Talking about Hogan is a great topic. The problem is that no one hits like Hogan, so there is always some degree of speculation.
I’ve been working on some new tests and simple scientific experiments in the last few months regarding shaft flex particularly into the woods.
It’s been common acceptance from very early in the history of the game… right into today, that you should have different shafts in your woods.
Why?
I spoke last week again to Ron Chalmers who ran Precision shaft company, and Brunswick. Precision made the shafts for Hogan. The Apex shaft was a custom Precision shaft.
Ron knew exactly where I was going with this… and then immediately brought up Hogan and how he had his shafts in his woods. They were different… It makes perfect sense to me… and I played today with the stiffest steel driver shaft I have ever played by a mile. I actually had to construct it out of three separate pieces of steel shaft epoxied together. It looks like something out of a Mad Max movie. I won’t go into a play by play, but I hit 17 greens today at Mare (personal best). I would say it is very interesting. The science behind it is interesting, but I feel much better after field testing it.
Now, there are countless accounts of Hogan’s personal sets having telephone poles in them. Anyone I have read that actually held his personal play sets has described them as such. Telephone poles, tree trunks, felt like solid steel rods…
that sort of thing.
Heavy heads for sure… and very flat, and no offset.
Now anyone that thinks that the gear you use is not going to affect the way you swing a club doesn’t understand the development of a golf swing very well.
Heavy heads and stiff shafts are a good match. Flat lie angles is a well kept secret.
If you are not seriously discussing these gear factors when discussing Hogan, then you might as well just shut down the thread as far as I’m concerned. Hogan knew this stuff. He applied it… and demonstrated it for all to see. Is seeing believing? For many, the answer is yes. Those who saw it believe it.
Now, there are all kinds of armchair Hogan experts who think they have it figured out. But if this is the case, then they should have a golf swing that is very similar dynamically, and they should not be hooking the golf ball.
Once you have the gear set up… then we need to see a few basics in the swing particularly at transition, P3, P4 and PV5.
To enter the Hogan conversation with any degree of credibility, you need to have the shaft flattening at transition. There is a way to do this… to learn this… but if you are not doing this… then you are not into Hogan territory.
Second, you need to slot the club across the chi line at P3. That shaft needs to be flat, open and feeding out of the right hip pocket.
So we on occasion see someone do this.
HOWEVER… can you take that flat, laid off load, and rip that shaft hard left post impact without pivot stalling and dumping the shaft out to right field with a ton of clubface rotation? Most "experts"never get this move. This is something that you really have to feel… and there is only one way to do it. You have to pick up the acceleration rate of the torso and hit hard with the hands and forearm rotation. If you can do this… and hold shaft flex… now we are talking.
Then you need to finish it off with a left shoulder that keep moving right to finish that keeps the rotation ahead of the shaft so that the clubshaft doesn’t flip up to quickly past P4. That structure needs to be there right to the finish. That look comes much easier with a swinger’s release out to right field. Let’s see a guy cut it left hard and do that with a driver. This is where I see Hogan was unmatched by anyone ever.
So to recap, once you have flat, super stiff heavy gear then:
- Slot at transition
- Hit the chi line at P3
- Hold shaft flex through impact.
- Cut it left hard with torso rotation pressured against the right foot while preserving right arm flex to inhibit clubface rotation post impact.
- Hit the skyward vertical clubshaft at PV5 with a left side torso crunch.
Then… we are seriously talking Hogan concepts.
All the grip discussions, stance, backswing etc… are fine, but if they are not directly related to these core dynamic functions
then you might as well be talking about some other pro’s golf swing.
