My previous blog left us with the question of what Ben Hogan was trying to do with his swing that caused him to hook (in the first place). The subtle or implied issue is that a hook is a symptom of a problem or issue and not something to fix per se, for instance like a faulty grip or an improper swing path or a weight and balance issue. So while it is roundly acknowledged that Hogan had a hooking problem, it is rare indeed to see that issue decomposed to assign cause to his action and to also look at why he did not do more about it before 1946.
The reason Hogan hooked the ball is because of the action he initiated to hit the ball farther when he was competing with the other caddy’s at Glen Garden Country Club, Fort Worth in the 1920s (likely 1924-1927). The caddy’s played a game where they hit balls toward holes for nickels. The winner obviously won money but the loser had to gather all the balls up for the next round. Hogan was younger and smaller than the other caddy’s and found he could not hit the ball nearly as far. At the time he was doing two things over all others; fighting for his place in the pecking order to get choice corners for selling newspapers, as well as with the other caddy’s because that was the nature of the caddy yard, and he was learning to play golf. He combined the two to derive a golf action that enabled him to hit the ball farther and farther as he matured. The action was similar to throwing a punch, with the movement of the arms keyed to the rotation of the hips. He likely worked on his timing in order to have his right arm launch just as quickly as possible to follow the action of the right hip. He staged it off the hip just like throwing a punch, as he would later relate in his books. I should add that this was not the "cartoony" hay maker, often depicted as being wound up behind the head, but the punch of someone who knows how to use his hands, akin to a boxers jab or short punch that travels a short distance propelled off the hip. While it may not be obvious, timing release off the hip, all things being equal, means that everything is rotating powerfully to the left through impact. Without some other form of swing compensation, the shoulders, arms and hands work aggressively left or closing through the ball. The obvious problem with this action is that it causes a low running hook, but this type shot was ideal for the dry fairway conditions of the golf courses he played in Texas. Hogan likely worked on his swing in earnest during this time period, as much if not more so than he did throughout his life while earning a reputation as a tireless ball striker.
It would be no easy feat to change this basic action that had been so ingrained by the time he turned professional in 1932. He would struggle with a hook problem initially through 1938 and then off and on through 1946, when he finally figured out a way to cure the problem once and for all. He revealed pronation as his “secret” in an article in the 8 August 1955 Life Magazine. Pronation is what he added to his swing to solve the problem, and a careful look at his swing reveals that he continued to maintain the link between his hips and his arm swing throughout his career.
If pronation was indeed his secret, what was left to reveal that has had many speculating for years about his real secret?
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John Schlee showed me what he called "the secret" about 20 years ago. It bloody works. I teach it with great success for my students.
ReplyDeleteMike Cortson
mike@mikecortson.com
Hi Mike! I've read some of your commentary and yours is an amazing story. I've written to Tom about his fine book detailing his relationship with John. The secret that John was shown for his swing is not the secret I ascribe to Ben Hogan, as that technique was outlined in Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf, as well as his interview with Nick Seitz in Decemeber 1984. Good Golfing! Mark
ReplyDeleteJust to clarify the reference in these comments. John Shlee was a decent professional golfer who won a PGA tour event and has the distinction of being the forgotten man, e.g., the guy who finished second to Johnny Miller when Miller closed with a 63 to win the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont.
ReplyDeleteShlee spent the bulk of his post-PGA tour life teaching and founded a school with a novel concept of setting up the practice range so that you could hit drives, approaches and sand shots from the same practice session, a concept that was way ahead of its time.
Like many others over the years, Shlee received instruction from Hogan and Hogan gave him a secret for his swing, likely based on his aggressive leg movement (a.k.a, the giggly legs) to control the swing with the left arm and the rotation of the arm in concert with the movement of the body. If you look at John's swing in his manual Maximum Golf, you will see a tall man with an aggresive leg move who likely suffered from timing problems because of the strong left move. It is a very similar problem that the great Tom Weiskopf suffered from throughout his career, or Bob Tway or any number of tall golfers (Nick Faldo).
But much like some of these other swing tips and swing secrets, this is not Hogan's secret. He explained the importance of the left arm in Five Lessons and any number of interviews provided over the years, including the updated Foreword in Five Lessons with Nick Seitz.
Thanks Mark for substantiating what most well informed students of the golf swing advocate, that Mr. Hogan had a 'Secret' for HIS swing that resolved HIS issue in hooking the ball. Nothing more, nothing less.
