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Rebuilding my swing using Ben Hogan's 5 Lessons

Thrillbilly Jim

Thrillbilly Jim

Raised On Hose Water And Neglect
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Since getting back into golf, my swing is awful. It ranges between a dumpster fire and unfolded lawn chair. After talking to the guys from the Ben Hogan Experience, I am starting again at square one and trying to implement the lessons from Mr. Hogan.
Chapter 1 focuses just on the grip. The grip is typically just a given...how much do you think about it? Do you even practice/work on your grip? Like Roy McAvoy says in Tin Cup, "I like to think of the grip like the opening of a poem.." After playing last week, I found my left hand all blistered up. I was holding the club handle too much in my palm and squeezing too hard! I am working on getting it up into my fingers (stop laughing) and maintaining a light grip pressure. One thing Ben Hogan mentions in the book is when a person grips the club tightly, this keeps the wrists from working. I have noticed that a lot lately.
I have attached some pictures from the book. Are you currently doing this? What does your grip look like? Would you like to change it? Have you read this book? As I go through the book, I will add more posts and ask more questions to further the discussion.

grip.jpggrip2.jpgHogan_Grip_6.jpgHogan_Grip_10.jpgGrip_Explanation_From_The_Modern_Fundamentals_of_Golf.jpg
 
Death grip is a clear issue for me. It makes the fact that I do not have full range of rotation in my left wrist (torsionally) that I do in my right even worse. I end up with a starting grip that is very "strong" in the sense that my thumb is well over the center of the shaft. I'm not sure how I'll correct this, but interested to see where this thread goes.
 
Did you see the piece the golf channel did on Hogan a few weeks ago? They mention he wrote that book using things he found that kept him from hooking the ball. Some joked that it should have been Hogans 5 lessons on how to not hook.

I only say this so you dont start fading everything and trying to fight it.

I have one of those "proper grip" training things, with the raised ridges and two Vs pointing towards my right shoulder, that I keep on the coffee table and as I'm watching tv I keep gripping and regripping it to ingrain a proper grip.
 
This it what it looks like. It has D rings on either end to attach resistance bands but I very rarely "swing" with it and just use it to muscle memory a good grip.
fd77d879aadb78ef7e0efce0038ecb75.jpg


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I essentially taught myself how to set up and swing a club from Mr. Hogan's Five Lessons Book 40+ years ago. I don't think I could get as technically immersed in exact positions anymore as I'm a feel player. But his grip is still perfect IMO and I strive to grip it exactly that way to this day.
 
The contradiction within that book is that Hogan writes "99% of the swing is completed before the player ever starts the takeaway".
By this Hogan meant that address technique (grip-posture-alignment) produces all aspects of the swing.
However, the subsequent chapters of the book break down the swing into many different parts (which I think is counter productive and contrary to Hogan's above single sentence quotation).
My suggestion is to use the book for its description and illustrations of address technique, but disregard the rest of it.
 
Great book as long as you go in knowing that you WILL NOT hit a hook. Follow those steps & you won’t know the left side of the course is there.
Absolutely nothing wrong with it but it is, as they say, what it is.


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The grip he used and taught is very weak by today’s standards. As others have mentioned it was designed to not hook the ball. Proceed with caution.


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J.B. Cobb III said:
Chapter 1 focuses just on the grip. The grip is typically just a given...how much do you think about it? Do you even practice/work on your grip? Like Roy McAvoy says in Tin Cup, "I like to think of the grip like the opening of a poem.." After playing last week, I found my left hand all blistered up. I was holding the club handle too much in my palm and squeezing too hard! I am working on getting it up into my fingers (stop laughing) and maintaining a light grip pressure. One thing Ben Hogan mentions in the book is when a person grips the club tightly, this keeps the wrists from working. I have noticed that a lot lately.
I have attached some pictures from the book. Are you currently doing this? What does your grip look like? Would you like to change it? Have you read this book? As I go through the book, I will add more posts and ask more questions to further the discussion.
]
Click to expand...

Last year golf for me ended in early January so I had about 8 weeks of til one of the courses around me would open up again on "warmer" weekends in March. I said round 1 of this year I will change my grip and it was to the grip that you posted about. Using the interlocking grip for me always felt odd and it caused some mental game issues when taking shot. I never had any blistering or anything like that and my grip was never a tight one. Well, it took me until Memorial Day weekend and 3 consecutive days golfing for my experiment to happen due to being afraid to change anything.

My experiment began with 18 Friday and my first 9 Saturday with my old grip then my second 9 Saturday and 18 again on Sunday with your grip from the book. For me, the awkwardness was gone from my swing and I made better contact with the ball. Everything just felt more fluid. Its also something that I don't have to think about when I swing again and over analyze or compensate for. I can now worry about something else :laugh:. I've been told more than once that my grip is for a senior citizen and I should go back to the interlocking one because that what real golfers use but it works for me just fine.
 
