Ben Hogan Videos (click title to view, or use dropdown menu on left sidebar)
Introduction: Top 10: Essential Ben Hogan:
PGA Tour Productions put together a compilation of the Ben Hogan story and his prodigy, the Ben Hogan Company, “Top 10: Essential Ben Hogan.”
PGA Tour Productions put together a compilation of the Ben Hogan story and his prodigy, the Ben Hogan Company, “Top 10: Essential Ben Hogan.”
Chapter 3: “Hogan Always felt Sorry for Rich Kids”
Ben Hogan Interview: 8-22-90
This video contains the raw footage from an interview with Ben Hogan on October 22, 1990, which was undertaken by ESPN golf commentator, Jim Kelly. It is a rare and a candid discussion with one of the game’s most private personalities. I am sitting off-camera to the right of Kelly, and you can hear me offering some topics for further discussion. This video was produced for the Ben Hogan Company by PGA Tour Productions.
Chapter 9: "Flying High on a Wing and a Prayer”
National Golf Foundation Feature “Inside Golf Program”(1988):
A copy of “Inside Golf,” a nationally syndicated golf show featured the NGF in 1988. Additionally, this program presented one of the television ads produced by PGA Tour Productions that was designed to promote the need for more golf courses, which was also aired by the PGA Tour as a PSA on its golf telecasts in 1989.
Chapter 10: "Hogan's Course Management:
This painting by Don Adair (Copyright © Judy Adair 2010) is reminiscent of Hy Peskin’s photograph, who had positioned behind Ben Hogan when this photo captured the extraordinary one-iron shot onto the 72nd hole of the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion. A silhouette of Hogan’s swing was used as the logo for the Ben Hogan Company and the Ben Hogan Tour. A 1990 PGA Tour promotional video about the Ben Hogan Company and the Ben Hogan Tour can be viewed at: www.mindseyegolf.com
Ben Hogan Interview: 8-22-90
This video contains the raw footage from an interview with Ben Hogan on October 22, 1990, which was undertaken by ESPN golf commentator, Jim Kelly. It is a rare and a candid discussion with one of the game’s most private personalities. I am sitting off-camera to the right of Kelly, and you can hear me offering some topics for further discussion. This video was produced for the Ben Hogan Company by PGA Tour Productions.
Chapter 9: "Flying High on a Wing and a Prayer”
National Golf Foundation Feature “Inside Golf Program”(1988):
A copy of “Inside Golf,” a nationally syndicated golf show featured the NGF in 1988. Additionally, this program presented one of the television ads produced by PGA Tour Productions that was designed to promote the need for more golf courses, which was also aired by the PGA Tour as a PSA on its golf telecasts in 1989.
Chapter 10: "Hogan's Course Management:
This painting by Don Adair (Copyright © Judy Adair 2010) is reminiscent of Hy Peskin’s photograph, who had positioned behind Ben Hogan when this photo captured the extraordinary one-iron shot onto the 72nd hole of the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion. A silhouette of Hogan’s swing was used as the logo for the Ben Hogan Company and the Ben Hogan Tour. A 1990 PGA Tour promotional video about the Ben Hogan Company and the Ben Hogan Tour can be viewed at: www.mindseyegolf.com
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The silhouette of Hogan's swing from the picture at left was used in the design of the logos for the Ben Hogan Company the Ben Hogan Tour.
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Both 1990 and 1991 would be a pivotal years for the Ben Hogan Company. Bolstered by an elite professional staff on the PGA Tour and title sponsorship of the Ben Hogan Tour, as well as a hot selling Hogan Edge irons and expanded distribution in Japan, worldwide sales would more than double. The 1992 promotional video produced by PGA Tour Productions showcased the Hogan company’s higher profile, and featured seven new groundbreaking ads starring Ben Hogan, which can be seen at: www.mindseyegolf.com. The tag line, “No one makes clubs like we do” would prove to be the most effective ad campaign ever produced by the Hogan Company.
Chapter 23: "Meanwhile"
The Invention of Hybrid Woods
The print advertisements for the first hybrid woods, the Middleclubs, which I invented and patented (Imagine Golf Company), appeared in major golf publications such as Golf Digest, Golf, Golfweek and Golf World, as well as the Wall Street Journal. The television infomercials were primarily run on the Golf Channel, which collectively created the new $150 million hybrid wood product category. A copy of the original infomercial can be viewed at: www.mindseyegolf.com.
Epilogue: Hogan’s Secret
Ben Hogan's Swing Footage "Before" and "after" the Secret
Chapter 23: "Meanwhile"
The Invention of Hybrid Woods
The print advertisements for the first hybrid woods, the Middleclubs, which I invented and patented (Imagine Golf Company), appeared in major golf publications such as Golf Digest, Golf, Golfweek and Golf World, as well as the Wall Street Journal. The television infomercials were primarily run on the Golf Channel, which collectively created the new $150 million hybrid wood product category. A copy of the original infomercial can be viewed at: www.mindseyegolf.com.
