The Ben Hogan Setup Tip

One of Ben Hogan's setup positions was the cupping of the left wrist at address while keeping the right wrist flat.  This helped to prevent a hook.  The picture above is from 'The Complete Hogan' on page 63.  Jim McLean provides a good description in this section of the book regarding the other setup keys Hogan used in his pre-accident swing.  You can see the lean of the grip part of the club shaft away from the target as he begins the backswing in the series of photos in the book.  This action is part of the big muscle swing Mr. Hogan described in his Five Lessons book and in Power Golf.

Ben Hogan's pre-accident golf swing

Ben Hogan claimed his golf swing was better before his injuries from the near fatal collision with a Greyhound bus in 1949. After he recovered from those injuries his swing changed in a subtle manner but he knew the difference.

In a terrific article by Jaime Diaz and corollary article by Jim McLean in the June 2009 issue of Golf Digest, The US Open Preview Section this piece of golf history is discussed in detail. The conclusion from the analysis supports Hogan's perspective.

The Ben Hogan Collection provided the film clips from which the still shots were produced by Golf Digest. The layout is lacking as the photos are much too small to help support the points McLean makes in his article. The photos should have been larger.

So, for Hogan fans and those players working on their golf swings, the swing model to use would be from Hogan's post WWII years prior to the accident. You can see this swing in The Ben Hogan Collection dvd set and software.