I just paid for 6 lessons. I am going to fix my issues. I have had so/so success the last few weeks.
 
My grip, stance and posture are based on Hogan, they might be the only thing I have going for me.
 
I'm also rebuilding my swing. My swing coach made no changes to my grip, it was fine from the get go. Where he is making changes, is my swing plane. It was too flat and he wants it more upright. I've been gradually moving it a bit at a time. Originally I was getting stuck behind the plane and having to make big manipulations to strike the ball. Now, when I see the video he takes of my swing, I'm only slightly behind the correct plane. Big difference! It's making my ball striking more consistent due to less manipulation prior to impact.

Good luck with your journey!
 
J.B. Cobb III said:
I just paid for 6 lessons. I am going to fix my issues. I have had so/so success the last few weeks.
Click to expand...

Looking forward to following along. I hope you enjoy it
 
One of the things I have done to make my swing more repeatable was to switch to GP MCC+4 align grips on my irons. (Woods came with MCC align grips.) The +4 keeps the hands from getting too tight. Now I need to work on my swing plane. At my age, it is hard to keep the back straight and pain free.
 
I just had my first lesson. I have tried to fix my swing faults by myself with limited success. So, I purchased 6 lessons. Just want to say thank you to Colby at Beau Rivage Plantation. Great instructor. He had me warm up for about 10-15 minutes first by myself. He walked over just as I flushed one right down the middle. He joked, "You sure you need help?!" I told him you missed the 30 bad ones before it! We talked about my goals I want out of this. What has been working...what hasn't been working. He had me hit 5 balls like I normally would. Then, he talked about starting at the bottom literally. First lesson was going to be about setup, posture, alignment, and ball placement. He wanted me to widen my stance....just slightly past shoulder width. We talked about how in other sports I have played...football, wrestling...need a solid base to be able to make athletic movements. Also, to help maintain balance through the swing. My stance has been narrow for a while...trying to isolate my swing and make good contact. Next, he talked about posture. He told me I was too upright. I was bent at the hips fine, but my legs were straight. He told me to imagine sitting on the edge of a bar stool. Because of my posture, my hands and the club were too close to my body. So, now to clear the club around my body, I had to make a drastic move inside which in turn, opened the club face. I really haven't paid attention to the posture because I felt normal. As I practiced making a swing in a lower position, I felt some pain again in my lower back. I have had this pain off and on since my car wreck 6 months ago and I believe I was compensating to relieve the pain/pressure by standing more upright. (As a side note....going to start trying to strengthen my lower back through exercises and stretching to alieviate the pain.) So, the wide base and lower CoG during swinging felt awkward, but not foreign. Next, we talked about alignment. Getting setup in a good starting position and correct alignment. Because if you're aimed incorrectly but hit the ball straight that's no good and if you're aimed correctly and don't hit it straight, that sucks too. My alignment aim was slightly closed...trying to compensate for a right ball flight. Lastly, worked on ball placement. I had the ball too far back in my stance and had to really hit down on the ball....causing my digging issue....or as @e1iterate says "digging squirrel graves"! Below are videos of my swing. Had a very positive experience today! Hit the ball so much better. Felt more solid contact, I could hear the ball being hit crisp, ball flight was exponentially better. If I can gain equally more knowledge and results these next 5 lessons, I should be in a way better place on the golf course.



 
I know you were frustrated it wasn't all coming back together in Nashville, we've all been there. Glad you're picking up some lessons to right the ship! Good luck, I hope you get it lined out!!!
 
J.B. Cobb III said:
I just had my first lesson. I have tried to fix my swing faults by myself with limited success. So, I purchased 6 lessons. Just want to say thank you to Colby at Beau Rivage Plantation. Great instructor. He had me warm up for about 10-15 minutes first by myself. He walked over just as I flushed one right down the middle. He joked, "You sure you need help?!" I told him you missed the 30 bad ones before it! We talked about my goals I want out of this. What has been working...what hasn't been working. He had me hit 5 balls like I normally would. Then, he talked about starting at the bottom literally. First lesson was going to be about setup, posture, alignment, and ball placement. He wanted me to widen my stance....just slightly past shoulder width. We talked about how in other sports I have played...football, wrestling...need a solid base to be able to make athletic movements. Also, to help maintain balance through the swing. My stance has been narrow for a while...trying to isolate my swing and make good contact. Next, he talked about posture. He told me I was too upright. I was bent at the hips fine, but my legs were straight. He told me to imagine sitting on the edge of a bar stool. Because of my posture, my hands and the club were too close to my body. So, now to clear the club around my body, I had to make a drastic move inside which in turn, opened the club face. I really haven't paid attention to the posture because I felt normal. As I practiced making a swing in a lower position, I felt some pain again in my lower back. I have had this pain off and on since my car wreck 6 months ago and I believe I was compensating to relieve the pain/pressure by standing more upright. (As a side note....going to start trying to strengthen my lower back through exercises and stretching to alieviate the pain.) So, the wide base and lower CoG during swinging felt awkward, but not foreign. Next, we talked about alignment. Getting setup in a good starting position and correct alignment. Because if you're aimed incorrectly but hit the ball straight that's no good and if you're aimed correctly and don't hit it straight, that sucks too. My alignment aim was slightly closed...trying to compensate for a right ball flight. Lastly, worked on ball placement. I had the ball too far back in my stance and had to really hit down on the ball....causing my digging issue....or as @e1iterate says "digging squirrel graves"! Below are videos of my swing. Had a very positive experience today! Hit the ball so much better. Felt more solid contact, I could hear the ball being hit crisp, ball flight was exponentially better. If I can gain equally more knowledge and results these next 5 lessons, I should be in a way better place on the golf course.



