I think it is more " Hogan Misinformation." The extra spike in the left shoe was to throw people off from realizing the importance of the one in the right shoe… 
I’m gonna write ‘LOL’ but I want everyone to know I really did laugh out loud when I read that.
Nice GIF describing what myself and lag call…“what happens on the inside is what turns the outside”
For a time, Hogan had not one extra spike, but 2 extra spikes on each foot.
Suppose, hypothetically, one did know Hogan’s secret to turning a draw into a ball that flies straight and falls right from the apex of flight.
That knowledge doesn’t mean the guy who possesses it will be a champion golfer. There’s loads more to know and do to be a success at golf.
Absolutely.
Putting and chipping obviously, and the whole mental side of learning to get the subconscious mind and conscious mind working together toward winning, and not fighting one another. Phil vs Lee W.
But there are other issues like securing funding to travel, getting sponsors, and being personable enough to want people to help you. I have seen a lot of talent over the years fail here in this category.
Having the right spouse or S/O who supports you is huge.
Learning how to travel and get your body to adapt quickly to different time zones, food, sleep patterns, and just the lifestyle of being on the road. Some people don’t travel well. I think certain types of golf swings travel better than others. That was one of the main reasons I jumped ship on the TGM stuff I first used when I hit the trail. Too demanding on the body, even the 23 year old body I used to occupy.
Does “Hogan” happen if he doesn’t cash that check in California? Legend says he and Valarie had an agreement that if he came home empty handed, he would pursue another career option. This stuff happens all the time. Not every young golf pro comes from a well to do family, or has sponsors lined up. Going out there on your own dime takes a special kind of determination, dedication and inner confidence. Not everyone has that when they first go out there. Trevino’s story was a lot different than Hal Sutton’s.
Gardner Dickinson on Hogan…
HOGAN’S TWO SWINGS
“I would imagine that I have watched Ben Hogan hit more practice balls than any man alive, so let me offer my impressions of his swing technique, and in the process perhaps lay some myths to rest.”
“Early in his career, in the late thirties to mid forties, Ben had a strong left-hand grip and a backswing so astonishing long that his club pointed almost straight at the ground at the top of his backswing, more so than John Daly does today. I’m sure that Ben assumed, correctly, that he could hit that ball farther with a long backswing.”
“On his downswing, Ben swung with a pronounced lash forward, almost violent, with the bottom of his spine moving toward the target more than happened with other players. This created an extremely late hit, so much so that by the time the club head struck the ball, the loft on Hogan’s driver at impact was reduced to almost zero. More often than not, the result was a hot, low ducking hook that drove him nuts—and indeed, very nearly drove him from the tour. Then, around 1947, while looking through an old golf book, he came across a photograph of a very fine ball-striker who, even though he had a very strong grip, was unconcerned about over-hooking the ball. Ben told me that he noticed that the player’s left wrist at the top of the backswing was wrinkled, a very different situation from his own flat wrist position at the top of the swing.”
“And he experimented with putting some wrinkles in his left wrist. Ben gradually changed his grip so that his left hand showed about one and a half knuckles at address. At the same time, he let the right hand move more on top of the shaft so that the “V” formed by his thumb and forefinger pointed between his chin and left ear. He then moved the ball forward in his stance, and repositioned his hands at address so that they were about even with the ball, or even slightly behind it with a driver. Finally he assumed a distinctly closed stance at address, even on pitch shots, by withdrawing his right foot from the intended line of flight. Ben aimed with his shoulders, not his feet, so the closed stance had minimal effect on his targeting.”
“There was one more critical adjustment: when he wanted to fade the ball, Ben made sure he set the left wrist under the shaft at the top. These set-up changes, plus the cupping of the left wrist, caused his clubface to become quite open at the top, which allowed him to unleash his tremendous forward slide, with its blinding speed, without fear of smothering or even blocking the shot.”
“His flight pattern changed from a near unplayable hook to a gentle fade. The beauty of the new method was that when he tried to hook the ball, the shots went straighter, instead of fading, and the more he tried to hook them, the straighter they flew.”
“Incidentally, Ben Hogan was a shaft swinger, NOT A CLUBHEAD SWINGER. By this I mean that he fixed his attention on the shaft, not the clubhead, nor on some part of his body. At address, he placed the clubhead behind the ball the way he wanted it, and from there he simply concentrated on swinging the shaft.”
Chris
Good post from a forum on hogans hips. jeffygolf.com/showthread.php?519 … p-rotation
“Incidentally, Ben Hogan was a shaft swinger, NOT A CLUBHEAD SWINGER. By this I mean that he fixed his attention on the shaft, not the clubhead, nor on some part of his body. At address, he placed the clubhead behind the ball the way he wanted it, and from there he simply concentrated on swinging the shaft.”
