Below is the only known detailed Ben Hogan swing sequence series made with a stop-action camera. It was reproduced from the book, The Search For the Perfect Golf Swing.
The sequence has sixteen frames, but only four for the backswing. In an in-time sixteen-frame sequence, the backswing would take up about twelve of the frames.
1.
Hogan did not take the club back in a leisurely way. Notice that the shaft is already bending.
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Halfway back, his wrist hinge is almost fully set.
4.
Notice his ramrod straight left arm. Only Hogan gets away with this.
5.
It looks like Hogan has a tremendous amount of lag, but it is because his flat swing tilts the plane of his arms and clubshaft far away from a vertical plane of the film. Figure 8 shows his lag better.
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8.
This is really late to be retaining this much lag. Don’t you try this.
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11.
You know what I always say about the hands leading the clubhead at impact? Here it is.
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13.
Hogan did not cross his hands over after impact. This, and figure 14, show his right hand underneath the handle for a long time. This is a huge anti-hook move, but it’s very hard to do.
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Never seen this before, very cool! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Bob. Mr. Hogan had “beautiful balance.” It’s interesting to me to see he didn’t raise his left heel, as Jack Nicklaus would become known for.
All kinds of ways to get the job done. Maybe that’s why Arnold Palmer said (I paraphrase): “Swing your swing.”
However, the more our swings look like those of these greats, the better. Getting there is always a challenge!