Click to expand...


Nice one J.B. (y)

Colby is great so I'll second that, its like having a lesson with your best mate, its that easy going. He turned me around after I was going the self fixing route and got myself in to a pickle. I'm probably hitting the ball better than I've ever done, just got to up the course management aspect and I'll be happier.

As Colby also mentioned after the lessons I've had, my irons are the only thing holding me back, high launch graphite shafts means I loose a lot of distance and those are next one a list for change.

Looking forward to seeing how this pans out J.B :cool:
 
JBC3, glad to hear the lesson went well and you're seeing positive results. Good luck and keep at it. In the video, You look much more balanced in your swing, Looks good!
 
Daddio said:
I essentially taught myself how to set up and swing a club from Mr. Hogan's Five Lessons Book 40+ years ago. I don't think I could get as technically immersed in exact positions anymore as I'm a feel player. But his grip is still perfect IMO and I strive to grip it exactly that way to this day.
Click to expand...

Ditto for me. My dad gave the book and told be everything you need to know to break 80 is in there. It’s not for everyone and a tougher route than finding a good instructor but it worked for me. I still reference the book each year and the grip he advocates, especially the hands close together and where he recommends pressure is spot on. An improper grip is common and causes all sorts of issues with the rest of the golf swing.
 
Smart move booking six lessons, tells the pro you are serious and commits you to following through.
I did the same last year when I failed to hit a barn door with a banjo. My posture and grip are good so my swing looks perfect until I move. We have sorted the take away and my position at the top is now fine. So my swing now looks great until I try to hit the ball. The transition is my current work in progress, as I need to stop the over the top lunge , and try to get the club to come back down in a similar line to how it went up.

About to book six more lessons and go to Florida for ten days golf .

Good luck and remember it is supposed to be fun...…….:cry:
 
Great book, great lessons, but not for everyone.

I tried to follow his lessons, 50 years ago, while in the service, and quickly discovered what a sh**nk was. It is still with me now, lurking in the background.
 
there is nothing that replaces lessons with an instructor you work well with. 6 will certainly get you playing well.
nice update on lesson 1.
 
Glad the lesson went well and hope it continues for you, JB.

As for Hogan's lessons - as a kid I used them somewhat successfully. The left hand grip and wrist positions he teaches would not work at all with my current swing. At. All.
 
Had my 2nd lesson today. I really needed it today to take my mind off of our annual HOA meeting. Trying to get 250+ retirees to agree on anything is an act of pulling teeth. Never be the HOA President! So, back to the lesson. My instructor wanted to focus on swing plane. Starting and finishing on the correct plane. This is/was not an easy fix today. I just felt awkward and uncomfortable. My backswing was finishing WAY behind me and off plane. But, in reality, I was starting off plane from the take away, so I was just continuing the fault through out my whole motion. The instructor talked about starting the backswing "low and slow". This is something @JDax had tried to help me with in Nashville. I was struggling with this at first....hitting the ball horribly. Chunking it, thinning it, popping it up! Colby noticed my hands had started to creep back towards my belt buckle, which was bringing back some of my original issues. We spent 10 minutes reviewing last week. Then, he told me to feel like I'm "pushing the club out away from my body". Trying to keep that separation from the grip and my body. Also, worked on pace/tempo. Because of these corrections, my swing had gotten "choppy" trying to install all of the corrections. One aspect was wrist rotation. Not opening to club face on the back swing and making sure the club face was square at impact. Lastly, he wanted me to swing my swing....let the ball just get in the way...over exaggerate a high finish. Carry this plane out to the end. This was a tough lesson. Just a lot of bad shots getting used to a foreign position. By the end of it, I was hitting some really great shots and even a few left of center....which has been like North Korea lately....you're not allowed to go over there!

 
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