There are many opinions on what made Mr. Hogan a great ball striker. Was it the wrist set, leg motion, eye dominance, who really knows? What is more important is what did Hogan do that you can do to improve your game?
What are a few of his “Secrets”
- He kept his arms, his elbows close together so they could pivot properly through the swing. Most amateur golfers start with their elbows far apart an spread them even farther during the swing. Spreading the elbows will kill your speed and consistency! If you can’t keep your elbows close together start doing some stretches of your shoulders until you can keep your elbow on top of your belly and rotate your hand away from the body 45 degrees. This is pretty much a minimum for the arms to work properly in the golf swing.
- Head movement was something Hogan had plenty of. I believe he may have been right eye dominant which is why he looked to the target very early. You will also notice in the video below Narrated by Craig Hanson that his head moves a bunch during the swing, especially during the downswing. So next time someone says keep your head still or down tell them to they are not correct and have them watch a video of Hogan.
- Hogan kept the club shaft on plane during the swing. When his left arm is horizontal on the back swing an on the downswing you can draw a line down the shaft and it will be pointing at the ball. Without going into a ton of detail this is something great ball strikers do and poor ball strikers don’t. Next time you go to the range just take a few swings keeping your arms no higher than shoulder high and see if you can point the club at the ball.
- Lateral motion to start the downswing is something all great ball strikers do and very poor golfers even try to do. If your left hip doesn’t start to move towards the target before the arms start the downswing you will spin out. This causes loss of power, no consistency and erratic shots. To be a good golfer you must have the front hip move towards the target before the hips rotate.
- Right knee stable was what I first picked up from the first Hogan book I read. If you watch most amateurs on the back swing their right knee will align over or outside the right foot at the top of the swing. This is a terrible mistake. If you watch Mr. Hogan or 99% of great ball striker you will notice that their shin of their right or back leg stays leaning towards the target from the start of the swing through impact. This will feel like it reduces you flexibility which is true. Your right leg works like a spring adding tension in the back swing. If you do not keep your right knee from floating in your back swing you will probably hit a lot of shots fat and play pretty bad golf.
- The hip turn on the take away is something rarely discussed with Hogan or just about any good player. You will notice in the video below that Hogan starts his back swing with his right hip moving away from the target line. You will also notice that his right hip moves slightly towards the target on the back swing. This is not an easy move to make but one that works very effectively. If you watch the video below you will see that Hogan’s right hip and rear move away from the target and now slowly. From a source I know he said Hogan always talked about the key to good ball striking is getting into a good position at the top of the swing. The way he did this was by moving the hip away super fast to start the back swing which made the entire swing work.
One of the true secrets to Hogan’s swing is how he kept from hooking the ball. As he wrote in the late 1940’s in LIFE magazine, paraphrasing, every good golf swing is meant to hook the golf ball. This is true, you must learn to swing like you want to hook the ball then move into the next faze of the game, not hooking the ball. Just about every good player goes through this transition. Most players use their legs and rotation to keep the ball from hooking.
Most people say Hogan fought the hooks. According to what he reportedly told Butch Harmon’s dad, he never had the hooks on tour. He just wanted to avoid hitting hooks and built his swing around that philosophy.
Jim Hartnett
www.myhome4golf.com
