Mr. Hogan, The Man that I Knew

Just release, "Mr. Hogan, The Man that I Knew" by LPGA Player Kris Tschetter and Steve Eubanks. According to Tschetter, she recorded the last known swing sequence by Ben Hogan in 1989. It is in the book from a face one view as well as down the line.
I haven't had a chance to read the book yet, but having known about the Tschetter-Hogan relationship, I am looking forward to another interesting Hogan story.

Does Mrs Drewit know you are buying ANOTHER golf book?

Originally Posted by Yoda How about the Ben Hogan I did not know?

The man who could not -- notice I did not say would not -- articulate what he knew for the benefit of those of us who do not?

In Five Lessons, for example, Hogan stated that he wanted to consciously feel his upper arms adhered to his chest. The world clambered aboard, and now, if the bones of those ensuing throngs who advised us to "stay connected" were to be piled, they would blot out the sun.

"All rise . . . "



Today, we see Sean Foley, my PGA TOUR friend / competitor and the latest media-annointed guru, putting a hanky under Tiger's right arm. A PGA TOUR player -- Tiger Woods for goodness sake! -- with a hanky under the arm?

Please.

This not-so-new new S&T (Sean & Tiger) drill may 'work' -- and for both their sakes, I hope so -- but given Tiger's already prodigious record, how will we ever know?

For the record, I strongly disagree with Mr. Hogan's description (of his own Mechanics) and Mr. Foley's specific drill. Something entirely different is going on. I will explain just what that is at a later time, probably next January 24 at the PGA of America Coaching and Teaching Summit!

Very interesting post Lynn, thank you for your candor. I sense you dont want to go into it right now but Im thinking it relates, perhaps, to the #4 Accumulator and its roll as Master Accumulator, the sequence of 4,1,2,3. Not sure but I look forward to a time when you can expand on it a bit more.

Originally Posted by O.B.Left Very interesting post Lynn, thank you for the candor. I sense you dont want to go into it right now but Im thinking it relates, perhaps, to the #4 Accumulator and its roll as Master Accumulator, the sequence of 4,1,2,3. Not sure but I look forward to a time when you can expand on it a bit more.

Or perhaps a hand based system and not a pivot based. Where the hands and arms are active and not glued to the torso.

Originally Posted by Yoda
Today, we see Sean Foley, my PGA TOUR friend / competitor and the latest media-annointed guru, putting a hanky under Tiger's right arm. A PGA TOUR player -- Tiger Woods for goodness sake! -- with a hanky under the arm?

Please.

This not-so-new new S&T (Sean & Tiger) drill may 'work' -- and for both their sakes, I hope so -- but given Tiger's already prodigious record, how will we ever know?

For the record, I strongly disagree with Mr. Hogan's description (of his own Mechanics) and Mr. Foley's specific drill. Something entirely different is going on. I will explain just what that is at a later time, probably next January 24 at the PGA of America Coaching and Teaching Summit!

Interesting to read. And I hope you will post your thoughts here for us who cannot attend the summit.

I know that P do not want a hanky under arms so I wonder where that is coming from... Either Lead or Ballard perhaps?

I think Ben Hogan is the most interesting player in golf history. Most of this comes from the lack of written or spoken instruction from the man himself and the sense of mystery he created. I have read five lessons over and over, and at age 17 was taught right out of the book. It took two feet off my backswing, ruined my foot action, and has had me over rolling the lfw for years. I cannot think of any exercise worse for me than putting a hanky under my right arm pit. If your hands are moving in, up and back, the right arm and shoulder will do what its supposed to do. Hogan's own pictures show he did not keep his upper arms tight to the sides. Hogan was a great player, clearly in the top five all time. Instructor? By all accounts from contemporaries like Gardner Dickinson and Ken Venturi, Hogan would never tell you what to do, you watched him and picked stuff up. Five Lessons was written by Herbert Wind, questions exist as to what Hogan contributed. In the new book, Tschetter talks about Hogan believing the left hand is the steering wheel and the right hand the gas, wanting to write an article about it. Problem is that Homer figured that out in 1969, writing that the left hand controls the clubface, right hand controls the club shaft. Hogan had no secret for us, it was for him only, like most secrets.

Nice post Dodger. Do he really mean right "hand" is the gas. Not Right Elbow or Right Arm or..... I wonder how he defined right hand , pushing but still bent vs active unbending etc?

He said hand, and I do think Hogan was precise with words. Interestingly, he told Gardner Dickinson he liked the right leg slightly closed at address so his hands could go in, not out. I think he was able to design a backswing that went in, back and up automatically in his mind, hence his focus on plane. In order to keep from crossing the line at the top and coming too inside on the downswing, he overrotated the lfw on the backswing, combined with the weak grip, fade every time. His sweetspot control must have been superlative. He was an amazing athlete, had a simple golf swing that he tweaked with some complicated things others cannot consistently pull off. Personally I love the Power Golf swing more than the post accident swing. Someone once asked him how to shorten their swing. He said get hit by a bus. The guy was a cutup.

Originally Posted by BBax Does Mrs Drewit know you are buying ANOTHER golf book?

As one of the few that has seen my home golf office/library, do you think she would even notice another "needle in the haystack"?

Originally Posted by dodger He said hand, and I do think Hogan was precise with words. Interestingly, he told Gardner Dickinson he liked the right leg slightly closed at address so his hands could go in, not out. I think he was able to design a backswing that went in, back and up automatically in his mind, hence his focus on plane. In order to keep from crossing the line at the top and coming too inside on the downswing, he overrotated the lfw on the backswing, combined with the weak grip, fade every time. His sweetspot control must have been superlative. He was an amazing athlete, had a simple golf swing that he tweaked with some complicated things others cannot consistently pull off. Personally I love the Power Golf swing more than the post accident swing. Someone once asked him how to shorten their swing. He said get hit by a bus. The guy was a cutup.

dodger can you show the evidence of hogan overrotating the lafw?

No, nor will I. I am indicating what I see. He also said he tries to rotate the left arm away from the target as much as he can and then he can hit as hard as he wants with the right side. This is from the golf digest article in the late 1980's, so I am relying in part to what he said. You can look at the photos or videos of Hogan and tell me what I see is wrong. Over-rotation of the lfw is tough to see, I have met very few instructors that identify the problem.

Originally Posted by drewitgolf As one of the few that has seen my home golf office/library, do you think she would even notice another "needle in the haystack"?

Hey Drew,

I suspect your collection is similar to mine, but yours being on a grander scale.

Another book in my collection is another "needle on a haystack size pile of needles"

Hope all is well.