Must Read for Hogan Fans

[jeffy]

I skimmed it, and have read closely some of it. What I found the most interesting is that Bertrand confirms that what Hogan taught Schlee is not the swing Hogan actually used, because, it is claimed, Hogan's battered body could not accomodate some of the positions, specifically holding the elbows tightly together at address and throughout the swing.

Obviously, holding the elbows tightly together will keep the arms in front of the body, something Schlee advocates. But, as Jim Hardy has pointed out, and is visible in Hogan's post-accident sequences, Hogan's elbows seperate in the backswing, the right elbow and arm moving up and back to the side of the chest and pretty much staying there until impact, when the right elbow is almost brushing the right hand pants pocket.

The difference between the two downswings is striking, particularly from the down-the-line perspective: Schlee/Bertrand have the right elbow "dive" in front of the right hip, while Hogan keeps it to the side. Schlee/Bertrand's right arm is fully extended at impact, Hogan's is noticably bent at impact. Schlee/Bertrand extend down-the-line after impact; Hogan swings left dramatically after impact. Schlee/Bertrand's forearms crossover relatively quickly after impact; Hogan crosses-over much later.

Needless to say, it is more than ironic that a book titled "The Secrets of Hogan's Swing" is all about a swing Hogan didn't use!

 

[bpgs1]

Jefy, I agree with most of your observations. Not the same swing. Although it is possible to keep your elbows fairly close together - although not in the extreme way that Bertrand advocates - and move your arms across to the right side of your chest, if you are reasonably flexible. Endomoprh body types the exception.

Hogan did not move his right elbow away from his left elbow the way Hardy claims. It' an optical illusion, part of what I call the Arm Swing Illusion. Closer inspection reveals the truth. Obviously the right elbow moves in the vertical dimension quite a bit away from the left elbow as it bends to roughly 75-90 degrees. It is the horizontal dimension that Hogan and Schlee were concerned about and Hogan does a pretty good job of keeping that distance between the elbows the same, certainly not exactly the same, and his pain and stiffness from the accident clearly had a role to play here as he admitted to Schlee.

Hogan taught Schlee to keep the arms in front of the chest as Schlee reported in Maximum Golf. That phrase DOES NOT MEAN keeping your arms in line with the mid-line of your torso as many golf teachers and players mistakenly believe. It means not stuck behind you. A good arm swing measured from the left arm achieves a 45 degree angle to the shoulder girdle on takeaway and either maintains that same angle or close to it with the shorter clubs, the longer clubs it will expand to around 70-80 degrees due to the energy from the flatter shoulder pivot leaking into the arm swing.

Hogans arms were not stuck behind him as Hardy claims in his book. His left arm was close to what I believe is the maximum though, about 80 degrees with his driver, which matches his shorter height and extreme flexibility.

We never learn from either book exactly how much time Schlee actually spent with Hogan in learning mode. And certainly Schlees' take on Hogans ideas in some respects does not match what Hogan did in his own swing. The usual problem of two brains trying to talk to each other, information gets lost in the translation.

Jim Waldron

 

[birdie_man]

Ya man some this stuff drives me nuts.....I think the more I read about Hogan and what different ppl think he did the more I want to just figure things out by myself.