[GolfSpy Matt]

I love the conversation with your daughter!

[Ben Hogan Swing Project]

GolfSpy Matt, on 03 January 2012 - 11:17 PM, said:

I love the conversation with your daughter!

Yaah, I've been watching them play that game on and off since the summer ya know, and I never even thought about the similarity of my project and learning method. Kim wasn't fond of me including them in my Hogan project madness; she said that all I was trying to do was prove a point, and to convince myself that it all makes sense.

I wasn't trying to prove any particular point. I just wanted to get honest feedback from someone that hadn't been "programmed" to think a certain way yet. I was surprised at how it all played out. I thought she would just get frustrated with all my questions and put the game away. The proudest part was when she turned to me with her head up and chest out and boldly stated that she could learn anything she wanted to. I'm still smilin about that.

Now if that had been my boys, I'm not sure if it would have gone the same. A 10th grader and college freshman.

[Ben Hogan Swing Project]

Ran into a neighbor that lives on the other side of our subdivision. He was walking his dog and saw a few stray whiffle balls in my yard and golf became the topic, and of course Hogan came up. He mentioned that one of his favorite courses is Bobby Jones in the Buckhead area and I said I also play there a few times. He asked how often I played, and that we should get together sometimes. I said I was not headed back onto the course until spring time, and I was reluctant to tell him about my project. Not because it is anything wrong with what I'm doing, but because I always have to explain "why," then deal with all the "WTF is wrong with you stuff" lol. So I just mentioned that I was in the garage tweeking my swing and working on a few things. He said he was doing the same this winter and that he was re-reading 5 lessons. Then he asked me if I had read 5 lessons and what I thought about it. And you already know what my answer was. "Nope, but....ummmmmm. I'll get to it soon." (Heck, soon could be 5 stinkin years!) He was kinda shocked that I had been into the game for 4 years and hadn't read it yet. (I'm used to that shocked look now). We rambled on some more about what the 2012 season was gonna be like, who was gonna be the front-runner.....what Tiger was gonna do....yada, yada.

The main reason for me rambling on and on and the neighbor is because he said something that caught my ear. He mentioned something like "Well, ya know, 5 Lessons is THE only golf book anybody needs. It's the best selling golf book of all time." So, I got curious and wanted to know when it was written, and that kind of stuff. I also wanted to know the date published to see which one of the swing vids I'm using as my training guide comes closest to that date.

Did a google search for "five lessons golf." Clicked on the Amazon link. Looks like the one I clicked on was published in 1985, but the original one was published in 1957. I scrolled down to the section that says "What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item" and "Similar Items" just to see other related books. I saw "Power Golf" (I've heard of that one mentioned a lot too), but didn't see an original publishing date.

So I decided to do an amazon search for "Power Golf" to hopefully find out the publishing date. Nothing. Then I did an amazon search for "Ben Hogan."

HOOOOOLLLLEY SHMOLEY!!!!!! I WAS SHOCKED!!!!!!

There are not only 5 Lessons and Power Golf, but a whole slew of Hogan books. This guy must have been good or something!

> Afternoons with Mr. Hogan: A Boy, A Golfing Legend and the Lessons of a Lifetime by Jody Vasquez (Mar 25, 2004)
> Ben Hogan: An American Life by James Dodson (May 3, 2005)
> Ben Hogan's Magical Device: The Real Secret to Hogan's Swing Finally Revealed by Ted Hunt and Sean Connery (May 26, 2009)
> Ben Hogan's Short Game Simplified: The Secret to Hogan's Game from 120 Yards and In by Ted Hunt (Oct 27, 2010)
> Golf Fundamental von Ben Hogan. Der Golf Albrecht. by David Leadbetter and Lorne Rubinstein (May 1, 2001)
> Hogan by Curt Sampson (May 5, 1997)
> Hogan: The man who played for glory by Gene Gregston (1978)
> Miracle at Merion: The Inspiring Story of Ben Hogan's Amazing Comeback and Victory at the 1950 U.S. Open by David Barrett (Oct 8, 2010)
> Mr. Hogan, the Man I Knew: An LPGA Player Looks Back on an Amazing Friendship and Lessons She Learned from Golf's Greatest Legend by Kris Tschetter (Oct 14, 2010)
> My Partner, Ben Hogan by Demaret; Jimmy (1955)
> The Complete Guide To Golf by Ben Hogan, Cary Middlecoff and Sam Snead (Jun 18, 2011)
> The Complete Hogan: A Shot-by-Shot Analysis of Golf's Greatest Swing by Jim McLean and Tom McCarthy (Jan 3, 2012)
> The Secret of Hogan's Swing by Tom Bertrand and Printer Bowler (Sep 29, 2006)
> The Upset: Jack Fleck's Incredible Victory over Ben Hogan at the U.S. Open by Al Barkow (Jun 1, 2012)
Ben Hogan: An entry from Gale's Notable Sports Figures by Julia Bauder (2004) - HTML
> Ben Hogan: The Man Behind The Mystique by Martin Davis (Sep 2002)
> Ben Hogan's "Secret" by Bob Thomas (1997)
> The Final Missing Piece of Ben Hogan's Secret Puzzle by Dave Hamilton, VJ Trolio and Brent Raklovits (Oct 26, 2010)
> The Caddie Who Knew Ben Hogan by John Coyne (May 15, 2007)
> I Remember Ben Hogan: Personal Recollections and Revelations of Golf's Most Famous Legend From The People Who Knew Him Best by Mike Towle (Mar 1, 2000)
> Ben Hogan's Secret: A Literary Portrait by Bob Thomas (Sep 1, 2001)

There were a few more, but I got tired of copying them.