This is good Chris, thanks for posting. I have never been much of a huge fan on clubhead feel myself. In fact, I don’t really like feeling a pronounced clubhead. My thinking may be off on this subject, but my thought is if I know where the shaft is, and why it’s there, then the clubhead can’t be too far behind. 
I’ve been reluctant to reveal this, but I wanted you to know I worked with Ben Hogan for 20 years and was there when he discovered his secret.
We were on the range working on our swings and Ben said he had a secret and if I tell you where to look, you’ll see it. I said, ok, show me the swing. He did and I said, that’s easy, it’s that waggle thing you put in your preshot routine. He said, what’s a waggle? I replied, never mind.
Days droned on as Ben kept working on the simple waggle move. The ball loved it, trajectory was great, long and left a thing of the past, distance stellar. It was awesome. I told him that someday some Tour pro would waggle his club, (but nothing like Hogan, instead all long and short shots go to a nine count) and win a major, and he laughed his ass off.
The big problem was Ben’s waggle discovery was simple, too simple. It took him only 20 minutes that first morning (we called it Easter Morning) to become the superior striker we’ve all come to know.
Being paranoid, Ben wanted to keep his waggle findings deep on the down-low so he devised a plan to go to the range every day, eight hours a day and work on things that had nothing to do with his success. Things like grip, left wrist cup, swing plane, hip rotation, pronation and supination. All that stuff was made up to throw off his fellow competitors. I suggested he ought to put it in a book to further throw off the hounddogs chasing him. I warned him though that his book would set back golf instruction and screw up people’s swings for generations to come. He laughed and said let 'em dig it out of the dirt.
Well I had had enough and devised a test to see how far his obsession with this “secret” had become. I went to his house one day and stole the couch from his office. It was a couch made in Angus, Scotland, near Carnoustie. Valerie helped me load it in the truck. We had a good laugh.
Ben was so obsessed with the waggle, spending all his time on the range, it took him three weeks before he realized the couch was missing. Finally, on the range one day he announced he was going to play the British at Carnoustie but only so he could go couch shopping with Valerie in Angus.
I swear all of this is true.
Best regards, and as Ben liked to say,
Peace Out.
That’s me in the jacket and tie at 1:54!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlga9hA9wb8[/youtube]
(Author’s note: In case anyone takes this seriously, this was created with all love and respect for Ben. If he and I were in a bar having a martini and I told him this tale I think he would grin widely and laugh and maybe might lean over and say, you know what, Paul, you’re on to something!)
bumping this^^^^ this is incredible
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da1imhhK2Eg[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSm4jy2U2po[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE_SNPaHEuU[/youtube]
Inspiring stuff…
Chris
Has MySwingEvolution won any professional tournaments since figuring out Hogan’s secret, teaching any top level pros the secret, or publishing a book with the secret. Just wondering if I was going to have to eat my words or if this was just like EVERY other person claiming to know Hogan’s secret. Would say it is funny. Why would anybody listen to him, I have half ass ball striker friends that have won mini tour events and know more than this guy that does not know a thing about the swing. You figure out the secret then you win, you don’t win then you don’t know the secret.
You say something about knowing Hogan’s secret you better be able to back it up with the game, which he does not have. If he did we would know of him from his play, but we don’t. Just writing this to support my hard line position previously, which he has shown is correct.
1 Like
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rUbm8CKDUw[/youtube]
Chris
I don’t recall seeing this one before, but with age suspect recall is never far behind, but a pretty interesting picture in any event.
Sergio who…
Happy New Year
A New Year’s Resolution!
Thoughts on the two hand positions post impact?
Never seen Hogan roll - flip his wrists over through impact like those pics. I’m sure there is a reason he had those images in the book but I have no idea why.
Lag - Can you explain the importance and function of the flared left foot at address that Hogan and Knudson talk about? Do you personally implement it and is it a must for a hitter to have? I have not heard it being talked about here and Hogan has several pages written about this. I have only heard Hogan and Knudson talk about this.
Thanks
We need to get turned on the backswing… and rotate hard through… post impact.
If the left foot stays anchored on the ground on the backswing, then it’s good to have it flaired out a bit to make sure you get through the shot. If you lift the heel a bit on the backswing, then it tends to plant down more open or flaired.
Hogan had great flexibility on the backswing being able to stay pretty planted in the left foot but still make a great shoulder turn.
But I would not suggest a player flair the foot out too much if they keep their left heel on the ground while making a poor turn.
I’ve seen a lot of different foot positions that have worked with guys still shooting 65 with persimmon.
The right foot will tend to rotate clockwise through transition if the legs are doing their job. I have seen good players flair out the right foot also as it helps them rotate back… but it can inhibit rotation through the ball also. When Corey Pavin was playing his best golf, he flaired out both feet quite a bit.
I have seen the right foot pigeon toed a bit… but not the left.