Epilogue: Hogan’s Secret
Ben Hogan's Swing Footage "Before" and "after" the Secret
A friend who has been helping me edit this book, sent me a video of Hogan swinging a golf club, which based upon the golf equipment (golf bag) he was using and his youthful slim physique, it appears that the film was taken sometime in the early or mid-1930s. The reason why this vintage video of Hogan’s swing is important is that it clearly reveals something very interesting from the rear vantage point, as if you were standing just behind Hogan and watching him swing down the target line.
It is quite evident in this footage that at the top of his backswing, Hogan has a closed clubface and he then lays the club off on the downswing. These swing characteristics flattened his swing plane and explain why he hit the ball so low and had trouble hooking the ball in his early years as professional golfer. This vintage footage is grainy, but when compared with some later footage, it illustrates the evolution of Hogan’s swing “before” and “after,” he discovered and learned the Secret.
So, it was decided to create a video that could make a side-by-side comparison of Hogan’s “before” and “after” swings from the same rear vantage points. So, I asked Craig Hanson, a highly regarded Australian PGA Professional and golf instructor, to make a video analyzing Hogan’s swing “before” and “after” he learned the “Secret.” Hanson specializes in video swing analyses of many great players, as well as offering the video analysis/ instruction to average golfers,
Craig Hanson’s comments and analysis of Hogan’s swings “before” and “after” the swing changes can be found at: www.CraigHansonGolf.com.
To follow is a summary of Hanson’s comments and analysis. Hanson observed in the earlier vintage video that, “Hogan’s swing was much longer, which gave him more time for his arms to catch up to the hips. It's easy to see that his body is outracing his arms compared to later in his career. In those early years, Hogan had a stronger grip, which led to a more closed club face position and a different wrist alignment at the top. This explains why he had problem in hitting low and hooking shots.”
In the side-by-side video analysis, Hanson stated, “It was evident in the “before” video that Hogan laid the club off at the top of the swing, which is often prevalent in swings that have a closed face compared to swings where the face is neutral or weaker. Otherwise, it’s harder to match up the arms and the body on the way down. It’s harder to get the correct or perfect sequence where everything collects at the bottom…and, it’s more difficult to repeat.”
In the “after” video, Hanson said that “Hogan was able to fix this problem by weakening his grip and by cupping the wrist slightly at the top in the newer swing. These seemingly small changes in his grip and wrist angles enabled him to completely eliminate the problems with the unwanted hooks, as well it enabled him to fade the golf ball and to better control the trajectory of his golf shots.”
In conclusion, this video analysis confirms what Hogan said “his” Secret was, as well as what so many other experts also have said. The change in Hogan’s grip and his wrist position at the top of his swing was the Secret to his golf swing. The nuance here was that this is what worked for Hogan, given his swing tendencies and talent. These swing cues enabled Hogan to become the best ball striker of all time.
It is quite evident in this footage that at the top of his backswing, Hogan has a closed clubface and he then lays the club off on the downswing. These swing characteristics flattened his swing plane and explain why he hit the ball so low and had trouble hooking the ball in his early years as professional golfer. This vintage footage is grainy, but when compared with some later footage, it illustrates the evolution of Hogan’s swing “before” and “after,” he discovered and learned the Secret.
So, it was decided to create a video that could make a side-by-side comparison of Hogan’s “before” and “after” swings from the same rear vantage points. So, I asked Craig Hanson, a highly regarded Australian PGA Professional and golf instructor, to make a video analyzing Hogan’s swing “before” and “after” he learned the “Secret.” Hanson specializes in video swing analyses of many great players, as well as offering the video analysis/ instruction to average golfers,
Craig Hanson’s comments and analysis of Hogan’s swings “before” and “after” the swing changes can be found at: www.CraigHansonGolf.com.
To follow is a summary of Hanson’s comments and analysis. Hanson observed in the earlier vintage video that, “Hogan’s swing was much longer, which gave him more time for his arms to catch up to the hips. It's easy to see that his body is outracing his arms compared to later in his career. In those early years, Hogan had a stronger grip, which led to a more closed club face position and a different wrist alignment at the top. This explains why he had problem in hitting low and hooking shots.”
In the side-by-side video analysis, Hanson stated, “It was evident in the “before” video that Hogan laid the club off at the top of the swing, which is often prevalent in swings that have a closed face compared to swings where the face is neutral or weaker. Otherwise, it’s harder to match up the arms and the body on the way down. It’s harder to get the correct or perfect sequence where everything collects at the bottom…and, it’s more difficult to repeat.”
In the “after” video, Hanson said that “Hogan was able to fix this problem by weakening his grip and by cupping the wrist slightly at the top in the newer swing. These seemingly small changes in his grip and wrist angles enabled him to completely eliminate the problems with the unwanted hooks, as well it enabled him to fade the golf ball and to better control the trajectory of his golf shots.”
In conclusion, this video analysis confirms what Hogan said “his” Secret was, as well as what so many other experts also have said. The change in Hogan’s grip and his wrist position at the top of his swing was the Secret to his golf swing. The nuance here was that this is what worked for Hogan, given his swing tendencies and talent. These swing cues enabled Hogan to become the best ball striker of all time.
