Ben Hogan’s response to a club member who remarked how he had read Hogan’s instructional book, Five Lessons,but that it didn’t help much
[size=150]" Better Read It Again!"[/size]
He certainly had a way with words!
I think this topic is mentioned in another thread somewhere, but I could not find it so I thought this thread would do.
I am revisiting Hogan’s Five Lessons. I am attempting to flatten out my swing by addressing the ball a bit more like Hogan advocates i.e. straight spine with the only variables being knee and kneck bend. Amazing how consistent his spine angle is through the bag. Adam Scott would do well to check out Hogan’s attention to keeping the ball in his “fovial field” My difficult is when I attempt to follwo his instruction with club in hand I hit a couple of snags.
Instruction:
Bend knees from thigh down…check! 
Weight will feel more towards the heels than the balls…check!
Back is as naturally erect as it is when you are walking down the fairway…check!
Bend you head down only by bending your neck…check!
"When you are standing erect before the ball, you will find that, with your arms normall extended, the head of the club will be raised about four inches above the ball…I do not think so! 
My clubhead is nowhere near 4 inches from the ground. It would take an outrageous amount of knee bend to achieve this. It could just be that I do not employ enough knee bend but I look more like the fella at the bottom of page 54! I think a more upright torso helps with flat swinging. What am I missing here?
I was thinking that this great topic should be on the site. I see lots of talk on other sites about the ‘Five Lessons’ by analysts and golfers of all abilities. Many are looking for insights with some good and some unusual responses to questions.
Since the Five Lessons is now coming to DVD, it seems reasonable to keep the discussion going. There may be some insights we can incorporate into the production. The science of motion capture, high definition video, CGI, and the creation of Mr. Hogan’s Avatar for the project are topics that might be interesting to folks.
From our previous production ‘The Ben Hogan Collection’ 3 DVD set and ‘Swing Revealed’ interactive software we created a blog site to keep folks apprised on Mr. Hogan’s legacy and new information on various projects. www.benhogancollection.blogspot.com is the location.
We have developed a promo reel located at the production company’s website. I can give out the link via email. I can’t seem to be able to just post it. If you send me an email I will send you the link. It runs for about 5 minutes and gives an overall look at the project and its various aspects.
Cordially,
Tom
Some fascinating stuff there Tom on the blog. Guys, if it wasn’t evident from Tom’s first post he is the man behind the making of the Ben Hogan Collection set of DVDs which I am sure a number of you have. I know Two has! Tom I bought it as a present for a friend once but have never seen it 
Perhaps i will be more selfish this time round 
Tom I am sure folks will have some questions for you but let me kick off. You obviously have close connections with the Hogan estate. I wonder if you had any access to the set of clubs Hogan used in his prime. I kow many people on tis board are sceptical to the specs that were listed in “Afternoons with Mr. Hogan” by Jody Vasquez. Anything you can share on that?
Many Thanks,
Arnie
Hey Arnie,
I saw some spec sheets from Mr. Hogan’s clubmaker for his personal clubs when I toured an exhibit a few years ago at the World Golf Hall of Fame in the Ben Hogan Exhibit. I am not sure they still have it there but I believe they had borrowed much of the content of the exhibit from Golf House/USGA. When I filmed at the new Hogan Exhibit at Golf House in 2005 I did not see the spec sheets. I am sure they have it somewhere and maybe have displayed it in the new museum.
I have personally held the club used by Mr. Hogan when he won the British Open at Carnoustie in 1953. That was pretty darn neat. I even have a photo. I guess I can post that here but not sure how. There are some photos on my blog site for the collection. Its worth looking at at any rate. www.benhogancollection.blogspot.com. Its with Andy Mutch the curator who helped Valerie Hogan with the exhibit details after Mr. Hogan’s death.
I met Jody Vasquez and we filmed his interview at Colonial Country Club in ‘Mr. Hogan’s Office’ that is constructed in the pro shop. Jody was very credible and friendly and would go out of his way to help in any way regarding Mr. Hogan’s history and legacy. I can’t vouch for what he specified as its been awhile since I read the book but as Mr. Hogan was always experimenting with his clubs over the years there may be several variations of specs for his clubs over the years.
Yes, you really should have a copy of the ‘Collection’. There are bills to pay!
Also, and please take note, the Ben Hogan Foundation has a gift program on their website for those patrons who make donations to the organization. It is a wonderful charity. One of the gifts to donors is a club from Mr. Hogan’s personal collection donated by the family and Shady Oaks CC. I The site is www.benhoganfoundation.org.