Ben Hogan R.I.P

Ben Hogan passed away on July 25, 1997. As we pass the anniversary, I can’t help but admire the man and what he accomplished in the game of golf. Most coaches like myself idolized his golf swing growing up. Even today, you can find blogs, social media feeds and YouTube videos like this one that breakdown and analyze his golf swing.

Ben Hogan swung the club on a flatter plane than most. At 5’7”, he was not a tall man but stood tall using all the height he had at address. As a result, he swung the club more around his body on what today is termed a flatter plane. This in many ways was related to his lack of forward bend at address. As a result of a flatter swing plane, he released the club later than most. We know today that the bottom of the swing occurs earlier with a flatter swing planes leading to a later release. If you make a golf swing from your knees, you will almost always hit the ground behind the ball first, until you adjust to the flatter plane.

Mr. Hogan was one of the longest players on tour during his era and I love the way he uses his lower body to deliver the club to the ball. He uses the ground as a launching pad for the club. Watch how effortlessly he moves from the top of the backswing to impact and pay attention to his footwork in the video above.

Mr. Hogan even went as far as having a couple of extra spikes put in his golf shoes. This may have been to help stabilize his lead leg in transition. R.I.P Mr. Hogan and thank you for inspiring so many to play this great game.

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