ReplyDeleteI wish he had never used the word 'Secret'. It is always, always taken out of context in regard to golf. I admire the man greatly none-the-less.
Truth be told, Ben Hogan had a lot of secrets, but they are only secrets to those who do not take the time to learn what he has said and demonstrated. Sadly, this is the majority of golfers; those looking for the 'Quick Fix'. These are the people that don't know how to practice, don't make time to practice, and buy poorly edited books that make claims of swing 'Secrets'.
Words from those who knew Mr. Hogan well and personally, I take with a grain of salt. Words from those who purportedly knew someone who knew Hogan, I take with a Salt Lick!
Words spoken and written by Mr. Hogan, I take at his word and his word alone.
All this said, I learn quite a lot about what Mr. Hogan was saying by listening to perspectives of those who are credible and well educated on his writings and analysis of his swing. I may not agree with them completely, but it expands my understanding of Hogan, and more importantly of golf swing fundamentals.
Here is the bottom line on golf swing secrets:
No one secret will ever negate bad golf swing fundamentals.
No one will ever replicate what Ben Hogan did, because they are not Ben Hogan. They should just learn from him and apply it to there own swing.
best,
brian blackman
boulder colorado
Thanks for the thoughtful post! I think you will enjoy the book and the premise upon which the analysis is based, as well as the technique I believe Hogan used to finally resolve his swing issues.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite interesting, as you say indirectly, that people literally expected Hogan to "spill the proverbial beans" on the things that took him several decades and several million balls to figure out on his own. Also, that somebody who did not go through similar rigor would benefit from such revelations of his technique (e.g., his "secrets").
I have two articles on Ezine that address the issue of what Hogan was trying to accomplish, but the detail is obviously presented in my book.
It is going through a major professional edit to avoid exactly the tendency you cite with these books and I hope to publish in August. I welcome comments and feedback.
Regards, Mark
I look forward to the new read. After reviewing some of your articles, it is evident that you have done your homework.
ReplyDeleteI am always impressed by those who are willing to publish there thoughts on the golf swing, primarily because our understanding and knowledge of the golf swing and it's fundementals continues to evolve.
I have often wondered if Mr. Hogan wished he had waited on his publication of Power Golf. He must have had strong convictions that what he was saying in that book was correct, but he obviously learned a many number of things after that publication.
I believe he once stated that he continued to study the golf swing well after his playing years, but felt that there were no big surprises left for him.
One of the most important lessons that anyone can learn from Mr. Hogan is to evaluate and test each swing fundemental in earnest, then retest each fundemental as your understanding of the golf swing evolves. Something that you may have discarded years ago might actually be a critical component of your newly developed swing.
I have found this to be true in regard to the fundementals described by Mr. Hogan. Many of the little things that he describes or has illustrated in Five Lessons become so profound as your understanding and execution of his fundementals increase.
I do have to say that in regards to 'Ben Hogan's Secret', I feel very strongly that any suggestion by anyone other than Mr. Hogan of a single technique or set of techniques being 'The Secret' is a disservice to the majority of amature golfers.
I feel that Mr. Hogan had a certain audience in mind when he wrote Five Lessons. He probably understood how difficult it is to learn an athletic movement from a book as well.
He probably also knew that if he spelled out certain techniques, they would be grossly misunderstood and the basis of his fundementals would be discarded.
Again, so many things to learn from Mr. Hogan, besides golf swing fundements.
Best of wishing to you Mark, and your publication.
Thanks Brian. I think you will appreciate that September marks the one year anniversary of my discovery of the elements that I outline in my book. I spent from September through November trying to disprove what I had discovered and then spent the bulk of December and January refining it into a book. It went relatively fast after November only because I spent almost 17 years working to get to that point!
ReplyDeleteI updated the blog on the status of the book, as it has taken longer than I thought it would to get it publish ready but I think it has been worth the wait. I'm pretty familiar with the work by now (and I am biased) but I think it has improved markedly with the edits and the effort to refine the message. There are several elements that make it worth the price of admission, not the least of which is the revelation of the technique that Hogan used to fix his hook. I also put a number of issues to bed that it sounds like you will resonate with, such as the question of why Hogan practiced so much and why so many who have tried to emulate Hogan have fallen short of his incredible results.
Thanks again for the posts and Good Golfing!
Mark