Man, I'm gonna have a lot of reading to do!

[Ben Hogan Swing Project]

Gary Woodland has a cool lookin swing, and a nice left hand at impact that looks very familiar.

[Ben Hogan Swing Project]

Finally....I now have a "favorite golfer" of the new era! Gary! Gary! Gary!

Hmmmmmmm, I wonder if he's using the heavy, flat equipment that was used in the 60's?

[Xamilo]

It is so damn annoying to read the exact same thread in every golf forum in this planet!

I'm bored of this monologue which takes up space and storage in every forum database...

[Ben Hogan Swing Project]

Xamilo, on 07 January 2012 - 11:40 AM, said:

It is so damn annoying to read the exact same thread in every golf forum in this planet!

I'm bored of this monologue which takes up space and storage in every forum database...

Lol. Just imagine me having to post it everywhere!

When I first got into all this, i was just putting my journal on youtube for my playing partners to see, then i was invited to a forum. The forum was fun cause I met people that enjoyed talking Hogan stuff. Then one of my international golf buddies invited me to other golf forums, and so on. I started getting a hundred youtube emaIls asking about my progress (or lack of). I initially tried to answer most of them, but it just was too much. So forums it is. I like all forums, but I've learned that some guys have a grudge against some of them, but I have no idea why. Maybe cause they take people's comments too seriously.

And I'm on your side.......my swing journal is one of the most boring things I've ever read. Lol, I have no earthly idea why you would ever read in the first place.

The main reason I'm in every forum across the land is to hopefully find someone else that is doing the same type project as me. So far nobody is as idiotic as me.

Ummmm, maybe this is too simplistic, but when I come across a thread or user that I don't particularly enjoy, I just avoid that users threads and posts lol. I just don't read them.

[Ben Hogan Swing Project]

For your laughing pleasure..............

Here's some of my old vids converted from 8mm tape. I did no type of swing analysis back them. Only thing I was worried about was how far the ball went and if my finish was balanced. I didn't know anything about alignment or foot position. A guy on the driving range showed me the interlocking grip. I used to record our golf outings so we could get together at family cookouts and laugh at them. Dang, I forgot I wore a golf glove back then!

Wolf Creek 8-24-07. When I initially got into the game. Whew....took me a while to get the guts to load this vid on here lol.


Tup Holmes. 3-16-08. A year later. Think I was trying to figure out how to hit a draw on this day. Note the closed stance. Never understood it. Gave up on the draw. Went back to the straight and the fade.


Bobby Jones 7-20-08. After playing a little bit more, and reading lots of golf magazines. Looks like I had on my Tiger red that day lol.


I also remember later in 2010 when I got a big Taylor Made tour bag and brought it to Bobby Jones and embarrased myself on the first tee. Hit both tee shots into the creek! Too much crowd pressure lol.

I didn't start all this "tweeking stuff" until June 2011.

[Ben Hogan Swing Project]

I had no idea that Hogan's club went in a loop during the waggle, from high to low, in a circular motion. I always thought it went straight back away from the ball, then straight back to the ball.

It's kinda difficult to see from the DTL and FO views.

[Ben Hogan Swing Project]

I got a lot of requests for the DTL view. So here ya go.

Same looping motion happening with the clubhead. Looks like the wrists are making things happen, but I am not sure.

[Ben Hogan Swing Project]

Ben Hogan DTL view - address vs entire swing - Shell Hole #3

I put together a comparison of Hogan's address vs the rest of his swing. Want to understand how different body parts compare to the address position, such as hand and head movement.

[Ben Hogan Swing Project]

This video is from an 8mm tape of my first time ever setting foot on a golf course or holding a golf club. Sorry for the bad quality, but it's the best I can get it for now. It was a company outing that I only attended for the free food and prizes. I was into competitive softball in those days and figured that golf couldn't be that hard. One of the "expert golfers" you see in the vid (my coworkers) gave me a lesson on the first tee box; how to grip the club as well as how to align myself to the target. I'm the guy in the light blue shirt, beige cargo pants, white tennis shoes, and black Nike cap (borrowed the cap from one of the coworkers). I had fun out there but didn't get any further urge to play again until another company outing in 2007, where a guy bet me money that I couldn't hit the ball in the fairway, and that I could use any club I wanted to. I shrugged my shoulders and said "no prob, you're on!" Of course I picked the driver cause it was the biggest, baddest and most violent looking, and cause my ego wanted to hit it as far as possible.......I failed. Sliced every ball off the map. Then I was hooked!

Wow! I just noticed at 10:55, I hit some kind of draw or hook!! How the heck did I do that?? Been trying to hit a draw for the past 2 years now...with no success!

[Ben Hogan Swing Project]

Just playing around with the right hand(s). This is a vid I made on Dec 29, 2011. I'm posting it now because a discussion topic came up today regarding Hogan's club path.

RIght now, I'm only working on the teeup - walkaway - walkin. NOT the full swing or any part of it.

[Ben Hogan Swing Project]

Today, 1-21-12, working on the teeup - step back - step in. Took a few weeks to convince my mind and body that teeing up the ball on my right foot was normal. Still a long way to go.

00:07 My old method from 2007 thru 2011
00:26 1-4-2012 teeup
00:45 1-8-2012 teeup
1:07 1-21-2012 teeup
1:53 1-21-2012 Hogan teeup comparison
4:11 1-21-2012 DTL 2-right hands practice
4:27 1-21-2012 FO 2-right hands practice

[Ben Hogan Swing Project]

For all you Hogan fans out there; I'm sure you've already heard of http://www.35mmgolf.com/ .

Cool images there!