Hogan's Secret
 

In the book Afternoon's with Mr. Hogan, Jody Vasquez says Mr. Hogan actually told him his WHOLE SECRET. Do you think this is actually IT?

BH Secret
 

Who knows?

For what it is worth, Ken Venturi said Hogan told him the secret, and
it is mental, not physical.

We may never know, or we may already know.

How clear is that?????? :roll:

Who knows man....I say find your own secret.

I think his swing as a whole is his secret really.....the way everything works together the way he wanted it to....repetitive, powerful, no lefts. And he wouldn't settle until he found a way to do that.

His discerning perfectionism is what led him to get as good as he did.

That's what I think.

Hogan had more secrets than Michael Jackson.

According to Peggy Kirk Bell, Hogan taught her all about pp3, that magic location behind the shaft on the right hand. Maybe that was one of Ben's three right hands.

Jody Vasquez wrote that it was the firm flexed right knee.


Hogan's secret was whatever he was swing “thoughting” at the time.

What's Right
 

The Hogan secret was the action of his RIGHT KNEE. Right Knee at the ball during the downswing....

DG

Now that was funny! Can you imagine the Hawk at NeverLand Ranch? TaHee Hee !!!! Chicka Wooooo!!!!! Henny Bogan was not lover!!!! Ta HEE!!! Um what do you think of that Benny?

Re: What's Right
 

I don't see how this could be his secret...

If you're referring to that GD article then I don't agree with you.

Unless you can explain further.

Every great golfer has many secrets.....however the thing is that as your swing evolves those secrets change with those changes.

Also, from what i have read about hogan and the stories i have heard from brian, Hogan liked to lie to throw people off in regards to his swing

I would believe that, with what I've read about his staunch competitiveness.

Re: What's Right
 

The comment about the right knee is in the book by his caddie....I don't remember the name of the book....I just remember thumbing through the book at a local borders store and finding the comments on THE HOGAN SECRET...

I actually really don't study the Hogan swing anymore (it doesn't fit in with the TGM model ie; TGM promotes the Straight Line Delivery Path for starters).....all you need is a good understanding of TGM....and your on the path to great golf.


DG

Re: What's Right
 

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The book is "Afternoons with Mr. Hogan". The author shagged balls for Mr. Hogan at Shady Oaks. Mr. Hogan eventually told him the ENTIRE SECRET. The other articles, etc., according to the author, were only parts of THE SECRET. He goes into a fairly detailed explanation of THE SECRET, with pictures.

It has to do with a motionless right knee and cupped left wrist, and the action of the right knee on the downswing.

It did seem to work well for Mr. Hogan!!!

In TGM speak... Right Anchor, Delayed Hip Turn, Double Wrist Action

Yes Hogan's swing worked well for Mr. Hogan.

So it is a good swing and a proven swing obviously.

But I just think...that to try and isolate one component of one guy's swing....and say it is "THE SECRET".....is absurd.

If anything, I think what you'll get is one of Hogan's "swing keys" or something based on feel that works for him.

You have to keep in mind that he prolly went through tons of trial and error piecing together that fine swing of his (i.e. PIECE BY PIECE- trial and error- hitting tons and tons of balls- obsessive). He did not just arrive at where he ended up because he stumbled across one swing secret.

He just "put the puzzle together" if you ask me.

He wanted a swing that met his strict tolerances (never hit left, works for every club, trajectory, power, repeatability, versatile for different shots, felt natural to him ETC...) and he found it.

He never hit it left....I like that one.

Re: What's Right
 

BTW, if anything, I think his grip + his wrist action are the two main elements to his swing.

And some people would argue with you about that Double Wrist Action thing. I think he could have been Double or Standard, depending on when you looked at his swing.

I think Brian has said that when he had that year when he won 3 majors his wrist was basically flat at the top (or very close to it), not Double-Cocked (think Fred Couples).

Secrets
 

I'm fine with Homers Secret, it really is the secret.....SUSTAINING THE LINE OF COMPRESSION See 2-0.

DG

Re: Secrets
 

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It is actually a pretty interesting little book. There is only the one chapter on HOGAN'S SECRET. It is more of book that contains little stories about Hogan.

Another thing he mentioned as part of Hogan's Secret is....BALANCE.

Mr. Kelley, I was told, used one of Hogan's early books, I believe "Power Golf", and a few other books of that time. He studied the pictures, I was told.

I watched the Byron Nelson video this weekend. Great video and explanation of his grip. Perfect single action. Swing plane, flat left wrist etc. I have a feeling that Homer might have studied Byron as well.

'No Help' Nelson
 

Homer Kelley actually met Byron Nelson at an exhibition near the peak of his career. After witnessing a dazzling display of golfing skills, Homer -- always the seeker -- was able to ask him a question. Unfortunately, he received a very benign answer, something like "I just hit it."

After relating the story to our assembled class, Homer summed it up this way:

"Not much help there."

Re: Secrets
 

I can see that. Definately.

I think I read about Hog. saying something like: "The stronger my legs are, the better I hit it."

And I think Sam Snead said he thought Hogan had some of the strongest legs he'd ever seen...."for a small guy," I guess.

Maybe his secret was making everyone believe he had one.

spike

"The proper stance and posture enable a golfer to be perfectly balanced and poised throughout the swing. Only then will his legs, arms, and body be able to carry out their interrelated assignments correctly"

Hogan - 5 Lessons, page 39

How many of you are "perfectly balanced and poised throughout the swing"?

Note Homer's importance of balance (essential) and 12-3-0 (checklist) - first and last item - BALANCE

Efficient force is balanced force. This is the root of the 'effortless' swing. The 'glue' that holds everything in place.

Close your eyes, find your balance. You learned to walk by finding your balance ;)

Good post EdZ....it's an easy one to look over...

But would the Pingman or Iron Byron (or Golfing Machine) hit it straight everytime w/o a stable base? Helllll no.

Heels not balls of feet.

I love you Ed, you know i do but i real believe that proper balance is a RESULT of proper mechanics and that proper balance is not attainable without proper mechanics.

Just my imo

You can swing incorrectly and stay in balance. But if you are not balanced, than no way can you swing correctly.

fixed that for you... ;)

KK...

But it at the least helps to have a good start at Address no?

Hogan at the beach
 

Interesting that Hogan mentioned his two pressure points.
Sounds like he must have been familiar with Homer Kelly
to mention "Pressure Points". Hogan said that he used
the two middle fingers on the right hand always going
toward the target, never around to the left. With his
grip, right hand turned more on top, could he have replaced
the #3 pressure point point with the two middle fingers?
The other pressure point mentioned was the two last fingers
of the left hand. #2.

Vasquez
 

I think that Vasquez did a great job explaning the right knee,
"Running at the ball". He suggested that this was the final
move that made impact happen correctly. The 1985 interview by
Golf Digest with Hogan said "The idea is to rotate the club
with the left arm". "I was rotating the club like a baseball
bat, and the faster I could rotate it, the more distance I got".
"My left arm was the the strongest part of my downswing".
So is it Right Knee or left arm/club rotation or both. Wish that Vasquez could have asked Hogan about the rotation. I find
that directing the #3PP directly at ball, from the top, helps
to get the left arm into a better postion to rotate. The question is how to use the right knee to get the feeling of
the left foot pushing off and then setting up the rotation to
comply with "endless belt"

Making a splash with the first post!
 

Out-work them!
Out-think them!
Intimidate them (with a secret; you got it, they don't)!

Snead said he was scared.