewhat obvious point of my story is that all things being equal, a hook is the result of something done in the swing. Much like a slice, it is the result of a deliberate or inadvertent act or flaw of some type that acts on the ball in a manner that causes the result. To further belabor the obvious, Hogan was attempting to do something with his swing that caused him to hook the ball. He always talked about developing a powerful, consistent, repeating swing. The manner in which he tried to go about it produced a hooking action. What was it that caused the problem in the first place?
Many believe Hogan’s insistence on an inside move, with the right arm close to the side, caused the hooking problems. But many golfers swing from the inside and it is roundly acknowledged as a good players swing. Still others maintain that his flat plane was the obvious cause and that anyone who swung similarly would have the same problems. But Hogan always disputed the characterization of swing planes as flat or upright unless the discussion included some type of context about the golfer’s stature and body type. Hogan felt it was erroneous to characterize swing planes as one or the other without accounting for the golfer. Part of the reason he was adamant about this topic stems from his own stature. Jules Alexander reports on his website that Hogan’s arm length was 35”, which is pretty long for someone 5’7” or 5’8”. The technique that Hogan adopted to cure his hook, often referred to as the old Scottish technique of deliberate pronation, was thought to help golfers get the ball off the ground easier (while helping the average golfer hook). Again, these examples start a bit into the discussion, assuming that Hogan’s problem was the hook.
But what was causing him to hook it in the first place????
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I'm interested in your answer to this question? I know what it was, after all, as he states in "Five Lessons" on page 62 "..by 1939 I knew quite well what were the true fundamentals of the golf swing... By 1946 I think I truly understood the dynamics of the golf swing." The dynamics that were presumed to be true, as stated on page 17 were inconsistent with his fundamentals.
ReplyDeleteI know from experience that the Hogan fundamentals as well as pronation can and do benefit any golfer. Even if that golfer is a beginner, hence slicer of the ball.
Hogan did not advocate pronation for beginners, neither in Five Lessons nor specifically in the August 8, 1955 Life Magazine article about his secret. I believe that he thought beginners had enough to learn without introducing an unneccesary variable like pronation, which he did not consider a fundamental.
ReplyDeleteOn page 17 he makes a similar point to that of mine above, namely, results are the judge of the true fundamentals and of what works.
It is interesting that he with 25 years of pro experience, 9 majors and 64 PGA wins as of the writing of Five Lessons did not advocate pronation, but you do based on your experience.
The question remains, what was causing him to hook in the first place?
The motion advocated on page 99 of "Five Lessons", when executed down the line, is a hook release. The same motion, executed 'on angle' produces a cut. Pronation accentuates the fundamentals from "Five Lessons". Once those fundamentals are implemented 'on angle' pronation becomes necessary.
ReplyDeleteIt is a hook action. The "on angle" phrase is used in a context that is not a typical golf term. I assume you mean some type of measure of approach taken in relation to the axis of motion, assuming a centripedal force acting on the swing as a limiter, in effect, vice centrifugal? It is clear that pronation does accentuate the fundamentals, but likely in a bad way for the majority of golfers (particularly for beginners).
ReplyDeleteSo you are saying it was (1) the motion (2) the direction of the motion (e.g., down the line) that caused him to hook? And he stopped hooking through either pronation or in effect not going down the line?
That's a tremendously astute appraisal of the effects of Hogan's Angle. It is true, the measure is in relation to the axis of motion. Similarly, it is vice centrifugal. As I read the Life Article from 1955, Hogan had a thought which, without pronation wouldn't have had such success. The thought itself was his secret, in my opinion, pronation was a necessary addition. If a fellow golfer stands to your right and applies pressure to the butt of the club (when at the top of your backswing) there is no cause for pronation. If, on the contrary, the fellow golfer stands over the ball and applies pressure to the back of your left hand the natural effect of resisting his force is pronation. That is the effect of Hogan's Angle and the cause of pronation.
ReplyDeleteI had not answered this because the point with this thread was going off point in a direction that has not been made clear, e.g., the point about Hogan's angle which is not a universal fact or one advocated by Hogan.
ReplyDeleteBut to close on this, I agree with your premise but disagree with your assessment. If pressure is applied to the back of the left hand the resulting effect is not (in Hogan's terms or vernacular) pronation but supination. Any action that acts as a delay, break or lag on the left hand pulling through as the body rotates leftward is felt as supination or lag via the hands. Pronation is more the result of a deliberate move, vice something that can be caused or induced by an outside force.